Long Division By Chioma Amaechi

Water is life. So why is he withholding it from an entire city? How far will an ambitious water board superintendent go to serve his own interests, even if it means betraying his responsibilities and depriving a community of its most essential resource?

Ibrahim Nagado, the newly appointed Superintendent of the beleaguered Bakowa Water Board, faces a daunting task: restoring water to the parched city of Bakowa. Determined to succeed, he encounters a moral dilemma when his brother-in-law, burdened by debt, pleads with him to delay the water treatment plant's rehabilitation. This delay would allow the brother-in-law's water supply business to flourish and repay his loan.
Torn between two different obligations, Nagado seizes an opportunity presented by a rat infestation in his office. Using the infestation as a pretext, he establishes the ostensibly important Effective Pest Control Commission (EPCC), a bureaucratic behemoth designed to stall the water board's progress. Nagado places his deputy, Babarinsa Aramide, at the helm of the EPCC, and together they orchestrate a charade of activity, all while deliberately hindering the restoration of Bakowa's water supply.

However, their elaborate plan is threatened when Habiba, an EPCC employee, grows tired of the commission's inaction and takes the initiative to eliminate two rats. Infuriated, Babarinsa, under Nagado's instruction, has Habiba arrested. This act of injustice sparks the curiosity of Hamisu, another EPCC employee, who, driven by a sense of justice and the recent loss of his grandmother due to the water crisis, contacts a prominent journalist to expose the truth. When Nagado's charisma proves effective in deflecting accountability, Hamisu takes drastic action, kidnapping Nagado and holding him captive. Hamisu demands a one million Naira ransom and, more importantly, the immediate restoration of Bakowa's water supply in exchange for Nagado's release. Faced with his own mortality, Nagado mobilizes resources to bring the contractors back and expedite the treatment plant's completion.

In the den, a bond forms between captor and captive as Nagado gains respect for Hamisu's unwavering dedication to Bakowa's well-being. Finally, water flows through the taps of Bakowa, and an unsuspecting public hails Nagado as a hero. Honouring his word, Hamisu releases Nagado, leaving him with a final test of character and the profound weight of his choices.