By Victor Kwame Sampong
I knew I was going to be in Uyo by the weekend to watch the Super Eagles take on Libya in an African Cup Of Nations Qualifier.
As a result, I needed to work to ensure I had a smooth trip to and from Uyo. As much as these trips are usually fun and exciting, they also cost money.
And so, when I started the week, it was money on my mind all through.
There was one ride that caught my attention during the week. I just dropped someone off at Egbelu Minita Estate, off the East-West Road axis, opposite Jephthah School, when another order immediately came through from within the estate.
When a client calls within 30-45 seconds of an order, it means they’re in a hurry. At times, it could be an advantage for me if properly harnessed.
And true to my instincts, the guy who booked was in a hurry. Even when I tried to negotiate a fee with him, he told me not to worry and that I should just head his way. In fact, he was walking out sef. Before I could even reverse properly, oga was almost where I was. He just hopped in and told me to start moving; once again, shoving the negotiations down my throat.
I felt how tensed he was and sought to know why he was in such a hurry. Man to man, nigga spilled!
He told me we needed to be faster so he could go catch his babe red-handed. He got Intel that she was with or more like, she was back with her ex. Damn! And his spy has dropped the location so we gotta be there like now.
That’s how we set out for Agip Estate. As we dey go, I probed further into his predicament and the reason why a fine young man like him should be bothered about a girl by almost midnight. His revelations shook me afterwards.
He said he was the one who cleaned up the girl, and he meant that literally. She had a tiny shop at Rumuokoro axis that she was struggling with when he met her. They started dating thereafter and he saw a wife in her, sort of. So, when he ‘hit’ some good money, he wanted to establish a business to sustain them if he ever hit a rough patch. Na so he go open a very big boutique for the banny in her name. The man was smitten and couldn’t believe how pretty the girl he ‘cleaned’ up could be. But more importantly, he said he saw a future with her, hence this move.
He showed me the boutique from his phone and I shouted in Egungun’s voice…. That’s massive baby!

So, my client said the babe indeed has managed the business to enviable heights (credit to her) and even now that he isn’t getting the sort of money he was raking in, the returns from the shop were very impressive.
Anyway, we got to the said location at Agip Estate, but we couldn’t find the girl nor her partner. I also noticed he was in communication with someone once in a while during our drive down. That person could be his mole I figured. Almost immediately, a new location popped up and he told me to reverse the vehicle and head to Okilton Drive.
On the way back, he said he the girl was moving funny for some time now because it seems na she dey fund their lifestyle, with proceeds from their business venture. So she speaks to him in tones that were nonexistent during their formative years together.
We got to Okilton and once again, the mole pinpointed exactly where we would find them and we did this time. The drama that followed thereafter made me conclude his babe was out of his hands.
I parked at a distance to observe how he tried to bring the girl back to the car for them to go back home together. She blatantly refused, while calling him names in the process. And went as far as asking him to send his account details so she can pay him off. After all, how much has he spent sef? My brain wan burst. My guy man was on his knees, pleading, but she would have none of it.

The ex, who at this time, must have gotten tired of the whole thing, gave the girl an ultimatum…either join him in his own car now or leave with us. The silly, ungrateful girl took her bag and beckoned on her friend who had been with them since to join her as they all left in her ex’s car.
I let my client soak in the moment of disappointment briefly, before walking up to him and dragging him into my car. Make him come make we dey go abeg, me sef get work to do.

He got in, and broke down in tears, as he tried to explain some of the things he did for his babe to bring her to an acceptable level. He pimped her up. Her before and after pictures within three years will shake the Internet if it ever breaks out.
I consoled him as best as I could on the way back home. As sad and heartbreaking as his predicament was, his bill with me came through with ease. After all, the frowning of a goat does not stop it from being sold in the market. Abi no be so our elders talk?
I knack am Bill, he transferred, I bade him farewell and continued my hustle…no time!
Nonetheless, lessons were learnt, albeit the hard way!
Oh, l lest I forget. The mole feeding him the info about the girl’s nefarious activities na her best friend o. The one we saw with her at the time. She looked pretty innocent. But the way me sef dey look her, her eyes no good.
My thinking, she fit dey eye my client sef. In a bid to check up on him, I’ll call and find out. Amebo dey sweet sometimes sha …. Lol!
See y’all next week!