You can imagine his type dropping out of school without his parents’
knowledge...not till they catch him at the motor park smoking hemp...” Our
driver literally exploded.
“What? I Peter Nwokedi? A hemp-smoking school drop-out?
You are quite far from the mark sir, even if I have to say that myself.”
The Datsun has moved not more than three feet from its original
position. The discourse is engaging to say the least. He looks over his shoulder,
grabbing the head rest of his seat with one hand in his enthusiasm as he
continues. I struggle to keep a straight face as he directs his speech at me
though by all indications, it’s intended for the old man beside me. “I Peter
Nwokedi, with my Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering from University of
Nigeria and a Masters in Systems Engineering from the University of Lagos
and a PhD in view from Oklahoma University? You do not know what good
fortune you have met in boarding my taxi. I assure you, before your eyes is
Nigeria’s next Nobel laureate.”
The two geriatrics exchange incredulous looks and chuckle knowingly.
Our driver does not take this condescension lightly; he looks from one to the
other.
“You do not believe me ehn? Ah....But I do not blame you. I do not
throw my pearls before swine.”
He put the Datsun in gear but only manages to move it another
inch before the chuckling of the old men gets to him again. He stops jerkily
and engages the arm brake, rummaging furiously in the glove box.
“What is wrong with you people? What do you know? I have
published eight books,...eight! Here, see...my ‘Redox Analysis Theory’...this
book got Gabriel Oyimbo thinking...a whole Gabriel Oyimbo, but simpletons
like you can’t know him. He has been nominated over and over again for the
Nobel prize in physics...and yes, he is a Nigerian. He sent me a mail after
reading my book. His words: ‘Your deeply insightful treatise scares me; its
implications are profoundly disturbing’. Ah, imagine that! The man who
resolved the Grand Unification Theory finds my work profound, a bit too
heavy for his guts! I assure you my RAT will change the way the world works.