By Sharon Emephia
Sometime ago, during the early years of my sojourn in Abuja, Nigeria’s Federal Capital City, I lived in one of the housing estates around the city, in an apartment complex that I shared with a family, we were just two tenants occupying the apartment complex.
We had a guy who manned the gate, not really a proper well trained security personnel, he just manned the gate to our apartment complex, which was good enough since the general estate had properly trained security personnel securing the estate and the streets within the estate.
On a certain day, the gateman in my apartment complex called me on my phone line, that he wanted to have a conversation with me. I obliged him, stepped out to hear what he had to say, and that’s where the crux of today’s story came up
So, this guy, an indigene of one of the neighbouring states to Abuja, Nigeria’s Federal Capital City, and had come to Abuja in search of greener pastures, but since he wasn’t really educated, he could only land certain types of jobs, like the one he was handling for us, Manning our gate. Meanwhile, during one of his trips to his home state, he met a lady, a university graduate, and was able to convince her into starting a love relationship with him. He was able to convince the lady that he was a “city boy” and was doing very well, meanwhile he didn’t have a room of his own, besides the gatehouse he occupied.
According to my then gateman, one thing led to the other, the lady got pregnant and they had a child. He’s been taking time off to see the lady and their child for over a year, as at the time he was speaking with me, but the problem he was confronted with that made him ask to have a conversation with me was that the lady he had a child with, was tired of just him visiting her, she insisted on wanting to join him in the City, and he swore that he can never allow the lady know the type of job he had in the City, so he actually requested for me to pay him his one year salary in advance, so he could quickly get a proper apartment somewhere around the estate, so the lady and the child can meet him there when they come into the city to spend time with him, while he shuttles to still man our apartment gate within the period they would be around for.
I was too stunned to immediately know what response to give him. Who pays their gateman one year’s Salary in advance? When I regained composure, I just told him politely that I wouldn’t be able to grant that request.
The part of the story that forms today’s topic is for everyone, especially singles, to be careful how they believe people they just meet on the streets, without any way to verify the information they give you about themselves, especially if you live in or around any of the big cities. There are lots of beautiful liars around right about now.
Personally, though long-distance relationships have never been my thing, I congratulate those that are inclined to such, especially in these times we live in, when one needs a collaboration of the Revelatory gifts of God’s Spirit – Word of knowledge, Word of Wisdom, Prophecy, and the discerning of spirits – actively functional in you to relate accurately with fellows around you, talk more of just believing a random person’s profile of themselves.
A lot of single persons have gotten their hands burnt by believing without at least trying to do their due diligence. The days are freaking evil, there are beautiful liars in, and around the cities, ensure to do your due diligence, especially when you decide to get involved in an interstate or intercontinental love relationship with someone of the opposite sex, so you don’t end up marrying a lie.
You feel me?