BENEFACTOR INDEED! BENEFACTOR INDEED!

I had a flourishing wholesales textile business in Balogun market. I was very popular in the market and one of the privileged few who pioneered traveling to Dubai, Hong-Kong, and Bangkok to order for textile materials.

My ordeal started when a friend introduced me to a quick business. I had just recovered from illness and needed some money to cover the lost ground. It was smuggling. I new it was illegal before I dabbled into it, so when our trucks loaded with contraband materials were intercepted by the men of customs and excise and arrested, I knew what I was into. From fry pan I landed myself in fire. Therefore instead of struggling out of my financial mess, I was wallowing in it.

We thought of bribing the sector commander of customs in charge of the operation. Those who were close to him warned us against it. They said the man was incorruptible. They advised us to forget the idea if we did not want to end up in jail.

“What can I do now?” I wondered aloud. I needed an urgent solution to my problems. When my husband who had just retired saw what I was going through, he promised to bail me out of my financial mess. This he did. He assisted me in securing a loan we used two of our buildings as collateral. My business started booming again.

There was this driver of mine named Rasaq. His peers called him Rosco. He was loyal and hardworking. He was a guy I could confide in, in fact I related to him as Aunt to a Nephew because we came from the same area. Therefore when he called me one day and advised that I should fortify myself with juju, so that my fortune will no longer nose dive, I started thinking.

“Alhaja, I was just watching you all the while. But I can no longer hold it again. You are like a sister to me even when things were bad, you did not send me away. My observation is that you are too exposed. You go about unprotected. That’s why you are an easy target.”

“What you have just gone through recently should serve as a lesson. Most of your mates in this market have juju men as their backbones. They work for them and wave evil and bad luck away.”

“If you don’t mind, I know of a man who stays in a village not far from here. Alhaja, this man is hot!”

I thanked him and told him to allow me to thing about it. About a month later, he raised the issue again; I decided to give his suggestion a trial. We fixed a date and Rasaq said he had to go and arranged with the man ahead, so he could prepare for us. I allowed him to go.

On the appointed day, we met the juju man, I was expecting an old man, but our host was a man in his forties. He prepared some concoctions and said I should bath with it in the midnight. After this, he said I should not talk to anybody until the day break. He also gave me a substance and a bottle of honey. He said I needed to make some incisions on my head in his presence. He said as a rule, he could not make it. It was either my husband or somebody I see on regular basis.

How could I ask my husband to do such a thing? One, he did not believe in fetish things, two, I did not inform him about the trip. The lot fell on Rasaq. I was the one that made the suggestion, and both of them agreed. He assisted me in making the incisions, seven in all and rubbed the blackish powder on the lacerations.

There was this lazy sister of mine, Tawa was her name. Her husband was a rich man but any time she visited me, her topic of discussion was Rasaq.

“Alhaja, we are ashamed of what people are saying about you and your driver. They alleged that you have abandoned your matrimony and settled for a common driver; your own driver for that matter. Sister, I’m sure this boy had charmed you …”

“Tawa, stop there! It is you they will charm, not me. Busy body, I will tell your husband to find you a time consuming job. You are lazy, that’s why you have time to be listening to hear say. What is my concern with what anybody says? What value will that one add to my trade? Didn’t they talk when the custom seized my goods? Did their talk and fake sympathy bring back my goods?

“Tawakalitu, Elejo! Alaroye, Akede-agbaye!!! Carry your bag and go! Oya take your bag and go!”

I shouted on her and warned her never to come to either my shop or home again. She carried her bag and went out.

There was this all ladies social club that made me their matron. They invited me to their new member initiation ceremony. In the middle of the ceremony, they gave me a glass cup. Every one of them held a glass like the one I was holding. The president went round filling the cups. This seemed strange to me, but when. She started a toast, I relaxed my suspicion. (They later on confirmed this and confessed that they did not drink theirs).

Few minutes later, they invited a middle aged man into the gathering. It seemed as if I had seen him before, but I couldn’t place the face. The president of the club rose up to speak.

“Alhaja, we members of this noble club respect you a lot. We know you are morally upright and have an enviable record as a family woman. Your business accruement came as an appendage. Your name topped the list of the twelve short listed highly place women in town.

We were therefore surprised with what had been going on in your life in recent time. We sensed that a toad was not running in the daylight for nothing. How could this enviable model change overnight? We wondered. This issue saddened us a lot.”

“We embarked on our investigation and found out that Rasaq, your driver was not your benefactor as you believed.”

At this juncture, Tawa, my sister entered the hall and took a seat.

“The man you are seeing here was the man Rasaq took you to in the village.” The president continued, “We would not have known, but Rasaq was a “kiss and tell” person. He used to boast of his sexual escapades with you.

“It’s quite unfortunate that your activities with him had become the talk of the town. We realized that you had been be-witched. Our determination to bail out our matron out of this public disgrace led us to this man. After listening to us, he apologized and promised to right the wrong. The wine you have drunk was the antidote to the charm. For your information Alhaja, we are not initiating any new member. Look around you, can you see any new face? The two non-members here are this man and your sister aunty Tawa, who is also part of this arrangement. She concluded.

I broke down and wept like a baby.