Hello,

I felt like sharing something with members of this section and hope that something is learned.

I happened to be born into a family where everyone was always surrounding my late mother. Our house was like a cinema centre where people come to watch movies or where people pay homage to their king.

Actually, I never really understood what was going on but it felt like a world filled with love or so it seemed. In the 90s, my mother was the major supplier of building materials for the building of a stadium[name of stadium removed] it was first awarded to an European company.

You can imagine the benefit of being in such post the serious cash flow of money. You know bees will always be attracted to honey and so, she was attracted to so many bees. She housed so many relatives, many had their issues but for the sake of brevity, I will pick one.

Her younger sister was among these persons who gained from her. I was very young but images of those times are still visible in my mind.

This sister was with us for several months to a year until she left the country. While she was away, she left her daughter with my mum and my mum was paying the daughter's school fees with mine and my other siblings. My mother never complained one day or nag her to bring money for the daughter's school fees.

Things started to change for her and they conspired to take her daughter away from us.... a lot happen over the years, so many that I can't writer here. we relocated to the south and my aunt requested that my mum should stay at her house. after some year there, something happened and she asked us to leave her house. It was after that time my mother recounted how this same sister led to her lose of job in the banking industry. We left her house all the same to get our own.

This woman was in money...a lot of it.

Somehow, my mum died and it was time to bury her. On the way to where she was to be buried, her sister refused to go beyond a certain KM with the excuse that her car can't go further because of the bad road. I didn't bother to talk much. Nobody argued with her. My mother was buried and everyone went their separate ways after the burial.

A year later, she started calling my elder brother to come and see her because she has something to discuss with him. My elder brother never wanted to go but I told him that for posterity sake, we should go and so that she wont have an excuse in the future by saying she called us because she wanted to help but we refused. I further hinted that I know nothing will come out of the visit.

We got there eventually and she said she wanted to start large scale recharge card business and that she would want us to manage the business for her. Before we knew it, she changed next day and said errmmm... we should get a spot and that she will provide us with table and chair where we can start making calls and taking records of daily sales. I and my brother looked at ourselves and smiled.


That was the last she saw of us.

We never bug her for anything. With faith and God's grace, I went back to school and completed my education from where I stopped. My younger sister managed to leave Nigeria for Dubai and got a small job there. we have been living our lives without asking any family member for help like they did to our own mum when she had money.

Some time last month, my sister visited her when she came from Dubai and according to her, she said my aunt was crying. I was like cry for what? Now she has nothing aside the house where she asked us to pack out from some years ago. The car that she was protecting and refused to leave in order to bury her own sister who sweated for her nko? I was with her in that city for over 5 years but never visited her until I left.

According to my sister, she now sells kerosene and was begging her that we shouldn't abandon her only child and daughter because she has got no one.

I remember how she was feeling pompous over her car, electronics etc but today, those items are so way back that if you give secondary school kid in this current state of the country, he wont accept them even for free. This aunt would yell at the slightest opportunity if you dare touch her property. She was often monitoring what we do because we were in her house, even went as far as opening goods that my mum sent to another of my sibling through someone else... what was she looking for?

The things money do to people is really funny.

Please, lay good foundation for your children. Those kids you look down on might not be what you imagine them to be in the next 5 years. The world is changing and changing very fast. Remember it will you might leave this world and it will remain your own kids.

What about your dad?

So sorry about your mother. I am proud of you guys for roughing it and making it on your own, am sure your mother will be proud tOo.
For your Aunt, leave her with her regrets, we reap what we sow

Karma on the loose

bukatyne:
What about your dad?

We have lived our lives without dad, he was long gone... just mum and us.