Jaggy, Richie and other boys in the hood | Femi Ladapo

Jaggy is very smart. He cuts the look of a gangster or Mafioso. He talks tough. He also talks smooth depending on what’s gwan and for what purpose. He talks himself into trouble so many times and out of trouble as many times. He has a reputation for snatching things and setting traps. He is never afraid to gore anybody’s ox that blocks his way. He is not really popular among guys. They say he’s not really good at flexing or doling. Funny enough he has had his way a number of times. He has also lost out a couple of times.

Richie his friend, (or are they friends, contemporaries maybe) is quite different. He has this cool mien that easily makes people underestimate him, albeit at their own peril. He throws around money to guys, so he attracts them like flies to rotten meat. He is a flexer. He speaks sparingly and even stutters. But that doesn’t mean he is chicken. Inside that pulp is a hard nut. Unlike Jaggy he does not have the grit to snatch things. He makes up for this with con and deception. His dexterity can make a snake and a chicken co-roost. Like his friend he has tasted failure and success. He runs things in the hood this week.

Now guys in the hood are wondering, the next person that’s gonna run things in the hood the following week.

Jaggy?
or
Richie?

Or some other guys in the hood?

We’ve got them a-plenty. The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.
All sizes and shapes.
All kinds of background
Various and varying antecedents

We’ve got dogs
We’ve got lions
We’ve got Serpents
We’ve got Eagles
We’ve got doves
We even have chickens pecking on the side quietly wishing a miracle will shine light their way

“Oh that next week will come quick”, some will say.
“Let this week be and the next tarry a little” others wish.

But for me I say let it come, QUE SERA SERA