TEJUMOLA OJODABARU; WHAT A NAME!

I was the last child of my aged parents. My dad was in his 70s, while mum was engaged in petty trading. The onus of my training therefore rested on the first born of my parents; Brother Isaac, whose wife had born him three children.

Despite his commitments to his nuclear family, Brother Isaac made sure I never lacked as far as my upkeeps and education were concerned. This abruptly came to an end. When I was in the third year in the University, Brother Isaac lost his job.

I left the campus, this fateful day, full of hope and expectation I had borrowed some amount of money that I needed to pay back. My mission was to go and collect my monthly allowance. The mood I met at home made my heart skipped a beat. Brother Isaac, his wife and the children were all at home. This was strange, at least the two elderly ones were supposed to be in the boarding house. They seemed to be in the mourning mood. Who died? What could have happened? Why this somber mood?

I did not have to wonder for too long. Brother Isaac had lost his job few weeks earlier. The children had been sent away from school when he could not pay their fees. Without been told, I knew there was no way I could squeeze a dime out of this couple in this their present state. I expressed my sympathy, prayed for them and left.

Where should I go now? I thought aloud. I struggled to get to the bus stop. I just stood wondering. How would I pay my debt in the campus? The money I had in my purse could not even take me back to school. “I have to start begging people for money if I don’t want to get stranded”. I was thinking how I would go about this when suddenly; I felt that my dress was drenched with storm water gathered in a pot hole beside where I stood. This sudden wetness brought me back to my senses. I started crying.

The SUV vehicle that splashed the dirty water from the stagnant pool parked few meters away. The driver alighted. He came over to me and apologized “Sorry young lady, Chief said you should come”. He pointed at the direction of the big vehicle.

I followed him sheepishly. The man at the back of the vehicle lowered the side glass and said “Young lady, accept my apology. I’m sorry to have soiled your beautiful dress. Could you come in so that we could do something about it?” Before I could say anything, he opened the other door. I entered and the vehicle sped off.

He introduced himself and gave me his complimentary card. He was a contractor of some sort. He requested for my school address, course of study and home town. He was quite inquisitive. Through is persistent questioning, he knew about my predicament. He consoled me and opened his briefcase. I took time to look at him very well. He looked handsome to me. He was not even as old as I thought. He brought his cheque book out and scribbled something on it.

He asked for my full name and wrote it on the cheque leaf. He handed it over to me. I thanked him. I looked at the cheque. I was to cash a sum of twenty thousand naira only. I looked at him and thanked him again. He also requested for my brother’s field of specialization and I told him it was geology. He brought out another complimentary card and asked for his full name as well. He wrote some things on it, brought out an envelope and addressed it to the managing director Great soil solid minerals incorporated.

“Jane, give this to your brother Alhaji Dan Sakwa will surely get him a job in due course, just promise me you’ll be a good girl. I’m on my way to Abuja right now for an important presentation. I hope this our meeting will bring me good luck.” I started praying for him. “That is my girl. You can give me a call next week.” He gave me a cash of two thousand naira and asked the driver to park the vehicle when we got to Ojota bus stop. He bade me farewell. I alighted into the scorching sun and the vehicle sped off towards the old toll gate.

Was this strange man an Angel or Aristo out to lure me into fornication? Chief came out to be both. I said so because if I had not met him on that day, I didn’t know how I would have survived. Brother Isaac went to meet Alhaji Dan Sakwa of the solid minerals as chief directed. He got the job in the managerial level, his fortune changed immediately and the couple remained eternally grateful to me.

When chief came back from Abuja, he gave me a call. I thanked him for all he had done. I also informed him that Brother Isaac had secured the job. I asked him how his Abuja interview went. He said it was positive. According to him, that was his third attempt at getting the job. He said I was the one that brought him luck. He invited me to his office for celebration the following day.

When I got to his office, he was in a meeting. After waiting for about an hour, the secretary ushered me into his office.

“Janet Abomide!” I was confused at this statement. My name is Janet quite alright, this “ABOMIDE” was not clear to me

“You are Abomide now. If not because of that water that splashed on you, we wouldn’t have met”. He stood up, walked to where I sat, bent down to my level and looked me straight in the face. He said, “Jane, I don’t want to beat about the bush. I want us to start an affair”.

I was dumb founded. “What do I say to this now?” I thought. One thought said I should reject him and beat it, the other side, I should grab this opportunity. I listened to the latter. I lowered my gaze. He was not bad to look at. He was handsome. Deep inside me, I’m beginning to like him.

That was how I became the mistress of Chief Rodeke. He was my first man. When he realized I was a virgin, he started worshipping me. The affairs could no longer be hidden among my folks, but my parents expressed their resentment over the relationship. Understandably, I had succor in my brother and his wife.

Before I left school, Chief opened a boutique for me and employed qualified staff to run it. When I celebrated my twenty second birthday, he bought an SUV vehicle for me as my present. Me that my friends knew as a borrower and user of second hand clothes suddenly became a celebrity on the campus, one of the respected big girls. Because of my generosity, my peers were calling me Angel Janet! Twice I became pregnant; twice I lost my pregnancy mysteriously. Don’t miss understand me. I did not terminate the pregnancies, far from it. I had given my whole life to this man. I wanted to carry his baby. I wanted to be his wife.

When I passed out from the university, Chief influenced my posting and I remained in Lagos. I practically did the service in my shop. He rented a duplex for me. By this time, I had gone far with him. Some of his friends and siblings had known me.

I became his official consort. But whenever I asked about his wife, he always brushed the issue aside. He warned me that it was a no go area.

This was not for long though. Bubble burst one evening when chief decided to spend the weekend with me. We were just driving in from a night out, when this elderly woman came out of a big car parked beside my gate. She must have been waiting in the dark for some time.

She charged at the Chief. “Ramani Akanni Rodeke! I have respected you enough, but you failed to reciprocate this. Why you allowed yourself to be carried away by this useless harlot beat my imagination. A homeless gold digger of a girl made you loose all your senses of dignity. Have you forgotten our covenant at the shrine? You forget the source of all these wealth and affluence so soon?”

She turned to me. “Look Tejumola Ojodabaru, Ramani cannot take another wife or else heads will roll, that’s if they have not been rolling already! He is mine and mine alone. Take a final look at him.”

She dragged him out of the car and the man followed her without any resistance. They entered the waiting car and sped off.

I phoned the chief the following morning and he confirmed what his wife said. He said I should take care of myself. He assured me that all the properties in my possession were bought in my name. He advised me to make good use of them. My mind kept going to the statement of the woman about “heads rolling”. Could my still births be the heads that had started rolling? Will this not affect my future? Oh my God! This woman is a spoiler! Can you imagine, she even gave me a name, Tejumola Ojodabaru!