By Yetunde Arebi

I cannot but agree with Pastor E.H.L. Olusheye, President, Christ Apostolic church in one of his submissions on corruption in Nigeria. According to him, widespread corruption in Nigeria is traceable to the increasing wave of covetousness, greed, inordinate ambition, materialism and the get-rich-quick-syndrome of the post-independence era. He went on to emphasise the Biblical saying that the love of money is the root of all evil and added that the nationwide poverty, inadequate social security and the corrupt and extravagant political system being operated in the country are factors contributing to corrupt practices in Nigeria, among other social ills.

I have always maintained that corruption and all its offshoots such as greed, falling standard of moral and societal values, are not likely to be wished away with a wave of the hand, for as long as government fails to provide an enabling environment and an even playing ground (equal opportunity) for all citizens to live, survive and thrive as humans. Our corruption induced mentality has so affected our psyche such that it has impaired our ability or desire to reason outside the box.

Thus, most Nigerians can and will do anything and everything in their quest for money. In the process, some get lucky, breaking free off their shackles to poverty. And the unlucky ones get to lose what they initially had, sinking deeper into their self dug graves. And so it was that a couple of weeks ago, I was at my regular salon. No sooner had I settled in, did my hairdresser, Mrs Boyo, began narrating a very interesting development which according to her would be taking her out as soon as she was done with me.

She had fallen into the hands of a 419 gang and had been manipulated to part with N270,000, some of the money, she’d had to borrow from a friend. How did this happen? According to Mrs. Boyo, She was still confused and finding it difficult to believe that she had been swindled because it was a church member that introduced her to the business. She said the woman whom she identified as Mrs Martins is a member of her branch of the Redeemed Church of God, located in Ifako, Gbagada area of Lagos State.

Though she was not really close to the woman, as a worker, she often ran into her and sometimes, Mrs. Martins came with two children whom she assumed were her own. She described Mrs Martins who later informed her that she worked with the NNPC, as a very elegant woman who appeared comfortable enough to pass for a rich woman. She was not a regular worshiper and her excuse was that she had been posted to Abuja.

Shortly after the mandated 40 days fasting by the church, she ran into Mrs Martins and after their usual banter, the woman informed her that the spirit of God had ministered to her to bless my friend, Mrs. Boyo. She said though she already had someone else in mind, as soon as she saw Mrs. Boyo, the spirit informed her that she was the one to benefit from the contract.

I guess my friend began seeing Dollar signs as soon as she heard NNPC contract was coming her way. She quickly indicated interest, thanking and blessing Mrs. Martins whom God was going to use to bless her too. The stage was set and Mrs. Martins told her to expect her call. A few days later, she received the call from Mrs. Martins, telling her that the contract papers were almost ready. They had been approved and would be signed at a meeting they were about to start in Abuja anytime that day.

The contract was for the supply of some service parts to the ships they were working on at the oil rigs. It was her contract but she wanted my friend to have a share of the largesse as directed by God. Mrs Martins part of the contract was the supply of special engine oils for the ships and Mrs. Boyo would handle it on her behalf. I couldn’t take it anymore at the point and asked how she did not know that Mrs. Martins was a joker and fraud. My friend insisted that she had no idea, what with her being a sister in the church.

Later in the day, Mrs. Martins called that the papers had been signed and one Alhaji Bello had already boarded a flight to Lagos armed with them. She gave my friend a number to call the Alhaji on and then arrange to collect the contract papers from him. About 30 minutes later, the Alhaji called, asking where she was and why she was wasting his time, when he was going out of his way to do her a favour. My friend quickly abandoned her chores and left for the airport to meet Alhaji.

For the next two days, she   met a couple of other guys, parting with money totalling N270, 000 and a four litre gallon of suspicious looking oil to show for all her effort. All the while, Mrs. Martins supposedly remained in Abuja,  directing the show and insisting she would make multiples of her investment once the goods were delivered. So how did she eventually realise that she had been scammed?

She said the first time she visited the warehouse for the oil, the manager, after collecting the initial N150,000 deposit for a sample of the oil and registration, told her she would be allowed to come with a truck to pick the oil as Mrs. Martins would be sending the money from Abuja. However, the next day, he informed her that the oil was not available as some other clients had come to pack all their stock. And since they were yet to make full payment, they would have to wait a few days. On the next agreed date, Mrs.

Martins said she was having problems raising money from Abuja and that my friend should try and raise N500,000 as initial deposit, while she sourced the balance from Abuja. She said it would only increase her share of the contract money. At the end of the day, after borrowing and wiping out her account, she got to the Idiaraba warehouse and met nobody. The name of the company had been removed, no one was around to answer her questions and Mrs. Martins had suddenly become unreachable.

While we were talking, my friend’s daughter, a university undergraduate walked in. I asked why she allowed her mother walk into such a scam, or is she also ignorant of such antics. This was where I got my answer. The young girl told me not to mind her mother as she warned her several times during her mad rush to and from Idiaraba that she was being scammed, but her mother refused to listen, insisting that Mrs. Martins was a Christian sister.

If I felt any pity for Mrs. Boyo as she narrated her ordeal, after listening to the daughter, everything vanished. If she were my younger sister, I would probably have spanked her like a little girl, in addition to the scolding I gave her.   Mrs Boyo simply allowed her greed for money, quick and easy money at that, to outdo her. She insisted that the way Mrs. Martins approached her gave her no option but to believe that it was a breakthrough from God. After all, they had just concluded the 40 days annual mandated fasting.

All efforts to track Mrs Martins have proved abortive. The number she called with has been out of reach. She has not been seen in church ever since and nobody knows her or recognises that name. But what is the position of the church on the matter? My friend said the church has never failed to inform members that it would not get involved in matters concerning business or money issues among brethrens. In other words, Mrs. Boyo is on her own. At a visit to her salon last weekend, tell tale signs of her misadventure had begun setting in. Poor Mrs. Boyo!

Remember, you may reach me via these email addresses: yetty5050@yahoo.co.uk or inthesunlovezone@yahoo.com Do have a wonderful weekend!