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Chapter 1
The morning atmosphere of Sunday was filled with dark, heavy clouds, strong winds blowing, and the sweet scent of earth rising from a light drizzle—clear signs that a heavy downpour could occur at any moment. In the middle of September, inside the town of Gaya in Kano State, lies a historically rich neighborhood known as Maza-Goma. The neighborhood derived its name from a woman in the district who gave birth to ten baby boys at the same time.
The house of Malam Jibo, popularly known as Baffa Jibo, is a well-known home in this neighborhood. Malam Jibo is a good man and a farmer who values farming greatly, using it to provide a modest, decent life for himself and his family. He mainly grows peanuts (groundnuts), Hausa potatoes, and beans during the dry season. Every year, he harvests abundant crops, which he sells locally in Gaya town and neighboring villages on market days. His only wife, from his early farming days, is Aishatu, known as Goggo Shatu.
Baffa Jibo (Jibril) and his wife Aisha (Goggo Shatu) were not blessed with children until their later years. They had been married for twenty years before having Sugrah. When Sugrah was fourteen years old, she was given in marriage to a secondary school teacher in Yalleman town, Jigawa State. Just two years into her marriage, she gave birth to her first daughter, but passed away before she could even see her baby's face.
Malam AbdulHadi, Sugrah’s husband, took the newborn baby left behind by Sugrah and handed her over to his mother, Iyatu. Iyatu raised the child with extreme care for five years, while Malam Hadi married another wife. In the year the child entered primary school, Iyatu passed away. Malam Hadi wanted to continue raising his daughter himself, but the heartless behavior and neglect of Lami (his new wife) toward "Kulsumu" forced him to remove her from Lami's presence and return her to her maternal grandparents in Gaya town—Baffa Jibo and his wife Goggo Shatu.
Because they were childless for so long and deeply loved their late daughter Sugrah, an immense bond formed between them and their granddaughter, Ummu Kulsumu. Neither Baffa nor Goggo Shatu could hide their deep affection for Kulsumu. As a result, Kulsumu grew up thoroughly spoiled by her grandparents; she was somewhat playful, mischievous, and fond of teasing. Despite this, Kulsumu loved her studies—both Western and Arabic education. Everything about Kulsumu mirrored her late mother, which is why she bore an uncanny resemblance to her Goggo.
Malam Hadi visited every three months to check on Kulsumu. Although Baffa covered all of Kulsumu's living expenses, her father also did his utmost for her. Whenever he visited, he would sew new clothes for her—even if it was just one outfit—buy her new shoes, tailor a hijab, or provide whatever she needed for school. Although he fathered five other children with Lami after Kulsumu, anyone would think Kulsumu was his only child because of how dearly he loved her.
Chapter 2
The drizzle tapped softly against the corrugated metal roofs of Baffa Jibo's house as the storm gathered momentum around 5:30 in the morning. Goggo Shatu, who was sitting and engaging in remembrance (lazimi) after completing the Fajr (dawn) prayer, reached out to wake Kulsumu, who was fast asleep on her sponge mattress. Kulsumu rolled over, stretched, protruded her lips, and mumbled in a sleep-heavy voice:
"Goggo, they haven't even called the assalatu call to prayer yet. Please let me sleep."
Goggo gave her a sharp slap on her back, but Kulsumu didn't budge. She stubbornly muttered a counter-blow and refused to get up, turning over to the edge of the bed to continue sleeping.
Hearing Baffa's characteristic throat-clearing at the doorway, Kulsumu sprang up and leaped off the bed instantly. She knew that long prayer-bead cord of his would lash her if he walked in and caught her still sleeping without having performed her dawn prayers on time.
Standing at the doorway, Baffa cleared his throat again and asked:
"I hope Kulsumu has woken up from this sleep of hers and performed her obligatory prayers?"
"I have woken up, Baffa! I've even made ablution, put on my hijab, and aligned my prayer mat—I'm about to start praying right now!" Kulsumu blurted out eagerly before Goggo could speak.
Baffa walked past toward his room, saying:
"You've saved yourself, you queen of useless sleep."
As Kulsumu stepped down from Goggo's bed, she felt moisture spreading across the floor, and her clothes were completely soaked in liquid. She raised her hand to cover her mouth before a heavy cry could escape her.
"Goggo, I wet the bed again today!"
Goggo Shatu's heart skipped a beat. She sprang up and quickly switched on the room's electric lamp since it was still dark outside. Urine was pooled right in the middle of the bed, and Kulsumu was thoroughly soaked from her top blouse down to her wrapper. They had assumed this medical condition of Kulsumu's had gone away permanently ever since a native medicine practitioner Goggo Shatu found in Durbunde village gave her a remedy some six months ago.
Goggo Shatu didn't say a word. She caught hold of Kulsumu's shirt and helped her take it off. The distinct marks of bedwetting were already showing, but Kulsumu just couldn't stop wetting the bed. Goggo helped her remove her wrapper and underwear, telling her to grab another wrapper and go perform ablution and take a bath.
Kulsumu walked away limply, sobbing and sniffling toward the outdoor bathroom in the courtyard. Goggo Shatu lifted the bedsheet, fetched water to rinse the spot thoroughly, dragged the small cotton mattress outside to drip-dry, and returned to the room to sit with her chin cupped in her hands, deeply distressed. Her greatest fear was God—and her second fear was that someone in town might find out Kulsumu wet the bed. If that news leaked, she feared the girl would never find a suitor for marriage, despite all her striking beauty.
Chapter 3
Goggo rose slowly and headed toward Baffa’s quarters. Malam Jibo was reciting the Holy Quran when Inna Shatu entered. He did not pause until he reached the end of a verse in Surah Ali-Imran, offered a supplication, and they wiped their faces together. One look at his wife told him she was in deep distress. Age was beginning to show on her as she had passed sixty. With tender care, he asked:
"What happened, Goggo of Kulsumu?"
Goggo lowered her hands from her chin sorrowfully and said:
"Baffa, the bedwetting is back."
He showed no panic on his face in order to calm her down, but his own heart sank as well. Softening his voice, he said:
"Everything that happens to a human is known to Allah, Aishatu. Since we are seeking a remedy, by God's grace, we will succeed one day. There is no illness without a cure in this world except old age and death. Therefore, let us continue with prayers; Allah will relieve her. Now, get ready and return to Durbunde since the last treatment showed signs of success—she went about seven months without an episode since he gave the medicine. Here is transport money; set out early so you can catch the first vehicle."
Goggo accepted the money with both hands from her husband. He pulled out some more notes and said:
"Take this to give as charity, and use this other part to buy water along the way."
Goggo waited for Kulsumu to pray and dress, but Kulsumu did not stop crying despite Goggo's comforting words that Allah would grant her healing. In Kulsumu's mind, if anyone discovered she wet the bed, she would be completely disgraced in the eyes of the world. She wasn't even thinking about marriage—which was Goggo's main worry. For Kulsumu, being known as "Kulsumu the bed wetter" was her ultimate nightmare. That was why she kept her distance from everyone, refusing to make close friends or confidantes. Goggo was her sole friend and confidante, and Baffa was her advisor.
Once she finished dressing, Goggo led her to the motor park where they boarded a vehicle heading to Takai, from where they would catch another transport to Durbunde village.
Inside the vehicle, neither Goggo nor her granddaughter spoke. Kulsumu sat by the front window seat with Goggo beside her. They were fortunate to catch the first vehicle, but it didn't fill up until 7:00 AM. Goggo paid the fare, stepped out to buy Kulsumu a wrap of hot kosai (bean cakes) for fifty naira, and returned to the car. Shortly after she got in, the vehicle filled up and set off.
No matter how hard Goggo tried, Kulsumu refused to eat the kosai, silently wiping away tears with the edge of her hijab. Goggo left her alone and continued fingering her prayer beads. They didn't stop until they reached Takai. By the time they boarded the transport to Durbunde, hunger was rumbling inside Kulsumu, forcing her to open the kosai and start eating—though it was already cold. By then, she had stopped crying, wiped her eyes, and turned to watch the trees racing past outside the window, lost in deep thoughts.
Everyone in the world has a source of sorrow: some mourn orphanhood, others lack of support. She had tasted neither—though she never knew her mother, she never felt maternal deprivation because Iyatu and Goggo filled that void with care beyond what a birth mother could offer. Her sole sorrow in life was this bedwetting affliction that had followed her from childhood into the present.
Added to this was her vision problem: she couldn't recognize people from a distance until they drew close. She had never told anyone because she didn't want to add to Goggo's worries. She knew Goggo worried about her bedwetting far more than she did herself. How could she possibly confess that she couldn't see well, especially at night? Sometimes she had to grope her way blindly around the bathroom if there was no electric light.
While lost in these thoughts, she heard the conductor announce:
"We have arrived in Durbunde! Durbunde passengers, step down."
Goggo took her hand as they alighted, hired two motorcycles, and rode straight to the traditional healer's gate.
They found a crowded queue, sat through exhaustion, and waited past afternoon prayer (Asr) before finally seeing the healer. While Kulsumu had managed to chew some kosai, Goggo hadn't even sipped water; both were utterly exhausted. When they entered, Goggo greeted him and explained their mission: he had given them medicine nearly seven months ago, and the girl hadn't wet the bed since—they had even forgotten about it and thanked God. Today, out of nowhere, it had returned.
The healer was quite surprised because he rarely issued medicine twice. He handed them another dose, instructing Kulsumu to drink it mixed with local porridge (koko) for seven days. He warned that if it returned after this, her condition might truly be incurable, and they were free to try another healer if they wished.
Upon returning home, Goggo diligently administered the medicine. Kulsumu wet the bed the day they returned, but the next day she didn't. One day passed, then two, three, and a full week without an episode. Their joy was immense, like receiving divine mercy. Kulsumu resumed school, entering her final primary grade as she prepared for her Common Entrance examination.
Chapter 4
Kulsumu successfully completed her primary school examinations. Goggo suggested she travel to Yalleman to spend at least a week visiting her father and step-siblings. Hearing this, Kulsumu protruded her lips in displeasure at the thought of Baba Lami, her father's wife. They never got along; she knew Lami wouldn't give her a warm reception, and Lami's meals never included chunks of meat or fish.
Baba Lami's menu was strictly monotonous: beans and rice in the afternoon, and stiff sorghum or maize porridge (tuwo) with baobab soup (miyar kuka) at night—none of which Kulsumu enjoyed. Baffa made sure to buy her grilled meat (tsire or balangu) every couple of days. Even though her father Malam Hadi would buy her whatever she wanted, her step-siblings (Lami's children) wouldn't let her have a single piece.
More than the food, what troubled her most about visiting that house was the lack of hygiene among the children, Baba Lami's uncleanliness, and the heavy chores Lami would pile on her. Therefore, she stubbornly refused Goggo, insisting she wouldn't go since her father's regular visit was coming up soon anyway; she would just see him then. Goggo didn't pressure her and let the matter drop.
One Saturday, Malam Hadi arrived in Gaya carrying a massive "Ghana Must Go" bag packed with gifts and provisions for Kulsumu, as he always did. Kulsumu was overjoyed to see him. In Goggo's room, they chatted happily as she told him about her exams and how easy they had been. When he mentioned that her siblings wanted to see her and asked her to accompany him back to Yalleman for a few days, she flatly refused because of Baba Lami. He didn't pressure her either; he didn't sleep over in Gaya and headed back the same day.
Chapter 5
Kulsumu's common entrance results were released, and she had gained admission into a government girls' boarding secondary school—Government Girls' Secondary School (GGSS) Yar Gaya. Whenever visitors came to their house, Kulsumu would proudly display her admission letter to Yar Gaya. Goggo, however, felt no joy regarding this boarding school, but seeing how excited and thrilled Kulsumu was, she kept quiet and let it be. The thought of being separated from Kulsumu—even for a single day—was unbearable to her. While Kulsumu rejoiced, Goggo grew deeply anxious, losing weight over those few days. Yet she kept her worries to herself, realizing how deeply invested Kulsumu was in this boarding school dream.
A month before departure, Baffa began purchasing provisions for Kulsumu. Goggo prepared her dry snacks (kanzo), chili powder (yaji), palm oil, ground peanut cake (kuli-kuli), and more. A week before Kulsumu left for Yar Gaya, her father Malam Hadi arrived loaded with his own shopping spree. He bought her everything modern: sardines, cornflakes, beverage supplies, garri, bathing and washing soap, and even hair pomade. Kulsumu threw her arms around her father, weeping tears of joy. This abundance of treats was precisely why she loved the idea of a boarding school. She prayed fervently for divine openings and success in his life.
The day of departure arrived. Early at dawn, Kulsumu woke up, bathed, prayed, dressed, and sat waiting for Baffa to return from the morning prayer so they could hit the road.
Goggo sat her down and offered words of advice:
"All this restless excitement of yours, Kulsumu, leave it at home. When you get there, mind your business. No mischief, no bad friends. Do what you were sent there to do: study. Take care of your prayers on time, and make a constant habit of reciting the Quran and morning/evening remembrances. If you do this, you will live peacefully in a strange land. May God take you there safely."
Kulsumu hugged Goggo, crying:
"Goggo, you must come visit me often, okay, my Goggo?"
Goggo replied:
"By God's grace, I will visit you. May God grant you success, luck, and His blessings."
Inside the Hiace bus heading to Yargaya, Baffa continued counseling his granddaughter about living away from home and how to interact with strangers. Upon reaching Yargaya, they boarded another vehicle that took them directly to the school.
Kulsumu was registered and assigned a classroom and a hostel. Within a week, Kulsumu understood the school routine well and grasped her lessons easily. In her large dormitory room, she slept on the upper bunk, while the lower bunk belonged to a senior student known as Senior Rabia. Rabia liked Kulsumu and called her "CUTY" because of her charming, round, fair face.
One Friday night after lights-out, when everyone was asleep, Senior Rabia was sleeping deeply with her mouth open when she felt liquid pouring directly into her mouth. Gulp! She swallowed it before waking up and started groping around to find the source. Wiping her face, she leaped off her bed and screamed in shock.
Their dorm matron heard her, came in, and switched on the room lights, waking many students, including Kulsumu. As Kulsumu stirred to get up, she realized she was lying in a pool of liquid. Within a fraction of a second, her brain pieced together what had happened. Her body went deathly cold, accompanied by a sudden, intense heart-pounding panic.
Just then, she heard Senior Rabia shouting: "I swear she's done for in this school! Tonight, ghosts urinated directly into my mouth and I swallowed it!"
She burst into tears. What could the matron and roommates do except laugh? No one took her claim seriously, and she cried her eyes out, never suspecting for a second that it was human urine—let alone that Kulsumu had leaked it from her mattress right into her open mouth because of the sheer volume.
Though she didn't wet the bed the following night—having forced herself to stay awake—she lived in absolute terror. She frequently walked to the bathroom at night to force herself to urinate even when she didn't feel the urge. Fear and anxiety kept her awake until dawn.
From that day on, Kulsumu never allowed herself to sleep deeply again, nor did she dare drag her mattress outside to dry for fear someone would find out. She hid in the bathroom to cry her heart out. She knew that the very moment anyone discovered she was a bed wetter, her boarding school days were over, regardless of how much she loved her education.
From that day onward, Kulsumu plunged into a state of severe depression and isolation. She couldn't understand her lessons well anymore, lost her appetite, grew extremely thin, pale, and frail. She prayed desperately for visiting day to arrive so Goggo would come, allowing her to confess that their joy was short-lived, that the bedwetting hadn't left her, and that perhaps she would never stop wetting the bed.
Before visiting day arrived, Kulsumu's secret was completely exposed, as she wet the bed again and soaked Senior Rabia thoroughly once more! On that day, the matron came straight to their bunk area to investigate where these "ghostly urinations" plaguing Rabia were coming from. Rabia stood nearby, traumatized and dripping with urine.
Kulsumu, waking up and realizing what had happened, shrank back onto her bed, unable to move a single muscle, tears streaming down her face. The matron searched everywhere and found nothing. Almost as if guided by instinct, she reached her hand beneath Kulsumu's mattress and felt dampness. She gasped in shock:
"Now, young lady, at your age, you still wet the bed? Today I have seen more than enough, I, Aminatu."
Kulsumu broke down, unleashing the cries she had held back. This was it—the day of her public disgrace and humiliation had arrived. Her roommates chimed in unison with sheer shock:
"BEDWETTING?!"
Chapter 6
From that day forward, all joy and happiness ended for Kulsumu at the school. Her roommates subjected her to extreme disdain and mockery. No one would go near her or share a meal with her. Senior Rabia, who used to adore her, now treated her with utter disgust and hostility, blocking her nose whenever Kulsumu walked past and muttering about the foul stench. Rabia moved her belongings from that corner to the far end of the room.
Even in the classroom, one of her roommates leaked the news of her bedweting. Whenever she was spotted, people would jeer: "Here comes the bed wetter!" followed by loud bursts of laughter. She became like an outcast in the classroom, the hostel, and every student gathering. She shrank into herself, growing emaciated from grief and heartbreak.
Barely holding on, Kulsumu dragged herself through the days until visiting day at Yargaya—a day she had been praying for solely to see her Goggo and beg her to withdraw her from the school before depression destroyed her completely.
On visiting day, she was the first to rush to the outer gates where students waited to welcome their families. Soon enough, the school gates opened, and parents and relatives poured in. Kulsumu scanned the crowd eagerly, searching for Goggo. Before long, she spotted her laden with luggage. Kulsumu sprinted, threw her arms around Goggo, and broke into a heart-wrenching sob.
Goggo pulled her back, looked at her face, and saw how frail and wasted she had become; her heart dropped with profound shock. Before Goggo could speak, Kulsumu sobbed out the truth: her bedwetting was back, everyone in school knew, and everyone despised and mocked her.
If Goggo's anxiety had been a thousandfold before, it multiplied now. With great difficulty, she consoled Kulsumu, telling her to endure until the holidays so she could tell Baffa and find a solution before returning. She urged her to eat the food she brought and drink a bottle of yogurt. When Goggo Shatu left the school grounds that day, she could barely see the path ahead of her due to overwhelming grief. She went straight back to Gaya and told Baffa everything.
This marked the end of Kulsumu's time at GGSS Yar Gaya; she was transferred to a day-student program at GGSS Gaya. Goggo Shatu never rested, continuing her relentless struggle to find a cure for her granddaughter as she grew older.
Kulsumu grew up carrying the heavy burden of bedwetting in her heart, which completely altered her personality. It stripped away her cheerfulness, filled her with self-hatred, and barred her from mingling with her peers, breeding feelings of alienation and an inferiority complex.
Goggo Shatu’s constant terror was that this affliction would permanently damage Kulsumu's mental and emotional health. Sometimes Goggo would sit awake deep into the night, hugging her knees and weeping, refusing to sleep just to make sure Kulsumu didn't wet herself—yet even if sleep stole her away for a single hour, she would wake up to find everything soaked through.
Both Baffa and Goggo did their utmost for Kulsumu's condition, visiting every traditional healer they heard of—though restricted to the areas around Gaya out of intense fear that the secret would leak. Even Malam Hadi remained completely unaware of the true extent of Kulsumu's plight; while he knew she wet the bed during her time with his mother Iyatu, he had never imagined it would follow her this far into her youth...
Summary
The story revolves around Ummu Kulsumu, an affectionate, spirited girl raised by her doting maternal grandparents, Baffa Jibo and Goggo Shatu, in the historic town of Gaya, Kano State. Raised in place of her late mother, Sugrah, Kulsumu is deeply cherished by her grandparents and generously supported by her loving father, Malam Hadi.
However, Kulsumu harbors a deeply guarded, humiliating secret: chronic bedwetting (enuresis). Despite previous traditional treatments that seemed successful, the condition resurfaces just as she enters her final year of primary school and later wins admission into a prestigious boarding secondary school (GGSS Yar Gaya).
At boarding school, her worst nightmare materializes when an accidental bedwetting episode directly exposes her to her dormitory mates, including Senior Rabia. Publicly humiliated, ostracized, and mocked, Kulsumu sinks into severe depression and alienation. Following a heartbreaking visit to her grandmother, she is withdrawn from the boarding school and enrolled as a day student at GGSS Gaya. Despite her grandparents' tireless efforts to find a cure while fiercely guarding her secret from the public, Kulsumu's youth is deeply scarred by low self-esteem, self-hatred, and social anxiety.
Description
- Protagonist: Ummu Kulsumu — A vibrant, academically inclined teenager struggling with hidden nocturnal enuresis, low self-esteem, and social withdrawal.
- Secondary Characters:
- Baffa Jibo (Malam Jibo): A respected, hardworking farmer and loving grandfather who provides stability and financial support.
- Goggo Shatu (Aishatu): A devoted grandmother who acts as Kulsumu's primary confidante, bearing the emotional burden of her medical condition.
- Malam Hadi: Kulsumu's doting father who showers her with gifts despite being largely unaware of the true psychological toll of her condition.
- Senior Rabia: A respected senior student at Yar Gaya who inadvertently becomes the victim of Kulsumu's bedwetting accident, triggering her public exposure.
- Setting: Set primarily in Maza-Goma, Gaya Town (Kano State), with secondary locations including Yalleman (Jigawa State), Durbunde village, and GGSS Yar Gaya.
Themes: Family love, generational bonding, the psychological impact of medical stigmatization, adolescent mental health, and the social isolation of chronic illness.
Analytics
Analytical DimensionDetailed OverviewGenre & StyleContemporary Northern Nigerian Hausa fiction/drama, focusing on domestic realism and social psychology.Plot StructureLinear Narrative with Internal Flashbacks: Begins with atmospheric exposition \rightarrow childhood background \rightarrow temporary relief from illness \rightarrow transition to boarding school \rightarrow climax of public exposure \rightarrow withdrawal and chronic psychological aftermath.Character Archetypes* The Over-Indulgent Grandparents (Baffa & Goggo) representing unconditional safety.- The Distant, Well-Meaning Provider (Malam Hadi).
- The Stigmatized Youth (Kulsumu) suffering under the weight of a secret disability. |
| Psychological Depth | Explores clinical and social concepts such as alienation, inferiority complex, internalized shame, and anticipatory anxiety among adolescents. |
| Cultural Context | Highlights traditional Hausa domestic life, farming culture in Gaya, reliance on traditional herbalists (mai magani), market days, and the social stigma attached to physical afflictions regarding marriage prospects.
