Oh Mammon

Last week my friend, John-Bull (popularly known as JB among us, his pals) returned to Lagos after a fruitless sojourn in Katsina State. During his NYSC year he had hooked up with a Mallo babe with the hopes that she would be the meal ticket for his service year.

 Truth is, we had always known JB to be a womaniser but hearing him admit he was "doing" a beautiful girl for the money alone was something we couldn't get over.

 As expected, we advised him against meddling with a Mallo babe but our advice fell on deaf ears. It was certain that JB just wanted to milk her for all she was worth, probably enjoy the goodies her body had to offer, and then leave her high and dry her after he was through with his service year.

 Knowing how powerful some of these Mallo parents are, playing games with their daughters could be suicidal. They spoil their children silly; lavishing all the good things money could buy on them. Deductively speaking, it's only prudent for these parents to go any length to ensure the interests of their offspring are protected.

 Ignoring our cries, JB went ahead with this ponzi scheme; deluding the innocent "daddy's girl" he met at the bookshop. Day-after-day, he wooed her with sweet words, flirtatious text messages and repeated phone calls. In no time, she collapsed like a pack of cards; giving-in to his advances and confessing her feelings to him.

 Almost instantaneously, they became love birds and were seen at virtually all the fun spots in the capital. They spent many hours in the company of one another, holed up in several hotel rooms, cuddling and making out. JB had been posted to the state ministry, so he had lots of free time on his hands as he was required to come only once a month for his clearance letter. As fate would have it, his Mallo babe had just finished her A-levels.

 Absence they say makes the heart grow fonder. In the case of JB and Hassana, idleness made them fonder. They were simply inseparable. Three months into their relationship, JB began to make demands for money and pressure her for sex. She gladly gave him all the money he asked for without hesitating but she was reluctant to let him have his way with her.

 Using all the weapons of seduction he had in his arsenal, JB tried to lure Hassana into giving-in to his advances. For some weird reason, however, she refused to budge. After much persuasion, she told JB that she would only have sex with the man who would marry her. She then asked him to marry her so that they could enjoy their romance forever and raise beautiful kids together.

 Noticing JB's reaction to what she was saying, she cunningly assured him of the goodies he stood to gain from marrying her. Most of which were financial and sexual. She whined as she begged him to marry her; that he was her life, that her parents were aware of their relationship and that it meant the world to her.

Shit just got real with JB, he never envisaged this dramatic twist in his gold digging. To be honest, he didn't even like this girl; he was doing it just for the money. He felt she was an over-dependent brat who required lots of attention and assistance as she could barely do anything without help from her servants.

 Getting married was not his problem; getting married to a rich man's daughter was actually more of a solution than a problem, but getting married to Hassana was a problem that would bring a solution to his problems. Marital status was the variant while problems were constant in all scenarios. Being the sharp guy that he thought himself to be, he agreed to marry Hassana so as to suck out all the goodies he could before he fled at the end of his service year.

 Immediately, Hassana stripped herself naked and offered her body to him as a covenant to seal their love forever. Like a starved Prison inmate, he hurriedly devoured her like a bowl of spaghetti; consummating their 'love' in the most beastly manner ever known to man.

 It was all rice and beans between JB and Hassana until it was time to meet her father. Alhaji Aminu Dogo was a wealthy northern aristocrat who had claims to several oil wells in the country. With such wealth and affluence, he became a king-maker in the State, giving assent to those aspiring to occupy various political offices. His nod was as good as winning the election; Army generals ate from his palm, and even the Governor of the State was his protege. Without a doubt, his power was absolute and unmatched in the whole of Katsina State.

 Alhaji Dogo was a man of few words but with his immense powers, people who defied him were known to have disappeared mysteriously never to be seen again. With a keen eye he peered at JB who stood in his presence greeting. His silence made JB very nervous as he seemed to be reading something on his clothes.

 After about 5minutes of humming indistinctively, he bellowed a warning to him never to jilt his daughter or make her cry; educating him on the grave consequences that follow such an action. Then Alhaji Dogo promised him a huge sum of money to rebrand himself so as to be good enough for his daughter.

 It was at this point JB realised he was waist deep in a messy situation. Quitting was not an option anymore as he was a hair's breath away from driving posh cars and controlling huge sums of money while being married to the daughter of the most powerful man in Katsina State.

 JB's knew that if he was to amount to anything in life, playing along would be his starting point.


 The story continues next week...