Quarrel/Dispute Stories & Experiences

Something happened some nights ago in our compound, a fight between two roommates, Calista and Juliet. Juliet is the oldest, a 400 level student, while Calista is a 200 level student. They have been living together for some months, during which time I noticed that they don't get along very well, they are two different human beings who behave very differently. Juliet is a calm and straightforward person, while Calista will even trade her lectures for clubbing.

Though they are roommates, Calista's boyfriend do visit them in their room and stays till midnight, making Juliet very uncomfortable in the house, especially if she wants to change up or take her bath. Calista refused to heed to any advise or warning of letting her boyfriend visit her and stay that late till night, she will even insult Juliet in the process. Anything that Juliet objects that is not good, Calista will cease the opportunity to insult her.

There was a day I overheard Calista telling her friends that she will do anything she wants, and that Juliet can't do anything to her, and that even if she tries, she will fight her back. I laughed silently, knowing very well, that physically, Juliet will literally crush Calista like a bug. So many other incidents where Calista took advantage of Juliet's quietness and softness piled up till it was filled up some nights back. I always suspected that a physical fight is likely to happen between the two.

They use the same gas cylinder, and often contribute money equally to fill it. And Calista is a type of human being that baths hot water in the morning, afternoon and evening, she says she can't bath cold water. Juliet was not happy with it, she saw it as a waste of gas and tried to advise Calista to instead try and put the water under the sun. It was a complain that every human being jointly filling gas would do.

As usual, Calista replied with insults and dared Juliet to the face that she can't do anything about it. I'll say that her words provoked Juliet and there was a retaliation. Juliet got tired from all the piled up insults and landed Calista a slap, of which beatings followed after. They literally scattered everything inside their room, as Calista tried to fight back. This was around 11 pm and the neighbors came out to separate them, and see how it could be settled that night.

The two of them were so enraged that they still wanted to get back at each other and continue the fight, Calista knew she can't beat Juliet, but didn't want to feel like a weakling, so she refused to give up. Juliet that has always been known to be gentle and quiet was now looking violent and wild, all because she was pushed too much by her room mate. At least Calista learnt her lesson that Juliet isn't a weakling, she just doesn't like problems. We were outside till 2 am, trying to settle the issue, but it didn't work. They had to sleep in different rooms for that night. Calista has changed in a good way because of that incident, even though they were fined for fighting, but the fight had to come so somebody can learn.

Most times, I wonder about how women behave and the complexities of their attitudes. I had gone to a particular cyber café to have my work printed, and I noticed a girl staring at me. She held her gaze for almost ten straight minutes, and I wouldn’t react; I wouldn’t even look her in the eye. I felt unsettled by how someone—a grown, disciplined person—could stare for that long.

I tried to ignore her until she raised her hands and, honestly, it wasn’t anything important that warranted annoyance. Yet, she became irritated with me and started raising her voice. It was as if she was trying hard to get my attention, but I still didn’t acknowledge her. I finished what I needed to do and left immediately without even looking back. Some girls can be very deceptive.

Even aside from this, I often pray for the ability to understand the complex behaviors of girls. Many times, my female friends can become upset over the slightest things, yet they won’t talk about it. I know these issues need to be addressed, but since I lack the skills to interpret their subtle cues and body language, I find it difficult to grasp what's really going on

I found myself completely engrossed in house chores and didn’t even have a moment to grab my phone or check it until around 1 p.m. Finally, when I picked it up, I was eager to catch up on recent messages from classmates, friends, or family. To my surprise, I saw a long text from someone I thought was my friend.

I opened it, only to find her expressing disappointment and accusing me of gossiping about her. I was taken aback because I hadn’t said anything about her. She had jumped to conclusions without talking to me first. I wanted to explain myself, but something held me back. Why should I be the one to explain when she didn’t give me a chance to clarify? In her frustration, she blocked me on WhatsApp, leaving me feeling helpless and wanting to call her right away.

After giving it some thought, I decided not to call her or disturb her about what happened. Interestingly, we ended up crossing paths today. We both acted like strangers, which seemed to be what she wanted. She looked cute and almost as if she expected me to say something first, but I held back.

I couldn’t shake the feeling of disappointment, not just for her actions but for how she chose to believe gossip instead of coming to me for clarification. It’s frustrating how sometimes friendships can become complicated by misunderstandings and third-party opinions. Despite all the ups and downs, we continuously push through and make new friends along the way.

Maybe, if she can come back, apologize, and really listen to my side of the story, we might find a way to mend things and become friends again. For now, though, it feels better to keep things as they are and give it some time.

This morning’s exam was nothing short of chaos. The lecturer in charge wasn’t from our department, and we’d already heard he had a tough character. Before he arrived, our department’s staff had done a good job arranging the seats and briefing us. Everyone was ready to begin when he finally walked in, and that’s when the drama started.

He got into a heated argument with the other lecturers, claiming we weren’t supposed to take the exam. For several minutes, we just sat there, watching them exchange words. Finally, he handed over the envelope with the question papers, but not without a condition, he announced that we must sit one person per seat. His instruction immediately messed up the seating arrangement, and students were moving around trying to figure out where to sit.

Frustrated with the confusion, the man completely lost his cool. He grabbed the question papers, stormed out of the hall, and left us all in shock. Some of us laughed while others were just confused.

After what felt like forever, he returned. He looked calmer and began distributing the question papers without saying much. We finally got to write the exam.

Early in the morning, I set up my table where I could enjoy the view of the sunrise while reading. For about four hours, I was completely engaged in my books, feeling productive and at peace. Everything seemed to be going smoothly until an unexpected incident ruined the mood.

At the far end of the compound, there are always small boys playing around. I don’t know what got into them, but suddenly, I heard a loud thud on my table. A stone had flown over the fence and smashed right into my lamp, shattering the LED lights. I was annoyed, staring at the broken pieces.

I tried to turn the lamp on, hoping it would still work, but all my efforts were in vain. Frustrated, I rushed outside to find the culprits, but the boys were long gone, probably laughing and hiding somewhere. I stood there for a moment, angry that I couldn’t catch them, but there wasn’t much I could do.

When I returned to my seat, I realized just how lucky they were. The stone had narrowly missed my phone, which was sitting right next to the lamp. If it had been my phone, I’m not sure I’d have been able to stay as calm. The boys got lucky this time, but they’ll hear from me the next time I catch them playing their careless games.

How can someone who is clueless about a thing continue to argue like he knows anything about it? This guy was actually very clueless about the point I was making, yet he continued to rival my points and facts with his ignorance. I wanted to give him some advice about building an online community, but he was trying to make a point where there isnt.

I'm already running my community, and it's going quite well, I can say. In the heat of the conversation, I wanted to offer him tips on how to build his own community for free, but he wouldn't let me. His mouth was rattling like a snake, and he talked too much for a man. He was countering my facts with invalid points and absurdities, which got me pissed, and I thought to myself, isn't it better to keep to myself?

Then, as I reflected on the situation, I realized that I was at fault and that I shouldn't even be talking publicly about these points—usually very valid points and credible information that are hidden and not just supplied easily to the mass. This guy was a stranger to me; we just lived in the same compound. I had come out to take some fresh air, and then he also came around, leading to our conversation. As he wouldn't agree with my points, I decided to keep quiet and admit that I was wrong.

I'm usually a very quiet person, a calm person, and everyone around me knew this. But today, something happened in our WhatsApp group that completely changed the atmosphere. Someone posted that we had to pay an extra 3,000 Naira after we had already paid 5,000 Naira for the month's NEPA bills. Electricity bills shouldn’t consume our salaries, but it seemed like this latest charge was digging far deeper into our pockets than we had anticipated.

When I saw the message from our gatekeeper, it ignited a frustrated fire within me that I hadn’t experienced before. I quickly vented out my feelings and told him that we weren't going to pay anything more. I knew I sounded a little rough, but I didn’t intend to be rude. However, to my surprise, he responded with a very rude text that I did not take lightly.

After he responded very rudely to my text, I didn’t relent. I vented out all the errors he had been dismissing in the group chat and pointed out his nonchalant attitude. I highlighted how untrustworthy he had become, expressing my disappointment that he could just come in and drop a critical message, treating us as though we were fools easily just followed his instructions, no matter how ridiculous they were.

To my surprise, many members of the group rallied behind me, expressing their frustrations too. The atmosphere became charged with a sense of unity as we all voiced our discontent. Later this evening, he sent me a direct message, apologizing for his earlier response. But deep down, I felt that the right approach would have been for him to address the entire group.

My morning began with my alarm ringing loudly directly into my ear. I had placed my phone close to my pillow to ensure I wouldn't sleep on for an extra seconds once my alarm rang.
We had a 7:30 AM test, and while I'd studied hard, the early time and long walk to school worried me.
I started my preparation, I rushed, only to have my white shirt get stuck on the door and tear across my stomach as I ran downstairs. I couldn't afford the time to change. After my shirt got torn, I considered going back to my room, but decided against it. I thought it was wiser to be in school with my torn shirt than being late for the test.

I arrived in class, seated and waiting. The teacher didn't show up until about an hour later. After we took the test, I endured mockery from classmates who'd seen the tear in my shirt, joking that I was "
fresh and hadn't studied. But what bothered me most wasn't their teasing; it was the teacher's blatant disregard for our time. The man who was supposed to set the test arriving an hour late had betrayed my trust and my carefully laid plans. I was furious about it and wished I had thd power to confront the adult.

Carefully, I had settled in the back seat at my favourite position right next to the tricycle's door.
It was another exhaustive day at Old Site, UNTH. A class that began 4hrs later after the scheduled time.

"I was finally going home to rest" I thought to myself, letting a smile steal a chance on on my face.
My two close friends took the space at my left and was relieved as the tricycle jolted into noise as the engine rammed into action.

Suddenly, a tough haggard man emerged from nowhere and seized the control. While the driver was struggling to keep the motor on track, the tough looking arm was aiming for the ignition key.
We watched in despair as the drama lingered on.

The agbero was not ready to explain why he was doing what he was doing, he only muffled out some words similar to "your keke does not have a ticket on it" and struggled more for the key while the muscular driver countered his aims.
We thought they'll soon have it sorted in no time, but none of them was giving in.
The driver on the other hand was acting more fierce than before and threatening the intruder to release the control or he would run him over.

We were still on our toes though seated on the back seat witnessing the two men drag on.
I wasn't willing to leave the tricycle and await another to come along under the hot son, but the a voice spoke to me - "my son, leave!" Like a spark, I saw myself jump out of the tricycle.

Just as my legs touched the ground, the driver propelled his tricycle forward with the throttle drawn up to max.
He almost ran into a moving truck!

Funny enough, I saw my friends already outside the vehicle when I came out, how they did it, I didn't want to know, what mattered was our safety.
Na so the driver for use our lives play but I thank God for his protection.

Today, I was just returning from my aunt's place when I caught sight of some clothes. There were three pairs of shorts, and they looked very attractive.

I approached the seller and bargained with him. The seller didn't seem to be very accommodating because I offered him a fair price. I priced the shorts at 3,000 Naira, while he wanted to sell them for 3,500 Naira. But I wasn't looking to buy just a single pair; I wanted to buy all three.

At a reasonable price, he could have made a sale. Let's not even say 3,000 Naira. If he had lowered the price for each pair from 3,500 Naira to 3,200 Naira, I would have considered it. But he didn't agree to any other amount, so I walked away and went home. I wasn't feeling sad about it because after walked a distance, he called me back but my ego wouldn't let me turn back.

As a fashion designer, I have a straightforward policy: pay an advance before I start, then complete payment once the work is done. But this one customer decided to test my patience. She wanted to make Ankara dresses for herself and her two daughters, but instead of paying the agreed advance, she paid less. Since it was her first time, I decided to let it slide, hoping to build trust.

After putting in the work and finishing the dresses, she completed only the advance payment and asked to take them home, promising she’d settle the rest within a week. I let her take them, trusting she’d keep her word. But two weeks passed, and I didn’t hear anything. I messaged her politely about the balance, and she just ignored me. Eventually, I called, and she simply said, “I’ll pay soon.”

Months went by, two to be exact, and I hadn’t received a thing. Then, on Sunday, I saw her with her husband at an event. We didn’t exchange greetings, I just kept my distance and didn’t bring it up.

Surprisingly, when I got home that evening, I received a payment alert from her husband. Maybe she got worried when I didn’t acknowledge her at the event, or perhaps her husband took things into his own hands. Either way, thank God the payment finally came through.

Today, I had a meeting with my colleague that lasted about three hours. Once we wrapped up, I boarded a Keke and headed straight to the market. I needed to buy some clothes and a new pair of shoes. It wasn’t easy bargaining with the sellers, but after some time, I finally got what I needed.

After shopping, I thought about getting some fruits to eat when I got home, just to hold my stomach until dinner. As I was walking through the market, I passed by a fruit seller arguing with a woman who was trying to buy oranges. The buyer was upset, accusing the seller of cheating people with her prices. The seller, in frustration, told the buyer to go elsewhere if she didn’t like the price.

The argument got heated, so I decided to step in and calm things down. I even offered to pay for the oranges, just so they could settle the issue and move on. But the woman wasn’t listening, she was more focused on insulting the seller than anything else.

A small crowd began to gather around them, but I couldn’t stay longer to see how it all ended. I got a call from home and had to leave, feeling a bit frustrated that I couldn't resolve the situation.
How much better things could go if people were just willing to listen to reason. But sometimes, no matter what you do, some people just want to argue.

It's been very long I witnessed a physical fight, like a year or two.
During the early hours of the morning I started hearing some shouts and screaming from close.

I quickly wore my clothes, I open my door and then I headed to find out where the noises and sounds were coming from.

It was my neighbors they were two living in the same room.
And when I opened the door, they where both standing up in Anger struggling and fighting over the bed.

Staring at the scene then, I was trying so hard to understand what the dispute was all about but the more I looked at the two, the more I enjoyed the movie.

Yes, I should have made efforts to separate them but they already had enough company inside trying to separate them.

One was fleshy while the other one was what we called slim feet. I watched as the fleshy one throw a slap first, Then the slim one staggered back and then with a frightening speed dived and pinned the heavy one on the floor. At that point the people who were already inside finally separated them and ended my movie.

It’s been a long and frustrating week. My group and I scheduled four meetings with our project supervisor, hoping to get some guidance and direction on our project. But unfortunately, out of all those meetings, not once did he show up. We had heard rumors that he wasn’t capable of handling the group, but I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. However, after this week, it’s clear that the situation is even worse than I imagined.

Every time we scheduled a meeting, he came up with a different excuse to cancel or not attend. From “family emergencies” to being “stuck in traffic,” the excuses never seemed to end. It’s almost as if he was avoiding us entirely. We’ve been left hanging multiple times now, and it’s starting to feel like he doesn’t take his responsibilities seriously. Our project is important to us, and we need someone we can rely on, but sadly, he hasn’t shown us that he’s willing or capable of helping.

Today was the final try. Despite the heavy rain, I made my way to the meeting location, hoping that this time, he would show up. I stood there soaked, waiting for him, but once again, he was a no-show. It’s incredibly disappointing to see this kind of behavior from someone who is supposed to guide and support us. I’m not one to easily complain, but this level of irresponsibility can’t be ignored any longer.

I’ve spoken to the other group members, and we all agree that we’ve had enough. We can’t keep wasting our time chasing after someone who isn’t willing to do his job. Our project is suffering because of his lack of commitment, and at this point, we need to take action. We deserve better, and we need a supervisor who will actually show up and help us succeed.

As a result, I’ve decided to write a formal letter to the department to report this situation. It’s not something I wanted to do, but we’ve been left with no choice. Our supervisor’s behavior is unacceptable, and we need the department to address this issue before it’s too late for our project. We’ve worked too hard to let someone else’s irresponsibility drag us down.

One Saturday morning, I woke up to see that in our University level Whatsapp group, a test was announced the previous night by our class representative, to be held that Saturday morning. I was really disturbed, Saturday was the only day I had the chance to be at home and do some clean ups, including having some good rest to relief the stress during the week. Our class representative announced the test to be by 12 pm, and also announced a football competition between our level and another level to also be by 12 pm. We chatted him up and even placed calls to find out how the two activities will be possible at the same time, but he snubbed our messages and calls.

I took my bath with a warm water because I wasn't feeling too well, I left my house by 11 am and started trekking to school since I didn't have any money on me to pay my way there, I wanted to borrow the transport fare from my neighbor, but I just gave up on the idea. Just when I left my house, rain started falling, I couldn't wait for the rain to stop, I still had a long distance to cover before I get to school, and I was running out of time. The luck I had was that the rain wasn't heavy, but it was enough to get my clothes very wet and I was shaking from the cold, coupled with the fact that I wasn't feeling too well. I knew that the lecturer is very strict and lateness won't be tolerated, didn't want to jeopardize my chance to write the test, so I had to keep moving.

I arrived at school about few minutes to 12 pm, and I met only three of my colleagues at the hall, out of 85 students in my level. The Class Representative wasn't there and the lecturer wasn't there too, we waited patiently and about four of our colleagues came to join us. I saw some of my coursemates for the first time this semester, they came to school because they heard about the test, they have never been to any class since resumption and this was just three weeks to exams. The turnup was so poor that we began to believe that the test won't hold, and some of them that don't come to classes started expressing how sad and angry they will be if the test doesn't hold. Some of them came from far distance and their transport fare was much, some were business guys and some were working, maybe that's why they don't come to classes.

It was almost 1 pm, the rain stopped and neither the class representative nor the lecture came, we decided to check the WhatsApp group and realized that the test was a prank by the class representative, he wanted to bring us to school so that we will watch the football match between our level boys who have been training for weeks and another level, since we don't like coming out for extra curriculum activities. The class representative posted in the WhatsApp group that we should come to the school stadium, that he is there, we were very annoyed because of the sacrifices we made to be there, my coursemates started abusing and insulting the class representative in the WhatsApp group. Some people went home from there, and some went to stadium, I went to the stadium and told the class representative that such a prank is not good, it was a Saturday and we had plans for that day, others spoke to him and he kept mute.

They played the match and lost by 4 - 0 to the opponent, this is when the course representative was enraged and decided to reply the people that abused him earlier, they exchanged insults and even went as far as abusing somebody's father. The course representative angrily suspended extra curriculum activities in our level since we don't like participating fully in them, it wasn't our fault, the activity for the semester is overloaded and we are rarely chanced. The Course representative made a lot of enemies within our level that day, he refused to admit that the prank was very expensive, people wasted transport fare, time, and even risked their health to be there. My coursemates demanded an apology from him, but he refused to apologize. I didn't really say anything about it, we don't participate in those activities because of the distance to school, time and complex academic activities, and he should have thought it through before making such a prank.

It was another chemistry practical day in the laboratory with my colleagues, with the lecturer addressing us on how to go about the practical in a simple way, at first we were nervous because it was our first time to carry out that particular experiment, but then the lecturer explained everything in details, till I understand how to carry-on the experiment without any further assistance.

The lecturer divided us into eight groups and I happened to be in group two, he then appointed one person from each group as the group leader, and I was among the people he appointed. The experiment was to be conducted per group, and as group leaders, we were asked to meet the laboratory assistant who is a woman in her 60s, sign and get the apparatus we are to use for the practical, which we did. The rule was that the apparatus must be returned complete, and in good condition, otherwise the group will pay for any damage or loss.

We started the experiment without any further waste of time since we had just two hours to make sure we finish the experiment and make our reports, I understand how to go about the experiment as the group leader, so I was leading. All of a sudden, one of the apparatus (a conical flask) we were using for the experiment went missing, I was terribly scared because I knew if we couldn't find it, that would mean that we will pay for it. And then I saw my colleague that is in another group with two conical flasks, I approached him and told him about the missing conical flask on our table and asked how he managed to be in possession of two conical flasks when we were assigned only one.

He told me that he went back to the laboratory assistant to get another conical flask, I doubted it and told him that I will go to the laboratory assistant and find out if he is telling the truth, he told me to go and ask. I went straight to the Lab assistant and she told me that we are to use the one conical flask she assigned to us for all the experiments, I wanted to be sure so I asked if she had given any of us a conical flask just few minutes ago, and she said she didn't. I was enraged, went back to the guy and asked why he lied to me, he couldn't say a word, I yelled at him why he would have the intention of jeopardizing this practical for me and trying to put my group into problem. He knew that any loss or damage of any of the apparatus will be paid for by the group, and he still didn't care about the penalty we would face. I was really angry, my tone was so high that my fellow colleagues starting pleading that I should calm down, the guy couldn't say a word, his lie had been exposed, I took the conical flask and return to my group's table.

It took me sometime to bring back my concentration in the experiment, as I kept wondering such level of wickedness the guy displayed, he obviously thought that I won't be able to meet the laboratory assistant and ask about the conical flask. I used to hear some of our colleagues saying bad things about the guy, and I was never closed to the guy before, but on that day, the guy had proven the things I had been hearing about him to be true, he didn't even apologize. He had put himself in a situation where his heart will skip anything he sets his eye on me till we graduate and I don't think I will ever have anything to do with him, not to talk of recommendation, some people are just naturally wicked and are to be avoided at all cost.

There was a little boy named Leo who was shy. He had just moved to a new town with his parents. It was his first day at a new school, and he was feeling nervous.

At school, there was a bully named Felix. He was big and noisy, making fun of kids to feel strong. During break perious when Leo went to the the canteen , Felix spotted him right away. “Hey, new kid! What are you doing here? You lost?” he yelled.

Leo felt scared and looked down staring at the floor. “No, I’m just getting lunch,” he said quietly.

Felix laughed and pushed Leo’s lunch tray onto the floor, making a mess. “You should go back to where you came from!” Felix shouted.

Leo felt upset but promised himself that he wouldn’t let Felix keep bullying him. That afternoon, while walking home, Leo noticed that Felix took the same shortcut near his house. An idea popped into his head.

The next day, Leo had a plan. He had a young dog who was very loyal. The dog understood a limited Number of instructions.

The next day, Leo watched from his window as Felix walked down the path, laughing with his friends. Leo felt excited and a little nervous.

When Felix got close to the trap, Leo whispered to his dog wagged his tail, ready to help. As Felix stepped over the rope, he tripped and fell flat on the ground!

Before Felix could get up, the young jumped forward, barking loudly. Felix’s eyes grew wide as the little dog ran toward him.

“Get it off! Get it off!” Felix yelled, backing away from the young dog, who just wanted to play.

Leo laughed and shouted, “You think you’re tough? Try dealing with my dog then"

Felix, who was once the bully, was now scared and running away from a small dog.

After a while, Felix managed to run off, looking embarrassed. Leo called after him and laughed his intestines out..
In school the next day, the bully kept his distance from Leo.

When I was still a little girl of 8, I had a friend who was a daughter to a neighbour living in thesame flat with us. We were often seen together both in the compound and outside the compound.

During one occasion when we were playing hide and seek in one of the peaceful street nearby, a grown up girl came and confronted us for nothing, she bullied us and we planned revenge even though we were little.
The day after, we eavesdrop were she lived and heard her aunt send her on an errand, so quickly we kept banana peels on the stairs, it was just 3 steps away from the ground to avoid her having any serious injury.

To our amazement, she stepped on it and slipped, landing with her buttocks. It was a loud thud accompanied by her short scream, her eyes was reddened and we felt pity.
We came out of hiding and helped her up, she thanked us in sorrowful voice while we muffled up our laughters.

We were friends after that day and she treated us very nicely with the conception that we helped her while she was down.

In the beginning, when the universe was young, the Sun and the Moon decided to compete for dominion over the Earth. The Sun, being majestic and powerful, claimed that as the first sun to illuminate the universe, it should naturally reign over Earth. But the Moon, with its serene and enigmatic nature, was stubborn in its desire to rule alongside the Sun.

The Moon, unable to accept defeat, sent its stars as assassins to eliminate the Sun. However, the Sun, with its fiery strength, prevailed and with the help of courageous humans, thwarted the Moon's treacherous plan.

Enraged by the Moon's deceit, the universe decreed that the Moon and its accomplices would be imprisoned in a dark, remote tunnel, only permitted to take a fleeting glimpse outside on certain nights before being returned to their lightless confinement.

Thus, the Sun became the unwavering ruler of the day, providing warmth, energy, and life to Earth. The Moon, confined to its nocturnal prison, would only cast its silvery glow when the time was right, silently watching over the world as a reminder of the consequences of defiance.

And so, the Sun and the Moon continue their timeless dance, each taking their turn to illuminate the world, a testament to the enduring balance of power and the consequences of challenging the natural order.

The air in "Sam Soap's Viewing Centre" in Makurdi vibrated long after the final whistle blew on Man United and Spurs. Sweat stuck to foreheads, clenched fists hung stiffly in the air, and the stale smoke of cigarettes and frustration lingered. The match, a rollercoaster of missed chances and equalising goals, had left its mark.

Philip, draped in his United jersey, eyes as red as the club's colours, stamped on the dusty floor. "Rashford! How? How he miss that, ehn?!" His voice, booming across the room, silenced the groans from the Spurs supporters huddled in the corner.

Agada, decked in Tottenham white, his nose wrinkled in annoyance, retorted, "You talk as if United did anything all game! Bentancur's rocket was pure fire, eh!"

And so it began, the familiar dance of banter turning into a heated debate. Statistics were thrown around like verbal grenades, refereeing decisions dissected with venomous precision, players' mothers dragged into the fray. Philip's voice grew hoarse, Agada's face contorted with righteous fury. The screen, once displaying the Premier League logo, seemed to shrink in the face of their animosity.

Across the room, Madam Cash, wiping down sticky tables with a sigh, watched the scene unfold. She'd seen it countless times before – friendships strained, tempers flaring, all over a ball kicked around by millionaires in faraway stadiums.

It wasn't the passion that bothered her, Madam Cash loved football herself. It was the blindness, the inability to see past club colours and into the shared humanity on the other side. Here, in her dimly lit viewing centre, the lines between United and Spurs, Liverpool and Chelsea, faded away. They were all Makurdi boys, struggling with the same tough times, hustling for the same Naira, laughing at the same jokes.

Finally, Madam Cash had enough. "Enough!" she boomed, her voice a clap of thunder in the smoky air. Both Philip and Agada looked at her, startled. "This game is over, but your lives go on," she continued, her gaze sweeping across the room. "Is a goal worth losing a friend, a neighbour? This football, it should bring us together, not tear us apart."

Her words hung in the air, heavy with truth. Philip shuffled his feet, shamefaced. Agada offered a hesitant smile. Slowly, the tension subsided, replaced by a grudging respect.

Later, as the crowd thinned, Philip approached Madam Cash. "She was a beauty, that Bentancur shot," he admitted, a sheepish grin on his face. Agada chuckled and slapped him on the back. "Don't tell your boys that, eh?"

That night, in Sam Soap's Viewing Centre, the football didn't disappear. But amidst the cheers and banter, a new understanding flickered. They were still fans, still passionate, but they were also neighbours, friends, Makurdi boys sharing a love for the beautiful game. And maybe, just maybe, that love was bigger than any rivalry.

Because in the end, it wasn't about who won or lost on the pitch. It was about who we were off it. And on a dusty Sunday night in Makurdi, Madam Cash reminded them and infact all of us, that sometimes, the most important match happens not on the green field, but right here, in the shared space of our lives.

Honestly, I use to argue a lot about football but yesterday's experience has changed that side of me. For good I guess.