Aso Rock. Cold, rainy September morning. Thunder rolls.

The kind that warns the world something is about to change.

The Chief of Staff hurries into the President’s office.

Chief of Staff: Good morning, Sir. Mr President… we just received a call from Sheik Gunnumi. He says he’s met with the bandits who invaded Agotha Children’s School yesterday.

They’re ready to release all the children unharmed and want to negotiate… Sir, he’s on the phone. The Army Chief advises you speak with him.

President BAT stands by the window, eyes fixed on the distant Abuja hills.

Chief of Staff:

Sir? What do I tell him?

BAT:

Kíló dé? Bring me the phone joor.

He picks the call.

Phone Call Begins

BAT:

Hello?

Sheik Gunnumi:

Good morning, Sir. We have made amazing progress in the peaceful release of the children, Alhamdulillah…

BAT:

Gunnumi wait first. Negotiation bawo?

Sheik Gunnumi:

Sir?

BAT:

Oya give the phone to their leader.

Shuffling voices.

Bandit Leader:

Hello.

BAT:

Are you the leader?

Bandit Leader:

Yes, Sir.

BAT:

Tóòrí Òlórun, what exactly is your problem?

Tell me: what do you want?

Bandit Leader:

We want ₦10 billion in 48 hours, or we will begin...

BAT cuts in:

One by one bawo??

He stares at his Chief of Staff, disbelief and irritation mixing like storm clouds...

Give the phone back to Gunnumi. Back to Gunnumi

BAT: Gunnumi, you’ve been negotiating with these people since when?

Sheik Gunnumi: Since President Buhari’s administration, Sir…

BAT: Hmm. A veteran negotiator indeed.

Hold on.

He covers the mouthpiece.

BAT:

Chidube, you heard him?

Chief of Staff: Yes, Sir. We could pressure Gunnumi to negotiate further. Giving that kind of money to bandits would only empower them. I....

BAT cuts in, irritated: Who sent him? Who authorized this freelance diplomacy?

Chief of Staff: It seems it was his discretion… and some prominent religious figures advised him… <><>BAT: Olorun o. This is how trouble starts in a farm where the water refuses to stay in the ditch.

Chief of Staff: Sir, I don’t exactly...

BAT:

Yeye bandits! Instead of farming agbado and feeding their families, they’re kidnapping children upandan, Oloshi. He takes the phone off hold.

THE PRESIDENT’S WARNING

BAT:

Gunnumi, listen carefully… From this minute, you are wanted by the Nigerian Government for aiding terrorism.

For years, you’ve turned negotiation into a side hustle. But today… the store is closed.

Gunnumi:

Sir, please...

BAT: I’m not finished.

You won’t survive the punishment you’ve earned, so let me offer you something simple:

A fair trial.

And that is me being generous.

Now… as for the bandit leader.. Tell him what I’m about to say clearly:

I value the lives of those children.

Nigeria values them.

And if anything happens to even one of them, the world will remember their names.

And I — Emi lokan BAT — will carry the responsibility of justice on my head myself.

Tell him I am coming for him.

Not tomorrow.

Not next week.

Now.

And I will not stop with him.

I will uproot the entire network that shelters him....every accomplice, every enabler, every family member, every safe house, every informant.

No hiding place.

No shadow to melt into.

But… there is another option:

He has 6 hours.

Six hours to drop every child safely in any major street in Agotha. Six hours to surrender peacefully. Six hours to receive fairness from me and the Nigerian state.

Not one minute after.

Because after six hours…

I am coming to Agotha.

I will find him.

And I will end this madness.

BAT drops the phone into the Chief of Staff’s hands.

BAT: Chidube… these people think I’m playing with them.

Call every security chief.

Every service head.

Every commander.

We move to Agotha now.