Mojere is doing a Sandwich first-degree program at UNILORIN during the university holidays( while she works with her NCE at Osogbo at other times). Her friend, Fúnmi, visits her in her room and notices she looks depressed after returning earlier than expected from visiting her boyfriend, Atẹ́rẹ́. Mojere defers discussing the issue but insists on travelling to Osogbo for the weekend that very night (with Mama Segun, a fellow student), against Funmi's advice.
At the motor park, there are too many passengers for the available vehicles. Mama Segun manages to get into a vehicle but Mojere doesn't. After walking away a little, a 7-passenger private vehicle picks her up. The vehicle's occupants (the driver, the vehicle owner and Ìyá-àgbà, an elderly woman) refuse to pick any more passengers and later turn out to be kidnappers. She narrowly escapes from the bush into the expressway around Ìdọ̀fìàn in her undies only. Most motorists dodge her until Ọládélé and his friend Ọláwùmí pass by. They pick her up, drive back to Ìdọ̀fìàn to make a police report and then drop her at Osogbo.
Back at the hostel, Mojere narrates her kidnapping ordeal and the cause of her earlier depression to Funmi. A week after Atere has persuaded Mojere to abort her 2-month pregnancy, she visits him unannounced and meets 4-month-pregnant Sìk ẹ́, the woman he wants to marry, living with him. Though he was absent and Mojere waited till his arrival, the women didn't fight each other (maybe because both were in delicate states of health, one pregnant and the other recovering from an abortion). Funmi and Mojere discuss Mojere's nice Christian exes (Johnson and Ebenezer) and some nasty Muslim ones (some of whom were worse than Atere).
Mojere and Oladele start dating and she gets pregnant. When her parents discover the paternity, they (especially her father, Ayinde) fume. Oladele's parents and uncle visit Mojere's father. Even after recognising them as the relatives of the man who rescued Mojere from kidnappers, Ayinde still insists that Mojere should come back home to marry a Muslim after giving birth and handing over the child to Dele. Mojere gives birth to a son , Ibidapo, in Oladele's house. Kebijo, her mother's friend, comes to say that Ayinde is still adamant. Mojere returns home, leaving her child behind, but tells her father she will rather remain single forever in his house than marry any other man. Kolawole, Ayinde's older brother, later arrives and
preaches religious tolerance, citing the Holy Koran. Among other things, he said," Prophet Muhammad said God commands him to believe in Jesus as God's prophet sent to guide mankind... A Christian wife of a Muslim man is allowed to continue practising her religion but the children must follow their father's religion. Please allow Mojere to continue being a Muslim. My brother , please accept God's plan over Mojere's life and pray for her. My son, Rọ́pò, too wants to marry Felicia. Do we want her parents too to object?". Ayinde is won over and consents to the marriage.
Oladele's and Mojere's marriage is done in stages : letter writing between the couple's family heads, introduction, payment of bride price and bringing of traditional marriage gifts, and finally the statutory marriage at a local government secretariat. The registry official informed them that it is bigamy to marry someone else (even if it is under Native Law and Custom) while married under the Act.
During their wedding reception, a woman is caught begging with "twins" by the mother of one of the babies. The beggar explains that she rents babies for her begging business from day-care centres (who normally tell her where not to go, to avoid being seen by the real mothers). She was caught this time and taken away by the police (along with the child's mother and the mother's friends) for further investigations.
After many disappointments, Mojere too has become an "ìyàwó alárédè"(
a woman married under the Act), whose husband must not bring home another wife unless she dies or is divorced.
¤
OTHER CHARACTERS (NOT IN THE FAMILY TREE ABOVE)
FUNMI: Mojere's friend.
OLAWUMI & TUNDE: Oladele's friends.
DEREBA, DIONA , IYA AGBA : kidnappers.
KEBIJO : Mojere's mother's friend and Mojere's confidant.
MAMA SEGUN, OLUSOLA, IYABO, NIYI, ADEYEMO, DEJI, FUNNSO: other university students.
MORIRE: Muslim cleric who prayed at the reception.
ALUFAA OPEYEMI: Christian cleric who prayed at the reception.
BODUNDE: the court official who conducted the registry wedding.
FISAYO: marriage registry secretary.
IFAGBEMI : chairman at the wedding reception.
ADETUTU: chairwoman at the wedding reception.
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