Sometimes, Bashow will travel to Oyo and spent time in the cattle ranch drinking palm wine and swapping jokes with the locals. He refurbished Baba Sonda’s shack dwelling and showed gratitude. He cared for Baba Sonda’s many children and gave them gifts from his to and fro London trips. Two years after, Bashow’s cow breeding business grew.
Bashow returned to London and began to pour money on the cattle business. He was enthralled with the profit margin and cheap overhead. The talk about cattle investment thrilled him. He was impressed with Baba Sonda’s persuasion. Bashow came on a vacation to Nigeria and was driven to Oyo. He was simple, austere, accessible, prayerful and dedicated to his cows. He was trusted as an easy-going fanatical cattle herder who was devoted to his nomadic occupation. He settled, married to a Nigerian woman and bore children. He came to Oyo from Niger Republic over forty years ago. Bashow, then looked downward to Nigeria to pour money on investment.īaba Sonda was a rugged Fulani herder. Sometimes, Mashow and Bashow took it in turns to relieve each other from the demanding nature of shop keeping in the heart of South East London. Life as a store keeper began to take its toll on him. He made money and paid off his mortgage with easy abandon. His genial and friendly nature brought him customers. The direction of Bashow’s restless entrepreneurial life soon changed.īashow stood on his thin legs for eight years as a shop keeper. Bashow also saw my kids grow into men and women. I saw Dami, Seun, Lewa and Titi grow into adults. The North-South divide will not divide us. The bond was so strong we maintained contact. I joined the 9-5 rat race and work in a government office. Bashow opened a daily need store in Camberwell overlooking Peckham. On Friday nights, we fanned out to the West End, especially Leicester Square, Trafalgar Square, The Strand, Oxford Street, Piccadilly Square, Marble Arch to the farthest limits of the square mile.įive years after receiving our badge of honours as cabbies, we melted away from the road runner scene and embraced other things. We spent cold and lonely nights in each other’s car idling for our turn to pick passengers. We both drove the length and breadth of London as mini cab drivers. South Londoners are more rugged, bluffier, fearless and daring than North Londoners of that era. We were both green eyed, ambitious and eager to find answers to life troubling questions. My friendship with Bashow started in the late 80s.
They are both blessed with four beautiful and responsible children – Dami, Seun, Lewa and Titi. The relationship started way back at Ibadan and meandered across the ocean to London. She is the doting matriarch of her family and looks decidedly young for her sixtyish age. The marriage to Bashow has lasted forty years. Dutiful, loyal, trusting, virtuous wife, amiable, pretty, fair skinned, highly motivated, business oriented, confident, a thorough South Londoner, home maker, protective, social animal, a proud Cherubimite, frugal and combative. READ ALSO: Dide Joko Obas: The gods are angry She held her head in her hand and gave Bashow a dirty look. Mashow is bent on causing real agro for Bashow. I remained speechless…unmoved by her theatrics. “ Keniyan so gbogbo aduru eleyi nu…O my God,” Mashow intoned. She scanned the photographs of her husband’s lost investment in Nigeria. She took out her phone and started pressing angrily. And every Sunday after church, Bashow wheezes across the South East of London mentoring young ones and acting as a counsellor to warring couples. He is a committed worshipper with the Norwood Cherubim and Seraphim Christian denomination. He studies the Bible in the morning and takes notes. He is extremely careful of the type of friends he associates with.
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