DSTV WAHALA

The DSTV (Satellite TV ) signal can just go off and remain that way for days. It was bearable when it happened in December because the house was full. In this lockdown, when you are indoors? Not funny at all. No matter the activities lined up, at some point, one will need to watch something to cool the head. Then, with two children? No way! Had to do something. 

So Moses (the security man) brought someone the last time the signal 'travelLed' like that. The person tried sha, but some channels no dey ever work till night😁😂.

When the sun is at its peak, the signal goes AWOL, and we can do nothing but wait till about 3:30 pm or 4:00 pm, depending on the generosity of the sun, when it decides to set!

This time, when it happened, he brought the same guy. He even changed the position of the dish, but after climbing up and down several times, the signal refused to come back. Maybe it was on strike. He said we will have to go to a DSTV office and swap the decoder for a newer model, with additional charges. 

My reaction was "Huh!" Isa Kaita "long long"!!

That's quite a distance from where I live! Besides, I'm not even ready for any additional cost implication that could follow. That means no TV till Wednesday (when the road would open and we'd be free to move around)

I pondered for a while.

"Okay, maybe I'll get Dennis to go in my place." Then Bhikan voiced out, "Na to ask brother to help you," picking my thoughts, again. That October 10th thingy😉😉, I guess.

Na so we spend the whole of Saturday without any visuals. We play music taya! We had to start looking for old CDs /DVDs that could be hidden somewhere in the house. By Sunday morning, we had found one very old Nigerian/Ghanian movie "Royal Rumble."

Hmmm... A story for another day.

We also found a Tyler Perry DVD, "Good Deeds," that I picked up from "Aunty Officer" (nickname) years ago, Plus a few others.

We had finished watching Royal Rumble when Bature came. Bature is my maternal cousin, popularly known as G-Blaze, an up-coming artist and filmmaker. He has some songs recorded, one of which is "Rawan Soyaya" translated as "Love Dance!"

He came in at about 1:30/2 pm and asked: "Why una TV dey off (Why is your TV off)?"

I told him what the repair guy said then he objects, "It's not possible. My decoder is older than yours and still works, so it can't be the swap." He then offered to call someone else so we could get a second opinion.

You see, G-Blaze was around the previous day, that's Saturday, but there was a power outage at the time, so he didn't notice the TV was off. We weren't even expecting him at all but, somehow, by divine orchestration, he came again. See God!

 The guy comes and in less than 30 minutes, all the channels are back with full signal! ALL! Including the ones that used to work only at night. 

Well, that's not counting the time he had to wait for us to get fuel to use the generator because NEPA (Electricity Company)😂 struck while he was at it. Fuel stations weren't opened earlier in the day when we tried to get fuel just to pump water, as per lockdown na. 

Hauwa had gone to get fuel earlier but they were closed. It was Bature who told us they were now opened when he came and brought a solution to our DSTV's signal issues.

He said he'd reset the decoder if it didn't work, then we would need to swap. Oh boy, see efficiency. Someone knows his work.

I was not only the most grateful because the option to watch TV or not was restored, but I was also glad I agreed to seek a second opinion. I had grumbled about the cost implications but he said: "No worry, na my guy." The man proved to be "his guy." He did the work while maintaining a pleasant countenance. 

Thanks, Bature.

God bless you for me.

So:

1. Seek a second opinion when you are not satisfied

2. Speak out. Do not hold back. The solution is most likely by the corner.

3. Help can come from the most unlikely places.

Photo: G-Blaze himself😁