THE DEVIL WEARS OKRIKA

Chioma is a devil. She was posted from the headquarters of our firm to our regional office here in Uyo. She came and disrupted the harmony in this office.

“Chioma you are welcome to our unit. You look good” Eva had complimented Chioma as she resumed duties that Monday morning.

“Thank you. Hey, have you girls seen my gown? It’s a designer’s outfit straight from the House of Nonye. My stylist recommended it to me last week and I couldn’t sleep until I bought it”

“Oh, it is gorgeous”

The three of us, Eva, Bola and my humble self, Judith watched our new colleague closely.

We noticed that all through the day, she was busy taking selfies on her phone and sharing on her social media pages.

“What kind of co-worker is this?” We wondered to ourselves.

“Hey girls, let me have your Facebook and Instagram handles, I need you girls to like my pictures”

“What kind of narcissistic human being are we saddled with?” Bola whispered to me.

We shrugged and reluctantly gave her our social media handles.

Immediately, she tagged all of us to her numerous selfies.

“You people have not liked my pictures yet, kindly like all of them. Have you seen how I am slaying? I am the Queen slayer!”

The next morning, Chioma cat-walked into the office,
“Hi girls”

“Hello Chioma, good morning”

“Who can tell me the style of my new dress?”

We looked at her in puzzlement.

“Nobody knows? Oh, you ladies are not fashionable at all, you need to be trendy!”

“Err..but…”

“This is Ankara shakara style! You can see the material is Ankara laced with purple chiffon and spotted cotton trimmings from the House of Maliq. It is the hottest fashion trend in the city!”

..snap…snap…snap….

Chioma’s camera was busy all day.

Chioma could not hold a conversation on any subject apart from designer’s fashion and slaying.

“Yaaaaay! I am on page 22 of Ovation magazine. I totally rocked the denim shorts with a cropped top at the House of Leroi fashion show on Saturday!” She screamed excitedly one Monday morning.

“I should have carried my Chanel bag and wore my Armani earrings, it would have given me the killer girl look. Well, I should be on the cover of the next edition of Essence magazine with these outfits, let’s see what the fashion police would say”

We were tired of the endless fashion talk, the endless picture uploads, and tagging. We were tired of being treated as inferiors just because we weren’t wearing designer’s fashion.

“Chioma can’t you talk about something else?” I said in exasperation one day.

“Judith, it is not my fault that you ladies aren’t fashion conscious. You all need to stop wearing these trashy outfits to this office. I am sure you all wear okrika” She sneered at me.

“Chioma you are so saucy, haughty and incompetent!”

“You are just jealous” She walked out with a hiss.

“That girl cannot even perform a simple binary search in java. I wonder who gave her this job?” Eva complained.

“Don’t you know that she has connections in high places? How else can she afford these expensive clothes? Don’t tell anybody but I heard she is in bed with the Ceo’s son” Bola whispered.

Two weeks ago, all hell broke loose.

“How dare you! Boyfriend snatcher!” Bola accosted Chioma the moment she stepped into the office.

“Bola what is wrong?” I queried as I ran in to separate them.

“This girl is a devil! She has snatched my boyfriend from me. I don’t know how she managed to get Ekemini's phone number from my phone. I have been reliably informed that they spent the night together at Lavender hotel yesternight”

“And so what? Is it my fault that Richard prefers a sophisticated and fashionable lady like me to you? Look at you, you dress like a nun in a convent!”

The cat fight was massive.

We kept our distance from Chioma after the incidence. She kept slaying in different outfits. She turned up one day with a long blonde wig on her head coupled with thick artificial eyelashes and green lipstick. She looked hideous like the devil.

Chioma kept trying to set us against each other but our bond of sisterhood can't be broken by an outsider.

So last Saturday was Itam market day. I went to the market to do some shopping. As usual, the place was a beehive of activities. I walked past the section where second-hand clothes popularly known as Okrika were displayed on the ground for sales.

“Buy your top! Buy your blouse! Buy your skirt 2-2-200 naira! Auntie, come and buy your pants here! Buy your bra, e go hook you like bowtie, 100-100 naira!”

The bell ringing salesman shouted to the customers at the top of his voice.

I saw a familiar face in the crowd. She wore a cap and was bent over the heap of clothes. She was rummaging through the clothes, selecting the good looking ones.

I stopped.

“Chioma!” I yelled out.

She stood up and gazed at my direction.

Our eyes met.

The look on her face was unforgettable.

The ground refused to open up and swallow her.

I had caught our designer’s clothes wearing fashionista rummaging for okrika clothes inside the market.

I quickly snapped her with my phone’s camera. I turned around and ran away while a deluge of laughter erupted from me.

People thought I had gone crazy.

I branched into a restaurant to catch my breath. I took up my phone and began dialing Eva and Bola.

“I saw her at the market today. The devil wears okrikaaaaa!” I bellowed triumphantly to each of them on the phone.

We waited for her to show up at the office on Monday.

Chioma didn’t turn up.

At noontime, a memo from the HR came to us.

Chioma has been reposted to the headquarters with immediate effect.

We burst into spontaneous laughter.

@idyoriginal