Stay With Me

In 2008, Akin digs his father’s grave with his brother-in-law, Henry. They soon call a laborer so that the grave will be finished before the wake, despite his brother-in-law’s desire to follow Yorùbá traditions. His mother sends word that she will not come unless Akin’s estranged brother, Dotun, arrives. Dotun arrives on time and prostrates himself before Akin, and their estrangement ends.

In 1987, Akin arrives home from a business trip in Lagos and finds Funmi living in the spare room. He wants her gone but fears that if he asks her to leave, she will confront him about his impotence. He hopes that a moment like the 1981 student protest march that he and Yejide attended will provide an opportunity for him to divorce Funmi agreeably. He attributes the bloodshed at the protest to Yejide’s acceptance of his marriage proposal.

Yejide visits a psychiatrist following Funmi’s move-in, and a new salon opens next door to hers. A ransom note comes to all the neighbors of the estate, demanding 1,000 naira as insurance against violence. The men of the estate hire private police, but the robber assures them that the police are on their payroll.