FICTION

It was the military government of Group Captain Segun Akanbi that forced homes in the capital city to have toilets. He ensured that soldiers went from house to house to enforce it. In one instance, the soldiers called at a man's house; one of the many who had defied the order. On sighting them, he asked his pre-teen sons to tell them he wasn't at home and hid in the other room. When the soldiers knocked on the door, fear gripped the sons. With the fierce look of the soldiers they spoke without being asked any question. "Our daddy said he is not at home," the younger of them said. Not realizing exactly what his younger brother had said, the elder also affirmed it.
His heart sank when he heard this and unconsciously shouted, "Ha!" covering his mouth with his hand just too late. One of the soldiers dashed into the room, dragged him out and laid many stripes with a three-tail horse whip on his back. The soldiers' reason for the severity of his punishment was not because he has yet to have a toilet, but because he taught his little children truth management. His sons looked on perplexed, not knowing how what they said to the soldiers and their dad's present predicament are related.