Episode 5: The Broadcast That Shook the World
The village of Àpẹ́tẹ remained quiet after the black van disappeared. The usual rhythm of the place returned: the clanging of metal pots, children running barefoot in the red sand, and the elders gathering under the big kola tree to discuss politics they didn't understand. But Jani knew better. It wasn’t over. It was only a break in the battle.
Inside her sacred Iròkò lab, she began packing up. Her fingers moved fast, separating wires, unscrewing processors, pulling out hard drives, wrapping them in protective cloths. She only kept the essentials—tools she could carry in a hidden backpack. She touched the tree’s bark one more time. A tear fell from her eye. “I don’t know when I’ll see you again,” she whispered. “But thank you… for hiding me all these years.” Then she activated the wipeout switch. All data gone. All signs erased. She climbed out of the tree for the last time, closing the trapdoor behind her. It looked like any other tree now. Just a tall, ancient Iròkò. ---
Jani waited until midnight before making her move. She knew Mama Ronke would not let her go if she explained everything. And Jani didn’t want Mama Ronke to be in danger for knowing too much. She left a note wrapped around the old elephant toy Mama Ronke had found her with:
"Mama,
Thank you for raising me. Thank you for loving me.
I am going to find where I came from.
I will never forget you.
I will come back stronger.
Your daughter,
Jani (Janet)"
She placed it on Mama’s cooking stool and walked into the darkness, her backpack pressing heavily on her shoulders. --- By morning, Jani had made it to a nearby town. From there, she boarded a rickety bus going towards Ibadan. She kept her hoodie on, her head low. She didn’t speak to anyone. In her pocket, she carried a small flash drive. That flash drive contained evidence—codes, blueprints, intercepted messages, and locations of illegal drone networks hidden across West Africa. Evidence that could expose the private contractors chasing her. Evidence that could shake the world. She boarded another bus to Lagos. And by nightfall, she was inside a small apartment in Yaba. It was owned by someone from her hacker forum—a faceless friend known only as "Ember." The door opened after she tapped a unique knock code. Three short knocks. Two fast. One long. A tall girl, maybe 19 or 20, opened the door. “Jani?” she whispered. Jani nodded. “You’re younger than I expected,” Ember said, smiling. “But welcome. I’ve followed your work. You’re a legend in silence.” ---
Inside, the room was dimly lit with soft blue lights. Computers buzzed from all corners. Screens filled with maps, code, live news feeds. “I got your message,” Ember said. “You want to go public.” Jani nodded. “I have everything I need. But I need help broadcasting it wide. Not just in Nigeria. I want the world to see it.” Ember raised a brow. “That’s dangerous.” “They’re already hunting me. They’ll keep hunting others. We can’t keep hiding.” Ember looked into her eyes. “Alright. Let’s go big.” --- For three days, they worked. They built a decentralized broadcast signal that couldn’t be traced. They created an anonymous identity: "The Voice Under the Tree." They recorded a video. Jani wore a voice modulator. Her face hidden in shadows. But her message was clear. “This is for the children they abandoned. For the minds they tried to erase. For the girls like me who were told their brains are too dangerous. We exist. We are many. And we will not be silent anymore.” Then she began releasing the files. One after the other. Codes. Maps. Secrets. Live.
To the entire world. --- At first, people didn’t believe it. But then the BBC picked it up. Then Al Jazeera. Then NTA. The world began asking questions: Who was this "Voice Under the Tree"? How did a village girl gain access to military tech? And why were foreign contractors operating illegal radar zones in Africa? Within hours, social media exploded.
\#VoiceUnderTheTree
\#TechIsNotGender
\#HiddenGenius
Many thought it was fake. But some people recognized her style. The clean code. The digital signature. Some experts said: “This is real. And whoever did this is a genius.” --- Meanwhile, the black van returned. But this time, not to Àpẹ́tẹ. They came to Lagos. And Jani saw it. They found Ember’s compound. But she and Ember were long gone. They had moved to another safe house. Then another. Jani never stayed in one place longer than two days. The chase had begun again—but now she wasn’t the prey. She was the story. She was the proof that young African girls could be more than wives, cooks, or housekeepers. She was the light coming from an unexpected tree. --- Two weeks after the broadcast, Jani received an anonymous message. Subject line: “Your parents saw you.” Her heart stopped. She opened it. It was a news clip. A short segment from a CNN interview. A tech couple based in Nairobi was being asked about the recent hacker uprising in Africa. The interviewer said, “Your daughter disappeared many years ago. How do you feel seeing this unknown girl claiming to be raised in a village but operating high-level systems?” The woman in the video burst into tears. The man whispered, “That’s our daughter. That’s Janet.” Jani played it three times. She couldn’t breathe. They remembered her. They recognized her. She curled into a ball and cried for an hour. Then she wiped her face. “Ember,” she said, “I want to go to Nairobi.” --- Getting to Nairobi wasn’t simple. The Nigerian borders were being scanned. Flights monitored. Jani and Ember created a new identity for her. New passport. New name: “Chika Moses.” Ember connected her with a Nigerian-Kenyan journalist flying to Nairobi for a summit. He agreed to smuggle Jani in as his research assistant. Two days later, she was on a plane. For the first time in her life. Flying above clouds. Her hands trembled. Her heart beat fast. But deep inside, she knew this was it. She was going home. --- Nairobi was bigger than she imagined. Taller buildings. Faster cars. Louder markets. But the moment she stepped into the tech hub in Kilimani, something strange happened. People stared. They had seen the video. The girl under the tree had gone viral. A receptionist whispered to another, “I think that’s her...” But Jani ignored them. She followed the journalist into a conference room. And there, standing beside a projector, were two people. A woman with tired eyes. A man with grey in his beard. They both turned slowly. Then froze. The woman gasped. The man dropped his laptop. “Janet...?” Jani’s eyes flooded. She ran to them. They wrapped her in their arms. Seventeen years of silence disappeared in one hug. She was home. --- They didn’t need to ask questions. They already knew. They had searched for her for years. They had reported her missing in both Nigeria and Kenya. But the system failed them. The world forgot. But not them. Never them. Her mother brought out a small toy from a box. A grey plastic elephant. Jani’s hand flew to her chest. “That’s mine,” she whispered. “You never left without it,” her mother said. They all cried again. And this time, it wasn’t from pain. It was joy. Pure joy. --- That evening, Jani sat between her parents, watching the sunset over Nairobi. “I want to build something,” she said. Her father turned to her. “What do you mean?” “A tech school. For girls. For children in villages like Àpẹ́tẹ. I want them to know they are more than forgotten names.” Her mother nodded, smiling. “We’ll help you. Whatever you need.” And so, the seed was planted. From a sacred tree in a small Yoruba village… To a global platform that would change lives. Jani was no longer just a girl raised in secret. She was the beginning of a new story. ---Moral Lessons:
1. **Truth cannot stay buried forever.** Even from a village, Jani’s voice reached the entire world.
2. **One small act of courage can shake powerful systems.** Jani’s decision to speak up exposed dark secrets across continents.
3. **Family is not just who raises you, but also who waits for you.** Her parents never gave up. Love waited patiently.
4. **The world will listen if you speak with purpose.** Her broadcast didn’t just make noise—it created impact.
5. **Don’t hide your light because you’re in a small place.** Even from under a tree, Jani became a global voice.
-Question:
What specific item did the old woman give Yinka that eventually led him to discover the truth about Loveth’s disappearance?