Have you ever been deceived and betrayed by your friend while you are trying to help him better his condition? Can you quantify the hurts and grief you had in your life? My story could serve as a great lesson to anyone who cares to listen, so that you will be spared of the hurts that are not mine. My name is Samuel and I hail from Imo State. My father passed on when I just secured admission to the university, leaving the rather unbearable burden of training my siblings and I on the shoulders of my poor mum. She engaged in all manner of petty trading, just to make sure I didn’t drop out of school.
Uchenna and I became her closest friends and I was like a husband to her. She was diabetic and frequently suffered from HBP. However, mum kept working so hard until I was able to graduate from school and finally passed out from National Youth Service. I came over to Lagos with the hope of securing a good job. An old school mate of mine, Silas harboured me for two years. I kept applying for jobs. After several job tests and interviews, luck shone on me and I was employed as a Marketing Manager with a firm at Ikeja, Lagos State. I was so excited about the job and the new lease of life that will come with it. I reflected on my future dreams and aspirations. I would soon achieve my dreams. “Now, Uchenna can go to the University without hassles and mum will rest and enjoy the fruits of her labours” I said to myself. Life had not been easy with Jude, however, who happens to be my best friend while in UnicaL. He had’ been stuck in Owerri, looking for a job but none was forthcoming. I decided to ask him to come over to Lagos and put up with me, until he secures one. After all, what are friends for if not to be of help in times like this?
Jude came over and I let out one of my rooms to him. I bought new clothes and pairs of good shoes for him, so that he would be confident enough to go out for job hunting and possibly, interviews. Each day I made sure I bought some newspapers with current job ads so that he could apply. Before I leave for work. I would keep some money for Jude to take care of himself. “Oh Sammy, I can’t just thank you enough for your hospitality” he said as I handed him a new mobile phone one night. •Never worry Jude. All will be fine soon” I replied as I patted his shoulder tenderly. One fateful day, Jude came back with a proposal he said one of his friends obtained to supply few sets of Italian furniture, worth 2.5 million Naira to an expatriate company based in Port Harcourt. He also said he intended to do the business with his friend who would only take 30% of the proceeds as long as Jude supplied the goods himself.
Jude begged me to help connect him to any of my friends who deals in furniture so that he would release the goods on credit basis to him. He promised to pay up the money immediately the company paid the money into his account. Determined to help, I met Peter, a new acquaintance of mine who supplied us with furniture when we furnished our office and begged him to release the goods to Jude on trust. I promised to personally pay him, as soon as the delivery is made and the money is paid into Jude’s account. Peter, in order not to displease me obliged, after much hesitation. To facilitate ease of execution of the supply, I released N250, 000 which I had saved overtime to Jude, to take care of transportation costs and other miscellaneous expenses. He was so happy, thanked me and promised to get back to Lagos in two weeks time, so that I would pay Peter his money. Two weeks elapsed and I called Jude’s cell phone number but it was switched off. Three weeks passed, yet I didn’t hear from him. I was worried. Three months rolled by into eternity, yet Jude was at large. I couldn’t make out what was happening. “Did anything go wrong along the way or what?” I kept imagining wildly but could not come up with anything reasonable as to what the problem could be.
Annoyed and worried, Peter called me on the phone. 1 pleaded with him to have patience and that Jude would soon come back. At one time, I had to tell him that Jude was on his way back to Lagos, just to calm him down. “I don’t believe that you are doing this to me, Sam,” he said to me one day as he banged the phone on me. I told him that I would handle the matter myself but that he should hang on a bit. Soon Peter ran out of patience and reported the matter to the police CID, Alagbon who waded into the matter. I was arrested and queried by the DPO. I was asked to make some statements with which they commenced in-depth investigations into the matter. They traced Jude’s route, based on what I told them to the best of my knowledge. The police travelled to Port Harcourt to the said company which Jude quoted and finally, it was found out that the whole contract story was a scam and that Jude diverted the goods to the shop of another accomplice of his. He auctioned them and quickly disappeared into thin air.
On further probing of his accomplice, it was later gathered from him under duress that Jude has travelled out of the country with the money. I was detained by the police for two days. I couldn’t believe it was true, it was so unreal. I broke down in tears as I slumped in the cell, sobbing like a baby. I didn’t sleep at all for the two nights, as mosquitoes kept me company, singing their nasty tingling music in my ears. …To Be Continue
