"Good to see you too sir" He responded.
No one could rival Alhaji Musa in hospitality, his integrity was second to none when it came to business matters. Alhaji Musa had flown into Port harcourt accompanied by Gbolahan in his private jet They sat down and discussed while the daughter of the president was busy sitting with her newly wedded husband, smiling happily for all to see.
Three musicians had been hired to play at her wedding. Flavor, Dbanj and IcePrince Zamani
He held his 24 carat gold customised iPhones and smiled at the no expense spared gifts distribution galore. He made a mental note to present the gift to his adorable wife as soon as he returned from his trip. As he kept his package, he silently mused on what he would give his 14 year old daughter Toke from the list of gifts.
She had called, screaming blue murder that he hadn't allowed her to attend such a prestigious event with him, and perhaps meet some eligible bachelors. He laughed at that but made a mental note not to take her to any events like this till she was 21.
"Great event, ba" laughed Alhaji with some other business men.
Gbolahan Dada followed his cue and laughed aloud also. His eyes followed Alhaji's eyes all over the room.
Alhaji turned to him, "After the wedding there's an after party with a few of Mr. President's close friends" he whispered. "We are invited. That's where I will make the introductions"
"Okay Alhaji" Gbolahan spoke discreetly
"Till then we enjoy this sophisticated wedding and think of the time we will soon have to throw weddings for our daughters, no?"
"Certainly" Gbolahan smiled, happy at the way everything was going.
*****
Bright Okopi laughed out loud as he moved the groundnut seeds around the sparse Ijebu garri in his metal white and brown plate that was popular in the 60s. He was sitting in a seedy apartment with one of his friends in the backwaters of Ebutte Metta.
The ice water voice of Lanre Ogunlana could be heard as he described crudely how he slept with one of his latest girlfriends with the five guys surrounding him.
Bright just quietly looked and kept eating his groundnuts. His mind kept ruminating on his pastors word.
"You are made in the image and likeness of God, you are made to rule this earth".
He kept thinking of it over and over again as Lanre kept on with another one of his escapades. He laughed to himself as he recalled his pastor counselling him, that such young men as Lanre would amount to nothing worth much because God has created sex to be used in the context of marriage.
"Wetin dey make this one laugh?" Lanre interrupted his reverie.
Bright Okopi just poured a bottle of 50cl healthmax water in his drying garri "Nothing, my brother. Just thinking about my life"
"You should now, I no dey see any girl around you, hunger no dey draw lagos girl..."
"So as you see me so, na hunger you dey see..." Okopi exploded angry. "Na because you no get vision now"
"Me I no get vision?" Lanre springs up in a yoruba man's stance to fight.
Bright remains on the floor, "All those women wey you dey carry don block your vision" he laughs coolly.
"You don see those 'Ojuju' movie reviews, your wowo resemble the one of that actor wey him girlfriend get belle" Lanre is being vindictive.
"Yes, you're very ugly and just as poor, na Ajegunle they dey live sef, you sef, na ajegunle you dey live".
"I hear you" Bright says smiling. "I may live in Ajegunle but I'm rich. I have access to the greatest resource owner on earth"
"Wale, this your boy dey craze! See hin shoe and hin trouser, as e dey and he dey talk say e rich"
"No mind am, hin don join those people wey dey carry Jesus for head"
Lanre collapses in laughter. "I think say you don tire for poverty. Why you just dey tie your head inside wahala?"
Bright resumes the drinking of his garri. He's still upset but at least, he was able to say he was rich. His pastor says 'You will have what you say" well baba God, I don dey talk am, what next?'
Somewhere inside him he felt at peace, the turmoil he had been feeling over his life just kept dissolving.
If it was just the peace, following Jesus was worth it. His pastor though, said wealth was one of the blessings he needed to enter into.
*****
Tanya rubbed her eyes in front of a computer screen, trying to sleep but finding none. As usual she declined opportunities to go out for a meal.
The life of an entrepreneur didn't have much free time. She went through the news online and the info she kept getting about the 234 girls missing was distressing. Was BH being funny? Nigeria's zip code was 234, the number of girls kidnapped from the terrorist occupied state Bauchi was also 234.
She laughed out loud at what Nigeria was doing about it. Nothing!
This country needed her. Christabel her best friend had started a school where they taught JAMB and SSCE students how to pass their exams. She just opened two new branches and was out looking for managers who could manage the students and teachers.
Trustworthy people were difficult to find, recruitment was always a headache because when you hired the wrong person, it meant that your monies would be embezzled.
A call came in on her Blackberry. She slipped her earphone in her ear and responded.
"Christabel, you no dey sleep"
She listened in rapt attention for some minutes.
"Hmmm, I think I will have to attend to that in the morning.......yeah, I need to be in school" she laughs, then jokes "How is your husband? My cousin who doesn't remember the one who gave him a wife".
She listens again, then "Okay, I'll have dinner with you tomorrow night and no, it should not be an excuse to arrange a blind date for me"
"Take care of the twins and goodnight"
*****
She is one of the leading Social Media Managers in Nigeria with the ability to foresee trends and build on it before it becomes commonplace. She is intelligent and strategic. She is also an amazing writer. To get in touch mail her at tessadoghor@gmail.com
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