The journey to adulthood started “ti pe ti pe” (Yoruba), “depuis longtemps”-long time ago.  They say adulthood is a scam, I thought it was a cliché until I had my own fair share of it. I completed University of Ghana, Legon in May 2012. I had my National Service in the department of French as a French Teaching Assistant. This journey was not rosy at all. I was living with an uncle in Tema during this period, I used to commute from Tema community 5 to campus to teach during tutorials and attend lectures with my mentor lecturers. For instance, if lectures were at 5pm to 7pm, I was obliged to wait and attend, “à tout prix”- at all cost before returning home in Tema. It was really tiring and draining but I had no choice but to be present at all teaching sessions.

LIFE AFTER LEGON 

After national service, this young graduate had to look for a job or continue with school (masters). I chose the former because I needed some financial stability for myself before considering the latter. I didn’t enjoy my stay in Tema, because all my friends and known people were in Accra. I was always coming to Accra to meet friends, attend weddings, parties, hang outs etc. Due to this, I decided right after national service in September 2013 to move to Accra. I started looking for a place in Accra; it is was not easy to look for a room in Accra whilst staying outside Accra, unless there is someone on ground to assist with finding and checking out the room. I told few friends and family members to get me a single room self-contained, at that time my budget was hundred (GHS 100.00) Ghana cedis.

THE NEIGHBOURHOOD

One day, a maternal uncle who was living in Westlands (an area in Accra) called to inform me that there was a single room a few metres away from his abode. We agreed on the day to visit and check the place out, it was a single room in a 3-bedroom self-contained house; each room was rented out, the master bedroom had its own washroom, however, the two bedrooms had a shared bathroom. In other words, I was going to share the washroom with a young lady who was a banker. There was also a kitchen with cabinets which was also to be shared.The living room of the 3 bedroom was also transformed into a single room which was also rented out. The compound was huge, thus by extension, other single rooms self-contained and chamber and hall self-contained were built, which were already occupied. In a nutshell, that compound had about 10 tenants, but it was hard to meet or see one another due to the architecture of the building. 

From all observation, one could tell that the house was built in the 90s or late 80s, yet well maintained, fenced and gated. There was another house which shared a wall with the house I was going to occupy which also belonged to the same person (a retired medical doctor) name withheld. The second house had the same architectural design as the first, but it was not rented out to individuals but to an individual, a white man (a Briton) in his mid-60s living there with his house help. The sexagenarian was a businessman in Ghana. These two houses shared their back walls with a branch of one of the biggest known churches in Ghana (name withheld). The landlord of these houses is the first son of the retired doctor who had returned from Germany and decided to manage his dad’s properties. He was such a nice young man in his early 40’s, married to a beautiful lady. He was a generous and very calm man. There were some known Ghanaian politicians who were neighbours in this posh area whose fenced walls were as tall as the walls of Jericho.

I decided to take the room which was going for seventy Ghana cedis (GHS70.00) per month, of which I paid two years because that was and still the norm in Accra. A little facelift was given to the room by painting it, fixing curtains, carpets, a ceiling fan, a plastic chair and a TV stand, and a small TV set for entertainment was given to me by my dear mum.

With the assistance of a very good friend, I moved from Tema with all my belongings with the hopes of starting life as a young graduate in Accra. On our way to my new place, we made a stopover at Madina (a busy commercial and residential suburb in Accra) to purchase few items such as a mattress, a gas stove cylinder, kitchen utensils, etc. I was so excited that I was finally going to be on my own, wake up when I wanted, go out and return home when I wanted, eat what I wanted etc. My first night in my single room was serene and rejuvenating, I woke up the next morning to prepare rice and beans…. I remember vividly. 

LIFE OF A GRADUATE

Now by God’s grace I had a roof over my head, what next? A Job. I started applying for jobs because at the end of every month I would have to pay for utilities. Hmm!! From October 2013 till May 2014 there was no job. I was living on what my parents and friends gave me. I am very frugal; hence management of finances was not a hurdle at all. Life was what it was, I attended a few parties and social gatherings from time to time; I was just a young girl trying to figure out life, and that was fun. 

My life at home was Facebook, sleeping and attending church services and programs, hoping the Almighty will make a way for me. Do you remember the landlord? He became my friend. Interestingly, he could speak German, and I could speak French, so we easily became friends. I would not deny the fact that he made advances towards wooing me however, I never gave in because I was not interested, and he was a married man. He was a good landlord; he always came around to check on his tenants anytime he plied the Haatso-Westlands route, he was staying in Kwabenya with his family. Aside from handling his dad’s properties, he had his own business. I often assisted him with administration tasks for few coins, given the fact that I was jobless at the time. Unfortunately, he could not employ me because the business had just started and there was no budget for extra hands, thanks to his generosity, I was always ready to give a helping hand. There is a saying by George Washington “True friendship is a plant of slow growth and must undergo and withstand the shocks of adversity, before it is entitled to the appellation.” The question is, will this friendship last, will it be able to stand the test of time? We live to see.

MOVING OUT

Three weeks after moving in, my next-door neighbour with whom I shared a washroom moved out, well we were not really friends, we barely spoke, we only greeted each other whenever we met at the doorway. I didn’t even know her name. One day, I noticed movement of stuff from her room. I peeped through the window, and I noticed she was moving out. I remembered a friend of mine in the Volta Region of Ghana wanted a place, I informed him of the vacant room, he came to see the place, he liked it, paid for it and moved in just like that. Two weeks after, the second next-door neighbour in the master bedroom also moved out. He was called James; we were quite cordial. So, I approached him and asked why he was moving out, he replied his rent was due, he had not intention to renew, hence the need to move out. I peeped through the master bedroom, and I noticed it was spacious, a tranquil haven, also available was an embedded wardrobe. Immediately, I called the landlord to inform him that I would like to have James’ room he replied, that would not be a problem whenever he was around we could discuss. I whispered to myself “correct for 3 points”.

COURT ORDER

Haan! Court order? Yes, you read right you are not blind. One morning, I was in the kitchen preparing breakfast, through the windows which overlooked the other compound of the house, I saw two gentlemen dressed in long sleeves with a tie, well tucked in. These gentlemen were addressing one of the co-tenants. Instantly, all I heard was “you are expected to vacate this house because there is a new owner to this property we are from the court, and we came to inform you”. Immediately, I screamed to myself what did I hear? My heart jumped a skip. I called my uncle who was few meters away from me. I narrated all that I heard and he told me to calm down because he was going to call the landlord. True to his words, he called the landlord and they spoke. My uncle called me back and explained the issue to me and reassured me that we were not going to be evicted. He added that the next house which was being occupied by the British was also part of the deal. 

Now here was the deal, the retired medical doctor who was the owner of both houses had two sons (the landlord and his younger brother). The youngest son used both houses as collateral to secure a loan from one of the collapsed banks in Ghana few years ago. As fate may have it, he couldn’t repay the loan now the obvious was to take the two houses,auctioned it and recoup the money. Chiiiiii what is this God?!! If I knew this I wouldn’t have implicated my friend who took the vacant room after the banker moved out. At this point, I understood why those two neighbours left without renewing their tenancy.

Next, the landlord came around to explain the situation to me. I asked him how he was going to resolve it and he assured me that his lawyer was working on it. In fact, he was on his way to see his lawyer that day and I could come with him so I obliged. We went to see the lawyer they spoke and spoke. Well from all indications, there was going to be no way out but he told me he would get a new place for me when it came to worst. All be settings!!...Gen Zs in Ghana would say!!

 I was very worried because this house was affordable and serene I couldn’t imagine leaving the place. On our way back from the Lawyer’s office, he offered to get me lunch at a restaurant and even added takeaway pack to it. He noticed I was not in a good mood and that was his way of “appeasing the gods” for now.

EVICTION



One early morning in December 2013, the unexpected or the expected happened. The whole compound was woken up by two court bailiffs. We were asked to vacate our rooms. We were told the church which happened to be our neighbours bought both properties through auctioning. Oh wow, what a shock! I called my uncle he came around. I was sobbing as if I had received the death news of a loved one. Regret was written all over him, he apologised several times but I was speechless. Everyone was bringing their belongings out some of the neighbours had children not one, not two, not three, but four, five etc. Where were they going to sleep tonight or even keep their stuff? Whilst bringing out my stuff, I caught a glimpse of the British neighbour who could not walk he was thrown out of the house and he was seated in front of his gate under the morning sun watching us bring out our belongings.

Immediately, I was moved with compassion like Jesus Christ in the temple however, I was as helpless as him. I approached him and offered to help him out of the sun but he declined. My friend who was next door did not have any idea of what was going on.I had to wake him up, apologise and explain the situation to him. He was disappointed. He also had to pack his stuff out and find a way of managing the situation.

Now, I had to look for a place to keep my stuff then chase my money from my landlord friend who never showed up during the eviction. The church members including the Pastor were around that morning. We spoke to them but they never gave us a day to stay in our rooms. The bailiffs ensured everyone had vacated both premises and the gates were locked with their own padlocks and that was it…….la fin du jeu (game over).

Some of my neighbours went as far as visiting the General Overseer of the church but that was a wild goose chase- it yielded no results. Personally, I gave up on the whole pursuit. I called the landlord and he said he was going to come over but he never showed up. During the eviction, there was this tall young man, a graduate of KNUST who was a member of the church and was coordinating construction work in the church at the time. He came around and introduced himself and spoke to me. I cannot recall his name now. He noticed I was frustrated, traumatized and humiliated. I was still in shock, I could not come to terms with the eviction because it was only in Nollywood movies I saw all these things happen. I didn’t know this could ever happen to me at all. He opted to help me; that is to pay for the movement of my belongings to wherever I was sending them to. He did exactly that and even gave me a substantial amount for upkeep. While a close friend’s sister kept my belongings in one of her rooms, I moved to my uncle’s place temporarily. Before dusk, everyone had vacated the two houses. 

REFUND

No one knew the landlord’s house except me, hehehe!!, - “woman power” (in Asiamah’s voice). He showed me his house from afar during one of our jolly rides.

Though afar, I could find my bearings. It was 5:30am I was in front of his house. I rang the doorbell but no answer till 7am. I had no choice but to linger around, striding down the street in front of his house. At one point, I thought there was nobody in the house so I asked the people who were residing opposite his house. They informed me that they hardly came out early. I had an assurance that eventually they would come out; I patiently waited. At 7am, a young man came out to open the gate. Immediately, I approached the fenced wall. When he was ready to go out I stood in the way of his car. He got down, greeted me and asked why I was here. I retorted “I wanted my refund because I was homeless”. I recalled instantly that I was jobless and homeless, which triggered tears that flowed effortlessly like river “danyi” in Hohoe. He wanted to explain things; I fumed and refused to listen to him.

While at that, a lady came out of the room, I guessed she was his wife. A middle-aged woman who had a night wear on with a hair bonnet covering her hair. She walked towards us trying to tie the straps of her night gown. Her presence halted every discussion. She greeted me and asked what the matter was, I explained the situation to her. Without uttering a single word, she called out the young man from the room to bring one of her cheque books from the living room. She wrote a cheque for me and my friend whom I brought to rent the room next door. I thanked her and left. That was the end of our friendship; I was sad our friendship had to end on such note. 

Afterwards, I informed the rest of the neighbours of the refund and I showed them his house so they could go and collect their money. I stayed with my uncle briefly and later moved to a friend's house for 5 months. I finally got a job with Globacom Ghana as a customer care representative (CCR) at its call centre. Globacom Ghana I may have to write a book on that, my first job. After five months of staying with my friend, I finally rented a chamber and hall self-contained in Madina to start life afresh. 

Few years later, I drove passed the church and I noticed those two houses had been pulled down and the church had used the land for car park…...wow everyone and his/her priority.

God bless everyone during this journey; my uncle, friend and her sister, my one and only landlord and the young man from the church.

NB: The young man from the church who helped me with movement of stuff, died four years later. I learnt of his sudden demise whilst in France. May he continue to rest in the bosom of Father Abraham.

What was your experience after school? Kindly let us know in the comment section. Thank you for reading. Cheers! A bientôt!