The Consequence By Olagunju Sunday Gbenga

The Consequence

Once upon a time, there lived a lady, called Lade, in the town of Owode in Ogun State. She was fond of her mother as she was the only daughter among four boys who were her siblings. Though her father was averagely rich, her mother was not satisfied with his financial status. Therefore, she always told her daughter that she must not marry a poor man but a very rich husband. She told her that she didn’t believe in ‘’suru lere’’ but ‘’olorun sogo’’ husband. In Yoruba language, a ‘’suru lere’’ husband is the type that is neither rich nor poor but has a bright future. On the other hand, an ‘’olorun sogo’’ husband is an extremely rich husband.

Many a time, Lade’s mother would remind her never to forget her warnings that it is a sin to marry a poor man. But, if she dared kick against her order she would disown her. On the contrary, Lade’s father always counseled her to marry who she loved. He stressed that money can fade away but love cannot. ‘’ It is only true love that will keep you going when everything is gone, love can stand the test of time,’’ he buttressed.

Lade decided to go for the shinning things by following her mother’s advice. She would never listen nor give a chance to any average man irrespective of how promising his future might be. Her saying was that: ‘’any man that will qualify to be my husband must be stinking rich, having exotic cars, a mansion of his own and must be ready to lavish his wealth on me.’’ ‘’No time for suru lere, olorun sogo lawa wa,’’ she uttered in derision. It means that Lade was only interested in a readymade man.

From the time immemorial, Segun had been Lade’s stronger admirer. He had tried many things to entice her to give but all his was to no avail. She remained adamant and had never given Segun’s advances a second thought. Despite all his failures, Segun never gave up. On a Sunday morning, Segun went to Lade’s house in his brand new Toyota Jeep to announce to her that the future will be bright for both of them if she could accept his love. On getting there, he met her parents sitting outside of the house. He greeted them affectionately prostrating with his jaw touching the ground. This humble act pleased Lade’s father. Segun afterward asked after Lade. ‘’ Lade! You have a visitor,’’ her father called with enthusiasm as she responded from her room.

When Lade came out and discovered it was Segun, she shouted on him not minding her parents’ presence: ‘’stop disturbing me! You are far below my taste!’’ ‘’Get this into your thin skull, I can never marry you,’’ she added and headed back to her room. Segun felt very disappointed and humiliated, having no other option; he went to his car and drove off. All efforts made by Lade’s father to appease him proved abortive. Hence, he gave up on her.

One day, a very wealthy man nicknamed Paulo who lived in one of the biggest estates around proposed to Lade. Without any consideration, she fell for him having met her qualifications. She fell very flat in love with him. Without much ado, Lade packed her things in her father’s house and began to live in a mansion with Paulo. Often times, Paulo would bring her home in an expensive car to greet her parents. As usual, he would give a huge amount of money but Lade’s father would never collect it, saying he was not in support of the marriage. But Lade’s mother would always go behind her husband to collect the money. Many a time, she would pay a secret visit to Lade and Paulo in order to get more largesse to satisfy her unending desire for material things. Lade’s father once accosted his wife asking her where she got money to buy all the expensive wears she lavishly displayed. All her response had been: ‘’ I got it from the proceeds of my business.’’ He, however, never forgot to warn her that only wealth gotten through the right means will survive the test of time.

Every day is for thief but one day is for the owner says a Yoruba adage. Life continued to be rosy for these two love birds until one day, on a chilled Saturday morning, a team of fully armed policemen and EFCC (Economic and Financial Crime Commission) officials bundled themselves into Paulo’s compound and called on him to come out; that any attempt he makes to escape may lead to his death. Against the police advice, he concluded that there would always be a way out. ‘’A giant must not fall so cheap’’ he said strengthening his heart. Paulo had almost escaped but was shot on his foot as he tried to jump over the fence.

The police with the EFCC officials then arrested him and his wife, Lade. However, before the law enforcement agents left their compound, they did not forget to tell Lade that her husband was a cyber thief, popularly known as ‘’Yahoo Boy’’. He had duped many wealthy people in the past. And recently, he had duped a white man of three hundred and fifty million dollars. ‘’Since both of you are met staying under the same roof at the time of this arrest, you are both considered partners in crime. Therefore, both of you will rot in jail,’’ they announced.

It then dawn on Lade that she had made a wrong choice. ‘’I didn’t look before I leaped,’’ she regretted. Thus, she began to cry. Not knowing what was going on in her mind, one of the policemen told her that no amount of crying would bring back the dead; for it is too late to cry when the head is off.

Lade and Paulo were later charged to court and sentenced to twenty years imprisonment with hard labour.