The day my landlord came to court to sue me for my own house

I was in court last week when a young man walks in, face long like he lost something. He say his landlord is taking him to court for rent arrears. I ask him, how much do you owe? He say nothing, he paid in advance for two years. I say, then why you dey here? He say the landlord claims the naira fell and he needs more money to cover the difference.

My brother, I have now seen everything. Since when does the value of the naira affect tenancy agreements? Section 7 of the Tenancy Law of Lagos State is clear, once you have a valid agreement and you have paid, the landlord cannot unilaterally change the terms. But this landlord, he went to a lawyer who wrote a letter citing some Supreme Court case from 1985 about frustration of contract. The young man was shaking in his seat.

I told him, relax. The law is on your side. But see the thing about Nigerian landlords, they will try anything. One time a man came to court claiming his tenant was using juju to make his house fall down. The judge almost fell off her chair laughing. I swear, some of these landlords think the court is Alaba market where you can negotiate anything.