"If you do not kneel down to greet me anytime you come to this compound, I will not allow you to fetch water." Those were the words of a tall, good-looking young man.

And in my head, I was asking myself, What exactly is happening here?

But before I get to that, let me take you back to how this whole thing started.

There was a particular morning when I had classes, and I needed to fetch water before leaving. However, before getting to the place where I usually fetched water, I stopped at a nearby shop to buy super glue. I wanted to fix my nails because, well, I had a reason to.

While I was buying the glue, this guy approached me and suddenly started shouting. He told me that he did not want to see me in their compound again and went on about how I should stay away.

And I was like, Excuse me?

I looked him straight in the eye. As a full Lagos babe, was I supposed to be shaking?

 Me? I no dey fear.

I told him never to speak to me that way again and that he should not dare try that rubbish with me. He had apparently forgotten that I was Ada. I hadn't done anything to him, so I couldn't understand why he thought he could approach me and speak to me like that.

Do you know that this guy actually wanted to fight me?

People had to hold him back.

But I wasn't done.

After he walked away and returned to the front of his compound, I finished buying my glue and went straight to meet him. And he wasn't alone. There were almost ten guys gathered there.

I walked up to him anyway.

Now, picture this: a tall guy standing in front of a much shorter girl. It was giving David and Goliath.

I looked him straight in the eye and repeated myself. He should never, in his entire life, try that nonsense with me again. I didn't know him. I had no business with him. I wasn't involved in whatever was going on in his life, and he had absolutely no reason to speak to me in that manner.

I told him that no matter how important or powerful he thought he was, he had no right to intimidate me.

And I left.

Now, you would think that was the end of the matter.

Apparently, it wasn't.

The following day, I came back to fetch water, and this same guy made it clear that I would never be allowed to fetch water in their compound again. He even went as far as saying that if I didn't kneel down to greet him whenever I came around, I wouldn't be allowed to fetch water.

Seriously?

I was furious.

You see, I was living in an area where getting water was already a struggle. Fetching water wasn't something I could just take for granted. It was difficult enough as it was, and now someone was trying to make it even more difficult for me because I refused to submit to his intimidation?

I wasn't having it.

So, I left.

And I went straight to the police station.

I reported the matter to the DPO and explained what had happened. The police listened, and they eventually mobilised officers to accompany me back to the compound.

Now, here was another interesting part: I didn't even know this guy's name.

I  was going to report someone to the police, and you cannot even provide his name. I simply knew him as the guy who had been threatening me.

When we got back to the compound, I pointed him out.

"This is the person."

Immediately, some of the other guys came out. They started explaining, defending and giving different accounts of what they believed had happened.

Apparently, there had been some issues involving stolen phones in their compound.

And I was wondering, what exactly did that have to do with me?

I didn't charge my phone there. I didn't have friends living there. I only came around to fetch water and went back to where I was staying. So why was I being dragged into whatever was happening among them?

Why did this young man feel the need to exercise his authority over me? Why was he trying to intimidate me and make me feel unsafe in a place where I was simply trying to carry out an ordinary daily activity?

At the police station, the DPO asked me several questions. At some point, he even asked whether the guy liked me and whether that was why he was behaving that way.

His brother also came out and tried to establish some familiarity with me.

But I wasn't interested in any of that.

I remember telling him, in essence, that I didn't know him and he didn't know me. There was no relationship to establish.

Then the police asked me what I wanted them to do about the situation.

My answer was simple.

I wanted him to write an undertaking.

If I was passing one way, he should mind his business. If he was coming from the other direction, he should mind his business too. We had no reason to interact, and I didn't want him interfering with my movement or making threats against my safety.

He should keep to his own space, allow me to fetch my water, and let me live my life.

That was all I wanted.

Eventually, I moved out of that area after the semester. The environment wasn't conducive for me, but at the time, as a 100-level student, I didn't exactly have many options.

Looking back, this was one of the boldest and most unexpected experiences I had during my university years.

Funnily enough, I still didn't know that man's name.

ODD REALITIES is a 12-part collection of lived experiences drawn from my four-year university journey. These are stories about some of the strangest, most unexpected and uncomfortable situations I encountered along the way.

I hope you've been enjoying the series.

Thank you for reading.