By Victor Kwame Sampong
This past week, I saw so many videos on the internet about little girls, and teenagers having boyfriends and taking up adult roles for their respective families.
The level of moral decadence in the society has never been this low. Girls of 14, 15, 16, 17 years are now comfortable having boyfriends who fend for them and the girls’ family.
This brings me to my recent encounter with Kenny Billion.
Kenny is a client I met recently, and he is a young guy of about 21 years.
He seemed to have come into some money this period as well. My first time with him was when I took him, his girlfriend and sister to a party at Elekahia from Elelenwo one night, but on a normal Bolt ride.
About three days later, he booked me again from GRA to a hotel at Woji. I knew he was the same person I picked up three days earlier, but made no mention of it. But after we renegotiated on the existing price because he wanted to make a detour to avoid some ‘SS3 Boys’ on our route, he instantly recognized me. He didn’t mind the extra fee and said he liked the fact that I’m forward-thinking.
Na talk dey bring talk, so we decided to have a working relationship from that moment on. I told him it would cost an extra chunk of cash for the ‘unique services’ I offer whenever he calls me. Well, better be safe than sorry, he reasoned.
Some days later, after using my life’s savings to fill up my tank at MRS Station, Garrison, I was in dire need of premium clients who would help me recoup that money without the stress of the regular Bolt trips.
You know how many rides I’d have to embark on to get about Thirty-Five Thousand (N35,000) during weekdays when surge no dey? I bought the fuel at about 9am after queuing up as the first person at 6 am. I even had to go use a POS outlet to get cash, thus an extra fee, because the station doesn’t yet accept card transactions. So, when I reasoned all these, I knew I needed something premium to get back my money if not, wahala go dey o.
Anyways, Kenny called me the next day, and said he needed to go see a friend at Choba, so my car would be perfect for the trip, because the route is littered with their ‘nemesis’.
I told him how much it would cost to leave my house to the pickup point and the trip to Choba as well. Again, ‘better be safe than sorry’…so he didn’t bid much.
I got to his end about 10 minutes earlier than the agreed time. In my usual manner, I like to be early for scheduled pickups, rather than to be late and drive like Mad Max in other to meet up. When you’re early, you take your time to drive calmly. But when the clients start putting pressure on you because you are late, that’s a recipe for disaster.
My guy came out with his girlfriend, both dripping in ‘Steeze and Composure’. He wanted to sit at the back with her, but I suggested he join me in front instead. Makes for better optics when flagged down.
We started off with some light-hearted jokes, got talking here and there until we got to the crux of today’s episode. His babe was complaining that a certain girl in their circle was jealous that Kenny Billion (these guys have some of the funniest nicknames I’ve heard though…lol) bought her a new iPhone, and so has been pressuring her own boyfriend for something similar or higher.
It was an iPhone 13 Pro (can’t remember if it’s the Pro-Max version or not), bought at Seven Hundred and Thirty Thousand Naira (N730,000). I nearly stepped on the brakes in the middle of the road. Na wetin Kenny Billion use buy phone for a smallie of 16 years. E be like sey I underestimated this boy net worth and no charge am well o (my brain went into overdrive).
Wetin she sef dey carry that kind phone do? Tik-Tok, Snapchat and the usual WhatsApp Status viewing and updating. They kept going on and on about how the other sets of girls had made her a topic of discussion as a result of her newly acquired status.
As we crossed the Obiri Ikwerre flyover, approaching the Rumuosi Junction axis, the girl got a call from her mother, who was complaining to her that she left home two days back, and hadn’t sent them money since and now, food don finish for house. I kid you not!
She was trying to pacify the mother by telling her that she would ‘find way’ to send her 10k later in the day. Me, I don know sey na my client go chest that billing last last. Your 16-year-old daughter is not just with a man, she lives with him, yet you enable her by asking for upkeep money? What is going on?
This also took me back to some time ago, when one girl told me she gives her father money each time she intends to sleep out. Her own mother is late, the father is jobless and idle, with three other siblings, she fends for the entire household from her job as a secretary to a lawyer and the few ‘runs’ she makes once in a while. She was 19.
Kenny’s babe is 16, but already the breadwinner of her household most likely. I tried to wrap my head around the whole scenario and how negatively it impacts our society and its rippling effects in the long run. It’s not looking good for the future generation o.
We got to Choba safely though, got paid and drove off, unable to shake off these thoughts in my head.
But then again, why should I allow my boyfriend to spend 730k on a phone for me when my people never see food chop? Abi how una dey reason this matter?
