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Surulere was a remote part of Ajegunle, the Ajaja State capital. Surulere was the most popular among the Ajegunle suburbs because of its nearness ti the state capital. However, it was a rough community. It was very dirty and in fact unorganized. It was a ghetto of sort because it housed most of the less privileged who could not afford the living standard in the city.
Every effort made by the government to relocate the resident of Surulere to another place in order to change its face had always met with stiff resistance. The reason was simple; the residents there always ganged up to sabotage the government's efforts. They believed that the action of the government was deliberately targeted at them with the sole aim of sending them back to their respective villages. The struggle for survival, and for many, an attempt to keep their jobs so as to make ends meet made them to decide to settle in Surulere. They often travelled to Ajegunle every morning and returned later in the day. To them, they had no choice and there remained the fact that accommodation was relatively cheaper.
Unfortunately, Surulere was not a good place for decent individuals. Besides, it was not a conducive place for children's upbringing because many social vices were uncontrollable there.
In Surulere, many people committed crime with impunity and there was absolute lack of respect of the rule of law. In fact the police wouldn't dare them. Smoking of Indian hemp was a common sight of Surulere. The situation was so bad that it was only the powerful and lawless individuals that held swag and easily survived the many challenges in the community.
On the contrary, Ajegunle was a beautiful state capital. The city was clean, and the layout was we planned. There were good road networks and other social amenities which were the major factors that encouraged the migration of the people to Ajegunle.
Unfortunately, the living standard in Ajegunle became very high thus forcing more immigrants to settle in the city suburbs. The continual rise in the number of the unemployed school leavers in search of jobs complicated the situation in the country at large. Ajegunle was also not left out.
There were criticisms and there against the government for not being creative enough to remedy the situation. Sadly, corruption in the land, especially within the corridors of power, was daily on the increase without any drastic measure from the government to curb it. As a result, many idle and lazy people resorted to crime for survival.
Sadly, in an attempt to survive the hardship, many youths deployed their productive skills to Cyber crimes and started living big. Some became armed robbers, pickpockets and touts. The system was so bad that the country became a place for the survival of the fittest. Death rate was on the increase as a result of lack of regular supply of electricity, water and the non availability of quality health care facilities. Also, the good roads were becoming dilapidated without concrete plans to fix them.
Sadly, many graduates who could not compromise continued to roam the streets in search of greener pastures. Out of frustration, many resorted to riding of commercial motorcycle (okada) and doing other menial jobs to keep body and soul together.
Kingsley was a resident of Surulere. He left Sabo, his village many years ago with the aim if living in Ajegunle. Unfortunately, he could not withstand the cost if living in the city, he had to find his way to Surulere where he continued to manage.
As a cobbler, Kingsley was getting a meager income and so was very poor. Kingsley was married to Caro and they were blessed with two children; benson and Carlson. Making ends meet was a big deal for them. Benson and Carlson wouldn't have passed through the four walls of the classroom but for the presence of a public school in Surulere. Even with that, he had little interest in his children's education due to his ignorance and the fact that he was poor. He simply enrolled them just for the sake of it. The prevalent situation in the country further discouraged him. He was of the opinion that one day, his son would become a cobbler just like him while his daughter would learn other trade.
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