Jeeddahtulkhair Book 1 Complete Hausa Novel

He was driving slowly, his eyes on the road while listening to his friend, his confidant, and his brother who was sitting in the passenger seat beside him. After a while, he clicked his tongue and shook his head, then spoke calmly and said, “Honestly, I wish you would change this story of yours, Ahmad. In any case, I don’t see any benefit in it…”

His friend Ahmad laughed and said, “Well, it benefits me a lot since I love her and I want to marry her. Look, Captain, please put aside personal feelings and tell me—what exactly is Maryam’s fault? Let me know.”

The one called Captain rubbed his soft hair and said, “Do you know what?”

Ahmad simply looked at him, waiting to hear what he would say.

Captain continued, “I want you to tell me why you Hausa people don’t have any topic beyond love. There are so many meaningful intellectual things a person can learn in this world… but you people always put love first and above everything. Did you know that it’s only recently that, in my readings, I discovered that airplane water is riddled with bacteria? Not only that—just yesterday I also found out that…”

Ahmad, who had been watching him, interrupted him and said, “That kind of thinking concerns you and people like you. What you’re saying right now adds no value to people like me, honestly.”

Captain refocused his attention fully on driving.

Ahmad then said, “Anytime I bring up Maryam, you always find a way to get rid of the discussion. Why is that?”

Captain replied, “Okay, you asked me about her flaws, if I’m not mistaken, right?”

Ahmad said, “Yes.”

Captain said, “Then listen now… first of all, she is local. Secondly, she has no qualities that would make you stick with her, dude. Just imagine—she’s only an undergraduate! And worst of all, she isn’t even beautiful enough. There are plenty of big babes in the city you left behind, Abuja. And then… her hygiene is nothing to write home about. I mean, nothing at all. That’s actually my biggest concern.”

Ahmad stared at him in disbelief. At first, he couldn’t say anything. After a while, he asked, “What lack of hygiene have you ever seen in her?”

Captain stole a glance at him and said, “Oh, you’ll see one day.”

Ahmad shook his head and said, “You’re talking nonsense. Maryam has the qualities that I want. I think that’s all that matters. And anyway, when you don’t like something, you’ll never like it—you just keep discouraging people about it.”

Captain nodded and said, “Yeah, that’s true. Please, close the chapter.”

Just as Ahmad was about to speak again, he noticed a woman frying bean cakes (akara/awara) by the roadside. He quickly said, “Captain, please stop for a moment. I want to buy some. I can’t even remember the last time I ate akara—since before I traveled to the UK…”

Captain glanced briefly at the spot where the akara was being fried and sped up the car instead, saying, “God forbid. Just because I came to pick you up from the railway station doesn’t mean you’ll turn us into roadside dwellers along the way…”