Natural reality show

By the time I stepped outside, the leaves were on fire. It was totally engulfed in flame like the type we witness in California and Australia each year. The only noticeable difference between the California, Australia and Achara fire is that: the formers were well known places but the later is not. Again, the Australian and Californian fires were shown in televisions world wide but Achara fire is known only in Achara and environ. There is record of durability, continuity,followership and stability to deal with too.But I guess that the people of Achara is not envious of the formers record. I never heard anyone complaining of partiality on the part of referees and umpires, even against Guinness book of record keepers. 

The trees around the burning leaves were as it seen observing the attention being showered on the leaves and was wondering from the look of things wheather the crowds that gathered knew at all that they were the ones that shaded the leaves they were admiring in the first place. Soon, the trees caught fire too and was burning as if fuel was poured on them. The fire from the trees soon spread to other leaves on the ground which in turn, handed over the baton to the trees around them. 

Once again, the difference between Australian, Californian and Achara fire manisfested. ‘tackling the fire’ in Australia and California, it is always the fire fighters with their jackets, hosepipe, tankers and helmet that people from here always focus on in the yearly fire show in televisions. The other baffling part of the fire show to people here is how on earth do the people that gather around the fire show especially in Australia always talk to themselves instead of running after those animals they always show escaping from the fire. “is capturing the animals against the rule of the reality show?” one fan asked in observing many animals escaping in this years show. He was told that only the fire fighters and police has right to do that. 

Achara don’t have fire fighters, no television crew, no police, but everyone has right to go after any animal escaping. Infact, it was even the cause of the fire that is burning everything in its wake in the first place. Meat. The youths of the town in seeking to make cheap and easy money from selling meat to the motoristat time, cause havoc that usually takes almost a decade to restore. The intention were always good from the beginning but at times, it turns out as it is in this very day. In my entire stay in Achara, this is the second time am witnessing incident like this. This second incident is exactly like the first in terms of reaction to the fire. 

This day, Achara fire is more severe than the one of eight years ago. It was like the civil war. People will pack few things they consider valuable and were hurrying away as if enemy army is upon them. The fire fighters they have were the youths that volunteered themselves to put out the fire to save their properties or that of relatives.

The youths that want innocently to smoke animals out from their holes and started fire instead were no where to be found. Once the fire got of out their control, they took to their heels. 

Money that they were after forgotten, animal forgotten and their security at risk. 

The people of Achara in occasion like this always wonder if what they always wait for each year in television is truely a reality show or natural show. “if it is arranged, how come it has all the attributes of Achara fire?”, one woman asked. “that is reason it is called reality show”. One boy answered her. “He will be staged to look like the real thing”. The boy went on in explaining. “At times, they will tell you that hundred fire fighters died, yet you will not be shown one dead body only pictures”. Continued the boy. “ maybe, that was what is making these youths to start these fires, they nearly burnt down Mazi Mba’s house”. The old woman continued. They should not be allowed to be watching these foreign reality shows.

Mazi Mba is the most richest man in that village. According to story, he is into wholesale business. He deals in consumer goods and he is into transportation business too. According to story, he has distributorship with about fifty companies, foreign and local. Mazi Mba has most of his business in Lagos and Enugu, but he is always at sapelle doing what no body except few very close to him knows. His family is based in Lagos yet he spent 70 percent of his time in sapelle. He disappeared for four years few years back, some said that he was sick and went to America for treatment. Some claimed that he was in Ghana. They claimed that he was running from kidnappers.

I was with his first son in workshop organized by the state government in Awka the state capital, while engaged in discussion with him, I was able to gather that his father some were urging to stand for governorship election in the state can not due to his ex-convict status. I learnt that while people thought that his father was in America, he was actually in Indonesia serving four years prison term for trying to smuggle charcoal outside that country. 

“Do you mean coal or charcoal?” I asked for I was seriously confused. He answered, “charcoal”. “you mean you don’t know charcoal is a lucrative Business?. He asked me. I said, “no”. He went ahead to narrate to me the many uses of charcoal. He told me that due to the campaigns many earthwatchers were into in western worlds, governments and individuals are not even free now to cut their own trees. He said that most of the weapons and bullets coming from western worlds, and those circulating there... what is inside them came from third world countries of latin, Asia and Africa. 

Over here, no one is worrying about ozone layers, climate change and bullshits stuffs like that. Rains fall as at when due, sun shines as at when due, harmattan; they call winter in western world never misses to show itself every November to march. 'Tell me why trees that generate dollars should be left to be standing while the owners are dying in hunger'. the son queried. Mazi Mba and his cohorts in charchoal business with the philosophy his son was enumerating that very day was cutting down trees left, right and centre everywhere,both theirs and those that to others without reaching agreement with the owners. It happened that he was having little problems with some big wigs he is into the business with in sapelle, so, they sent some boys possing as hunters to go that cold evening and set his country side house on fire and they came to Achara and nearly succeeded in carrying out that assignment successfully and professionally.

Some in Achara still believed that it was hooligans of the town that did that. As I stepped outside and viewed, perceived and studied the situations, I knew immediately that natural reality show is on air.