Crude Wars
Jabi District
“Gentlemen, the Igbokoda Deepwater Block 247 is yours. Effective immediately.”
Obinna smiled. So did Sameer. Dr. Yinka Badejo, the petroleum minister, was in high spirits. He leaned in his high back leather chair, a cheerful grin on his face. He adjusted the embroidered cap on his head, a rounded short Fila that matched his navy blue senator outfit.
“This was one of the most exciting bids I have overseen.” He looked from Obinna to Sameer, and then to Garret Harlan, the former Chevron senior geologist Obinna had brought on six months ago.
Garret, tall and weathered with rimless glasses and a faint Texas drawl that captivated the petroleum agency officials than his seismic maps and expertise did, wore a bland, unreadable expression on his face. Flanking Garret were five other directors and three lawyers from Obinna’s company, Oleo Energy.
“You two outbid a consortium with enough money to buy Nigeria.” The minister continued. He gave a garrulous laugh. The room spluttered politely.
Obinna exhaled slowly, allowing himself to feel pride in that moment. It had been six hectic months of sleepless nights and going toe to toe with a consortium of five companies with dollars thick enough to pave the Niger Delta ten times over. He was relieved to see it all come to an end.
“I hear that Sino Energy might contest this,” Sameer said with a small chuckle. He paused, waiting for the minister’s assurance.
The minister waved dismissively.
“Contest what? It was a fair process. You gave sixty five percent Nigerian content from day one.” He counted on well manicured fingers. “Gave subsea engineering training for our local youths and even presented a carbon capture pilot that made Go Green International give the process a positive review.” He gave a short laugh and looked around in incredulity.
“There is nothing to contest here.”
The veneer of righteous indignation was a convenient mask for his own profiteering. Sameer had suggested a quid pro quo after hearing from one of his plants that their rivals had offered the minister a small stake in the asset. He and Obinna had given the minister a better offer – a fat slice of the oil block to a shell company owned by his son in law.
The Minister slid two branded pens across the table, one green, one black towards Obinna and Sameer. “Please sign gentlemen. Let your rivals do whatever they want to do.”
Obinna took the green pen and Sameer, the black. Their signatures landed side by side. Obinna’s bold and sweeping and Sameer’s, precise and elegant, just right beneath the seal of the federal government.
When the final page was stamped, the minister stood and shook their hands.
“Block 247 is now Oleo Energy. First oil in thirty six months. Congratulations gentlemen.“
Fifteen minutes later, Obinna, Sameer, Garret and the others stepped out into the corridor outside the minister’s office together. They met the representatives of Apex Consortium in the air conditioned lobby of the ministry. They stood together like an expensive funeral procession in their uniform charcoal black suits and stared daggers at Obinna and his team as they walked past.
One of the PetroForge executives, Stanley Dagogo sauntered over and hissed through a tight smile, “Just know, this is not over.”
Obinna did not break stride. “It is for you.”
Outside, the Abuja sun had begun to set. Sameer loosened his tie and clapped Obinna’s shoulders.
“Man, I can’t believe we did it. Thanks for suggesting Craven,” he said, referring to the Norwegian subsea technology firm no one else knew they had secured.
It was the final card they had been holding in reserve for months. Their partnership with the company, along with the minister’s venality, the carbon capture at forty percent efficiency from first oil, local youth investment, zero flare guarantee and an independent audit clause that would make every future payment transparent to the Federal Government was the master stroke that had stopped Apex’s nuclear bid of one billion, eight hundred and fifty million dollars in its tracks.
Obinna nodded with a confident smile.
“Nah man, we did this. We stared into the fucking abyss and it blinked first.”
Sameer stood legs akimbo and hands on waist, and looked at Obinna with an almost loving expression.
“What will I do without you?”
Obinna’s grin turned cocky.
“Nothing.”
His phone buzzed right that second and he slid it out of his breast pocket to look down at a text message. His eyes scanned the phone screen until his face softened into a smile. He typed a short response and turned his attention back to his partner.
********************************
Utako
6pm
Faded daylight filtered through the sheer curtains of Angela’s cozy living room, casting a warm, golden glow over Angela and her friends as they lay sprawled across the sofas of her living room.
Angela passed her phone over to Simi who had requested to see the poem she sent to Obinna. Ronke, Chioma and Zainab looked on as Simi began to read.
“You are the source of rivers from which tributaries of passion pour. You are the source of streams flowing through channels of ecstasy. You are subterranean and deep. Meltwater tidal and rippling. Night after night you pull me to the brooks of your propulsion. Yet at daylight, I am parched with thirst. Let me into your deepest parts. Cover me in your silvery depths. Until there is nothing left of me. Let me drown.”
“Wow,” Zainab said, shaking her head.
“That’s a quite lengthy one this time.
“You are so gone.”
Ronke was less enthusiastic.
“A lot of words when you could have just said I like fucking you.”
The group laughed together. Chioma made a face of mock disgust.
“Crude.”
She turned to Rachel. “So what did he say to that?”
Rachel read from her phone this time. The others leaned in, eyes sparkling with anticipation.
“You are wildfire and scorching heat. Oya, slender and defiant. I burn for the blaze in your molten core. Come hither by nine of the clock so that we may make ashes of desire.”
The women exchanged glances when Rachel finished.
“Is it usually like this with the two of you?” Chioma asked, a bemused expression on her face. “Like you guys just go full Shakespeare instead of texting like normal people?”
Rachel grinned. “Normal? Too pedestrian.”
The room exploded with overlapping voices and a dozen questions. The questions were curious and intrusive, and sometimes elicited loud laughter among the women.
“Can I ask you something though? Has your head has gone down south of him?” Chioma asked, elegantly drawn eyebrows wiggling mischievously. “I am asking because you said from the start you wanted to just have a lust fest with this guy.”
Angela’s smile turned guilty. She looked into her drink to avoid the pairs of eyes studying her as a memory popped into her mind.
She had unbuckled his belt with steady fingers and pulled down his zipper. The low groan he released when she wrapped her soft lips around the swollen head of his hardness still echoed in her ears. She had taken her time, savouring him with slow, wet strokes down his length, her tongue swirling around the sensitive ridge, then sliding back up to suck gently on the tip.
Obinna’s hand had slid into her neatly styled braids, not pulling, just holding her there as she worked him deeper. She remembered hollowing her cheeks, relaxing her throat, and taking as much of him as she could until her lips touched the base.
He had watched her through eyes shadowed with desire, his abs clenching and hips fighting the urge to thrust into her warm mouth. She had hummed around him, the vibration making him curse again, and doubled her pace until his thighs trembled and he muttered an expletive.
Rachel’s attention returned to the room again when Chioma called her name.
“Sounds like you have.” She chuckled and continued, this time with a slightly serious expression. “You know, I am glad he is not a hit and quit guy, but have you considered the future?”
She paused to adjust her oval frames.
“This thing you have with him…it might feel sweet now, with all the sex you have going on, but soon reality will set in. I hope you are prepared….and God forbid you fall in love with him.” She paused to shake her head. “His family are big names. They don’t marry small names. You will find yourself in trouble when your heart makes itself at home and meanwhile it’s all just a game to him.”
The room fell into a brief, thoughtful silence. Angela’s smile faltered for a second. She remembered the calls. The ones that rang once or twice and then quickly dropped. The quiet breathing and silence the few times that she picked up. She toyed with the idea of sharing her experience with her friends but changed her mind. Simi cleared her throat, the sound knocking off the weight of Chioma’s words. She flipped her wrist with a dramatic flair and looked down at her Apple watch.
“Anyway, it is seven of the clock.”
Rachel heard the unspoken reminder and gave a stifled laugh. The women returned to more lively chatter after that. They talked well into the evening, only breaking ranks when darkness appeared on the horizon and their phones chimed with calls reminding them of obligations temporarily forgotten in the haze of gossip, laughter and sisterhood.
Then they waved Rachel goodbye and melted into the darkness one after the other, leaving her with the remnants of their laughter and anticipation of the long evening ahead.
*****************************
JAHI
9:30pm
Obinna and Rachel sat facing each other over a handmade walnut chessboard, its warm reddish-brown and creamy white squares framed by intricate geometric inlays of contrasting woods and mother of pearl. Silver pieces gleamed on one side, gold on the other, as their fingers hovered thoughtfully above the finely crafted metal army.
Rachel, wearing a short black dress that clung to her curves, crossed her legs and leaned forward, her brows furrowed in concentration. Obinna leaned back casually with his back against the base of a sofa in a white tshirt and gray sweatpants. His eyes sparkled with quiet confidence as he studied the board between them. The polished wooden base of the chess board with its ornate marquetry and central latch caught the soft light of the light above them, framing their quiet battle.
Rachel moved her bishop forward.
“Your turn,” she said, trying her best to look confident. “I am coming for your king today.”
Obinna smiled and countered smoothly, capturing her bishop with his knight. “Bold, but not bold enough.”
Rachel’s eyes widened in surprise. and then annoyance at herself for missing his knight’s threat. She pushed another piece forward, trying to regain control, but Obinna was already three steps ahead. Within minutes, he had her queen trapped and took it cleanly.
“Queen down,” he announced calmly, a hint of triumph in his voice.
Rachel gasped. “How did I miss that again?”
After a few seconds of studying the board and realizing that the odds were stacked against her, Rachel let her voice drop to a low sultry whisper.
“You know what’s distracting?” she stopped to bat her lashes coquettishly at him, “Watching your hands move those pieces.” She leaned closer, her neckline dipping just enough to draw his eyes. “It brings back…memories.”
Obinna chuckled. “Nice try. Distraction noted, but ineffective.” He slid his rook into position, putting her king in check. “Check.”
Rachel drew back with a playful frustrated huff. “I can’t believe that didn’t work.”
She gathered her thoughts, focused on the game and after a few minutes, made a desperate defensive move. Obinna responded immediately, tightening the noose.
Defeat looming on the horizon, Rachel doubled down on distraction. She shifted her position, letting the hem of her dress ride higher up her thighs, and trailed her bare foot slowly up his leg.
“Imagine what I could do with my mouth if you just… let me win one.”
He looked down at her leg and laughed outright this time.
“You’re adorable when you’re losing and horny. But no mercy, mate in two.”
“That’s it!” Rachel declared, and then swept her arm across the board, sending chess pieces flying in every direction across the carpet. “I am not playing again.”
Before Obinna could react, she crawled forward on all fours, her dress hiking up dangerously, and climbed straight into his lap, straddling his hips with urgent need. She cupped his face with both hands and crashed her lips against his in a fierce, hungry kiss. Obinna’s hands immediately gripped her waist, pulling her closer as their mouths moved together passionately, tongues tangling, breaths mingling hot and fast. She rocked her hips against him, feeling his growing arousal beneath her, and moaned into the kiss.
“Finally,” she whispered breathlessly, her fingers tugging at his t shirt to pull it up. One hand slipped between them, stroking him through his sweatpants while her lips trailed down to his neck, sucking lightly.
Obinna groaned, his palms sliding up her thighs, pushing the dress higher until his fingers brushed the lace of her panties. The heat between them built rapidly, bodies pressing together, grinding with clear intent, the scattered chess pieces forgotten as things quickly headed toward something much more intense than a game.
Just as Rachel reached for the waistband of his pants, ready to free him and take things further, Obinna’s phone started ringing loudly from the coffee table a few inches away.
The screen flashed “Mom.”
He pulled back slightly, forehead resting against hers, breathing hard.
“I have to answer that. She will worry if I don’t pick up.”
Rachel whimpered in frustration, still rocking gently against him, her lips swollen and eyes dark with want. She stole one last deep kiss before reluctantly sliding off his lap.
Obinna grabbed the phone with a groan, his voice husky as he answered.
“Hey, Mom… yes I am home.”
Rachel watched him clear his throat and then turn serious.
“It went well….you are here? Why? Isn’t it kind of late for you to be out?
Ending the call, he slipped the phone into his pocket.
“She is at the gate right now.”
Rachel’s stomach knotted with tension as she plopped herself on the nearest sofa and smoothed her dress. She had not imagined that she would be meeting his family so soon. She willed herself to stay calm as Obinna walked out of the living room, returning a few minutes with his mother.
Rachel stood up as her eyes locked with the older woman immediately she crossed the living room with an unhurried pace, her navy silk kaftan flowing gracefully around her like a bird’s wings. Obinna followed closely behind, a reassuring smile on his face for Rachel.
“Good evening Ma,” Rachel said, dipping her head respectfully. “It’s nice to meet you.”
The woman paused right before Rachel and then turned to her son.
“Oh, when you said you had company, I thought it was…”
Obinna cut her off before she could complete the sentence.
“Mum, this is Rachel. Rachel, my mother.”
“Rachel,” she repeated, as if tasting the name. “Where are you from?”
“Bayelsa, Ma,” Rachel replied, keeping her tone warm despite the sudden drop in temperature in the room.
“Hmm.” The woman’s smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. “I see.”
Obinna cleared his throat. “Mum, can we talk in the kitchen for a moment?”
The older woman gave Rachel one last appraising look before nodding gracefully.
“Of course, darling.”
As they disappeared into the kitchen, their voices became a low murmur. Rachel lowered herself back onto the sofa, suddenly very aware of how alone she felt in the spacious living room.
She could hear fragments of the conversation drifting out.
“….onye a, ebe ka o si puta? Ehn Obinna? And at this hour too. Is she sleeping over?….I thought you and Mina have started talking again.”
“Mum, can you not?”
“Can I not what, dear?”
Rachel heard the quiet click of the kitchen door and closed her eyes. Reality had come sooner than expected.
Obinna and his mother emerged a few minutes later. The woman walked past Rachel this time, sending her a curt goodbye nod.
“Goodbye Ma,” Rachel said, receiving only an upturned nose and an averted gaze in return. Obinna shut door behind his mother and settled onto the sofa across from Rachel.
“Hey, everything okay?”
Rachel slowly exhaled and looked at the chess pieces still strewn across the carpet.
“I am not sure. That was awkward.”
“Yes it was. Sorry about that.”
Rachel reached for her bag.
“I have to go.”
Obinna watched her, his gaze penetrating.
“Sure you don’t want to spend the night?”
Rachel shook her head, resisting every cell in her body that screamed at her to say yes. They sat in heavy silence for a few minutes, his gaze fixed intently on her while she stared down at the chess pieces at her feet. Eventually, he walked her to her car. Surrounded by the light evening breeze, she yielded to a passionate kiss he initiated, melting into him as his hands found the small of her back, pulling her closer. The world around them blurred into a soft haze and she felt her resistance start to crumble.
“Stay,” he ground out into her ears. Her knees growing weak with desire, she began to change her mind, but just then, the vision of his mother’s disapproving stare flashed in her mind and forced her back to reality.
Summoning all of her willpower, she shook her head no and got into her car.
“Congrats on the deal again. I will call you as soon as I get home,” she said just before she drove through the automated gates of his house as he stood watching her, hands in his slacks.
Back home, she collapsed into her bed without taking her clothes off. She opened WhatsApp and tapped into the group ‘Sisters and Secrets.”
Anyone awake? I think I am in trouble.
© Umari Ayim
2026