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NIGHTMARES IN THE MOUNTAINS
Chapter Four — The Monster
When I was a child, I thought as a child, spoke as a child, and behaved as a child; but then I grew up, and now I’m a monster!
Christmas 1984. In the Plateau regions of Nigeria — the Jos plateau and the Mambila Plateau — the end of the year comes with such biting cold, that people always wondered why it never snowed. From mid- to late October, temperatures would begin to drop steadily, getting to the lowest between the last weeks of December and the first two weeks of January.
The Jos plateau was known to be a calm place where easy-going people could carry on their characteristically peaceful lives away from the hustle and bustle of some bigger and more densely populated towns or cities. It was also popular amongst foreign tourists — mostly because of its climate. These were some of the major reasons for which uncle Maxwell chose to settle there after the war.
The mid-eighties saw some of the lowest year-end temperatures the Plateau had experienced in a long time. So, when our family reunion was re-scheduled from summer to Christmas time, the general consensus amongst the parents was that it would be too risky for anyone to go hiking in the mountains because the temperatures up there would be life-threatening.
