Greetings!
During the rainy season last year, we encountered a very challenging situation in the compound. The soakaway, which is quite small, got full due to the excess water in the ground. The water table in the area where I live is very low, such that whenever it rains, the land easily gets flooded due to the absorbent nature of the soil. As a result, the soakaway had a small leak at the top, and feces began seeping out.
When we called the landlord, who lives in Lagos, he beat around the bush and, in the end, boldly stated that we, the tenants, should fix it ourselves. That statement hit me hard, and I got very angry because we were paying rent, and he was supposed to handle such issues. However, he turned a deaf ear to our complaints and frustrations. Since we were the ones living there and suffering from the issue, we eventually decided to handle it ourselves. We taxed ourselves to contribute a sum of money for the repair. But, as the economy would have it, the process of gathering the money was slow, and none of the other tenants were able to contribute before the dry season arrived. The excess water in the soakaway dried up, so we no longer saw the need to continue with the project. We left the issue for the landlord to address whenever he came for Christmas.
This year:
Throughout the dry season of this year, we were not disturbed by the soakaway. However, as soon as the rainy season began, the first heavy rains filled the soakaway again, and once more, feces started to come out. Fortunately, the landlord visited during that season because he came for a burial, but he couldn’t stay in his room because it was very close to the soakaway.
When I approached him for a one-on-one discussion, he was bold enough to tell me once again that we should fix it ourselves since we were the ones using it. Up until that day, I don’t recall speaking harshly to an elder, but I was so angry that I had to speak bluntly, explaining life to him as though he were a child just learning the basics. He didn’t take kindly to it, and he responded harshly in turn. We ended up having a heated argument.
The man is educated and knows the simple basics of life when it comes to being a landlord and maintaining his property. But for some reason, he wasn’t seeing it that way. Instead, he pushed the responsibility onto us, simply because he viewed us, the tenants, as young and inexperienced.
He had the nerve to act this way because none of us owed him any rent...if we were owing him...
We even suggested that if we handled the repairs ourselves, he should deduct the cost from our next rent, but he adamantly refused.
Well, we are the ones living in the compound, the ones experiencing the inconvenience. So, once again, we decided to sacrificially address the issue by contributing money. However, just like last year, the process of collecting contributions has been slow, and the soakaway has dried up again due to the dry season. Our plan now is to survive in the compound until our rent expires next year, after which we plan to move out without fixing it.
Gosh! Some landlords can be so inconsiderate in life. Wtf!
Thanks for reading.
