These days, I like to look back on some things that happened while I was growing up, and the way they shaped me.

Like the case of 'The man the man'.
This happened when I was in Junior Secondary School, JSS2, to be more precise.

A man had developed a habit of coming into the girls hostel. I don't know if it was to rape the students or to steal their properties. Maybe he had an ulterior motive, no one knew what it was.

We just knew that sometimes we'd be in the Prep Hall for our night reading classes and someone downstairs would shout, "The man The man is in the hostel." And chaos would ensue. Students running around frantically, trying not be caught by the man. Where to? We didn't know. We just ran.

After it was over, and people confirmed he had left the hostel, we'd return to the hall and try to pick up our books that had fallen and torn, while we were running.

This incident happened more often than not. With time, I took it less seriously. I started to see it as a prank that the senior students played on the rest of the students.
Although, whenever any student announced his presence, I still ran for my dear life. I didn’t want to take chances.

All this happened until he got caught.

That day, I woke up unusually early, had my bath before the other students, dressed up and went to the Chapel where we had our early morning mass.
Immediately, I stepped foot into the Chapel, I heard a stampede happen in the hostel. I figured it was 'the man the man' and I was happy I was safe in the presence of the Lord.

The security men caught him that day.
And he was detained at the police station.
Turns out, he was actually real. A thirty-seven year old man that lived behind the girls hostel who would always jump the fence to enter the hostel premises.

When asked why he did what he did, he was mute. He later begged that it was the devil's handiwork.
They threw him in jail.
I don't know if he's still in there now.