English Passage for Reading Comprehension

Return To The City

As soon as they left Majidun, they were in the ever-sprawling suburbs of Lagos. Some things about the city were the same, but many had changed. On both sides of the highway, huge factories had risen on once swampy land; certainly these factories had not been there three years ago. Traffic was still crawling, if anything worse than before. Not so many people wore robes now, but embroidered jumpers and trousers made out of lace material or floral prints produced in the city factories. Women carried merchandise on their heads, urging the passengers to buy whenever the lorry slowed down. Odugo savored each sight, noise and smell.

The bread sellers stormed their windows when they stopped at a petrol station, thrusting long loaves at them. Finally, the lorry entered a large open square – Iddo Motor Park in the heart of Lagos. The long and tiresome journey along the winding path and busy alley ways had finally ended.

They got down and found a taxi which crept into the traffic jam. Odugo felt strange. To Gladys, who had never been in Lagos, he tried to explain some of the landmarks, but soon gave up. He thought she would soon understand things herself.

Nearly an hour later, they were halted in front of the radio station. An armed guard in uniform ordered the taxi to reverse and to keep the entrance clear. Odugo and Gladys paid off the taxi and waited with their things while the armed gateman helped them make a call to Abraham Fumori’s office.

“James Odugo! Man, good to see you!”

They embraced. Odugo pretended he had not noticed the genuine tears in the eyes of his friend. He too was trying to hide his own tears. In a moment, the entire newsroom turned out in a cascade and began to shake Odugo’ hands, to slap his back, to hug him, to cajole him, to congratulate him.

“You survived the war! I thought you were dead!”

“Now is the time to die,” said Odugo. “No, I shall die after tasting real beer,” and they all laughed and began to ask him a hundred questions at a time. It seemed as though the happiness was boundless. Everyone was overjoyed and grateful that he was back.

Soon the emotion was too much for Odugo. It had been a long time since he felt such raw emotion. He broke down openly and began to weep. Fumori who had brought out a handkerchief and was weeping, but trying to laugh, wiped his eyes and his nose and took him into the office. Odugo could not believe that he had, finally, come home to this place.