D' Prince: Xmarto how far?
Xmarto: Bros, am fine oh!
D' prince: Are you busy?
Xmarto: Not that much bro.
D' prince: OK, once you've finished let's see outside na.
Xmarto: OK, bro.
D' prince: Quickly, he came out, how far na?
Xmarto: Am fine oh bro.
D' Prince: Good, where is 'The Treasure?
Xmarto: 'The Treasure travel.
D' Prince: To where?
Xmarto: Abuja.
D' Prince: I just knew that she must have gone for her law course program in law school, Abuja. Meaning in just a year later my 'T will be called to the prestigious Nigeria Bar, the only platform you must get to before you can be addressed as a barrister and to become a legal practitioner. I was truly happy for my 'T at least her dreams and aspirations of becoming a lawyer will soon come true.
D' Prince: So, I told him; oK, get me her number.
Xmarto: OK, bro, let me get my phone from inside and so he did.
D' Prince: He called the number for me while I stored it on my phone; OK, thanks.
Xmarto: Welcome bro.
D' Prince: Though, I don't mingle but it seems almost everybody in the compound somewhat like me and Xmarto was not an exception. He is a smart guy, his groups are the ones in charge of present day societal happenings now; any information you need to get they give it to you instantly, our own time had far gone due to societal pressures and expectations. So, by just collecting the number from him he knew I am interested in his sister and somehow because he likes me personally as a person he tried to make things easier for me.
D' Prince: So, the next day when I got to the office I called 'The Treasure around 12: 00 PM.
D' Prince: I dial the number ( phone ringing...)
'The Treasure: Hello,
D' Prince: Hello, how are you doing?
'The Treasure: Good afternoon, am fine and you?
D' Prince: Afternoon, am cool.
'The Treasure: And how is work?
D' Prince: Fine, we thank God jor.
D' Prince: I checked round and I did not see you again, so, I decided to collect your number from Xmarto. And he told me you have traveled to Abuja, I just guessed that it must be for your course program.
'The Treasure: Yap, that's how everything just went.
D' Prince: Yeah that's great! That's the kind of bold move we want to hear about, at least by God's grace you can just put everything behind yourself once.
'The Treasure: Amen, it's God oh!
D' Prince: Yeah, the ball is in your court now, you just have to read harder and make us all proud.
'The Treasure: Na so oh! I will, thanks a lot.
D' Prince: Am wishing you all the best and a very successful career in advance.
'The Treasure: Amen oh! Thank you!!
D' Prince: By the way, do you know who's talking?
'The Treasure: Of course, why not I know it is you.
D' Prince: How did you know?
'The Treasure: I'm a very attentive listener and it helps me to easily identify people from a mere hearing of their voices on phone except I haven't heard you spoken before.
D' Prince: That must be great of you. However, I was not still very sure and I don't even know whether she knew my name, after all, in the entire compound everybody call me Bros as I was relatively new and so far I have failed to mingle. So, I decided to try her with the usual names both of us used to address ourselves.
D' Prince: Aunty,
'The Treasure: Brother,
D' Prince: Hahaha, you are good, in fact you get me on this one.
'The Treasure: I know na, immediately you just said hello, I just knew it was you.
D' Prince: Truly, you tried. And it's great to hear from you again. Once again, all the best.
'The Treasure: Thank you! I appreciate, God bless you uh!
D' Prince: Yap, and bye.
'The Treasure: Yeah, bye bye
D' Prince: However, all this scenario took place around the month of May 20014. Meanwhile, there this love hangover I carried upon myself all the way from Warri which has been between myself and my Christian sister called Scarlet. Her dad was my Vice-President when we were running microfinance empowerment scheme for the poor in Warri and the Creeks environs of Niger-Delta. It is like I have this primitive character of easily falling in love with girls I am used to their families or those that have become my closed friends already which in a way has always backfired on me; maybe in my next coming if there is at all I will always look for girls in neutral places that I barely know but that is if the strangeness of love ever allowed me.
D' Prince: So, around that month of February of that same 20014, I had somewhat cleared my hangover with Scarlet to a reasonable rocky bottom which has given me some level of assessment on the morals of these two ladies, I mean Scarlet and 'The Treasure. Now see how it goes.
D' Prince: Hreee hreee hreee ( phone ringing...)
Scarlet: Hello, who's this?
D' Prince: Yeah, this is D' Prince Aleleulo VI
Scarlet: Oh! So where have you been you runaway soldier?
D' Prince: I have been around and I have been following you up closely. I was around last year when I came to bury my dad. So how are you?
Scarlet: Am cool.
D' Prince: How can we meet possibly to get a final answer to my overdue hangover? You know and I know what I am talking about; I mean my marriage proposal to you.
D' Prince: Right from her voice you can tell that this girl had grown with the level of confidence I can detect just from our telephone conversations. Back in the hood, we were both living relatively like children of the privileged class and we have our own class and standards. Her father has the first building in Commissioner's Street at the other end of Enerhen Town while my eldest brother has the biggest school both primary and secondary named after our surname in Chief Peterson's drive right there at the center nerve of Enerhen kingdom where he had made name for himself on human capital development at the ancient Enerhen community and Warri environs over the years. We both used these British and American phonetics as our own standards different from the Warri pidgin English which is the usual lingual franca for all Waffirians. Scarlet and I used these American and British ascents at free will depending on the circumstances we found ourselves, we deployed them and mostly for comments at our local Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses in Enerhen Town and any other times different from others in general. Just as they say beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, so, she was the most beautiful girl in Enerhen Kingdom as far as my eyes can behold. Whenever she goes out for our normal local Witnesses, boys gathered around her to admired her magnificent beauty as beauty personified and the fluency of her spoken English as if they were listening to a white lady in command of the syllables of her own language but behave as if they were truly listening to her preachings. I do get all the gossips about her from boys in town. She was really living according to the meaning of her name; at least, she was the brightest colour of them all in town. While on my own side I was a talk of the town, anywhere I went to represent my big brother both in the ministry of education and at the association of private school owners his colleagues usually called him; hah, Aleleulo, we saw your son, he is such a handsome sharp, back in the hood people always think that I am my big brother's son as the difference of our age is as that much, and some also say that I do have a striking resemblance of my big brother. Fellow boys did admired me as if I am the guy whom all things seemed to be going well for and just as if I wanted to add more to their envy on me, I never rested on my laurels; I founded Enerhen Poverty Alleviation International which later stood me on my own footing away from my big brother's mighty shadow. Although, that later went with a whole lots of leadership responsibilities but that seemed to be what I always wanted; I hate to live in family's and other people's shadows. It does not give me my own bearing or identity at all. So, now you know where I am coming from.
D' Prince: Now, assessing the level of confidence in Scarlet's syllabic command of her British ascent over the phone, I got a little bit intimidated and taken off my feet somehow but as a man, I summoned courage not to chicken out after all it is a journey that I started myself and I must get it clean off from my heart myself and never to hunt me down tomorrow no more.
Scarlet: So, assuming am married now is this how you will be intruding into my marital home from unknown where just as you like?
D' Prince: Right there in my heart I smiled, maybe the level of energy I put in pursuing love is too much if not you will not used such words on me if you should know how disgusting it is to me to see any reasonable man that God created with His honour to ever think of going back to any woman who saw nothing good in him, despised him for his fellow man on whatever reasons and he sees nothing wrong at that but still go back and pursue such a woman for love, in fact I do not have any comment on that because it is not only absurd but it is also a lack of appreciation of God's honour in a man; and that I said in my heart.
D' Prince: So, I replied her; when we get to that bridge I will know how to cross it.
D' Prince: It is like once women know that a guy is truly in love with them and their mind is on someone else the former becomes a fool, an idiot and imbecile in their very eyes. Quite unfortunate though, that the values of a whole human being can just vanished from their eyes in such a short while but it is a woman's reality and we have to accept it the way we see it with them as part of their several weaknesses.
Scarlet: Hmh, I don't have time now get me ₦1500,00 Mtn recharge card, I am busy in the office right now and I can't go out to buy one for myself now, bye bye.
D' Prince: I like being tested because through that I get to know what my fellow human being in their true capricious nature really want from me. So, I did not answer her but I went ahead to buy an Mtn card of ₦750.00 which was a half of the amount she requested for and sent it to her. I waited for about 10 to 15 minutes for her call to say at least common thank you but it seems there were no such with her. So, I called her; madam, if the card has entered let me know so that I can throw away the card from my pocket, OK.
Scarlet: I actually asked for a thousand and five hundred naira recharge card and not seven hundred and fifty naira recharge card you sent, bye bye.
D' Prince: Scarlet were you testing me? And in your mind you think the best way to test me is money? It's OK, bye bye.
D' Prince: This incidence happened on Friday, and on Monday the following week my boss had already returned from Abuja and I told him everything. My boss is not just a boss to me but a mentor, a best friend and a big brother I never had in Lagos before then and as closed as he was to me then I had never told him anything about my love life or mistakenly made mentioned to him one day about a girl I wanted to or I want to marry. All we always joked about with his siblings are those cock-and-bull story about Warri men whom they always referred to as men of hard cocks and as sex machines who can last on top of women till day break and their dickheads will still be nodding their caps for more in the next day, where they get such stories from I do not really know. However, I do concur with whoever that comes up with his own version of Warri story whether truth or folktales just to avoid being put on unnecessary spotlight of comedy. If you want to be entertained, go and buy ticket at Eko Hotel & Suites and watch any jester of your choice there and get entertained and not me; being from Warri does not mean I am a comedian. Those of us whom are a bit Warri centrist are used to all kinds of such comics, myths and folktales about our beloved Warri and it can only get us amused because we are from Warri, we love our Warri, we are true sons of Warri, we are proud of our Warri and nobody else can tell us a better story of our Warri than our very selves, so, the validity of whom we are as Deltans coined as Waffirians in some quarters is not contestable in the theatrical meaderies of comedy. Innuendos and negative folktales about our beloved Warri are really to be blamed entirely on those comic Nigerian movie producers and comedians who does all sorts of scraps just to sell their creative piece of arts once they add the name Warri to it. The smart Warri boy comic story has remained the most sellable story in the whole of Africa comedy of all times till date with the famous slogan 'Warri not dey carry last'. It is a kind of a wrong believe and trend in Nigeria that Warri people are very funny, smart and easily aggressive in things that are little in nature. Truly, as Deltans we are strong and determined people in everything we do so long as it can earn us a means of living and we believe we have a genuine right to that very source of means. At that, Deltans are never deterred no matter how tough the the struggle to that means might seems like and no matter how big the obstacle that might comes therein; maybe that is why our slogan is christened, 'The Big Heart'. And largely, this is so due to the fact that naturally we live in a very difficult terrain out there, a terrain mainly dominated by Creeks and lakes as the delta axis of Nigeria, rightly called Delta State and those surrounding States of the River Niger basin called Niger-Delta. We are talking about people whom their only means of lively hood which is fishing and extensive farming had been taken away from them by the multinational oil companies whom had polluted all their Creeks, their lakes, their water ways and the just remaining small piece of land that had been left over for them to till for land produced for survival by the massive domination of Creeks and Lakes that covered almost all their entire landscapes with gasolines, diesels and different kinds of waste chemicals from their oil operations. So, growing up in that kind of environment, and you know your chances to work in any of those oil companies are slim due to the level of your skills, you just have to be smart with any natural potential you have for survival, else, your own case will definitely be worst than that of your parents. And that is the case study of the Niger-Delta terrain out there and unlike the way it has been negatively exaggerated in all over the comic world, mostly in the case of Warri across Nigeria and entire Africa. So, by telling the boss about Scarlet of how she successfully dribbled me for 5 good years, somehow, he was truly touched. I can still see it in his eyes, something told me my story reminded him of his own past with same similarities and naturally, you do not expect it to be funny with no one.
The Boss: If I had been around I would have asked you to send her the ₦ 1500.00 recharge card but it is OK, such is life.
D' Prince: Trust married men, it is like he told the entire story to his wife and probably his wife told him that the girl is not for D' Prince that she has someone else she is seriously in relationship with however, that the girl is not a good girl, that the girl is a dubious person. That when she knows she does not like the person why going ahead to beg him for recharge cards? Probably such were her views because I later overheard something like that from her.
D' prince: The following day as we saw in the office, just as he always came to the office later on around 10-11 o'clock. I was in his office watching television, he had a large screen television on his office wall and I do not have, so, I always go to his office to watch CNN news when I do not have anything doing and I needed to distract my brain. And as he entered, I greeted him, I picked his laptop and set it up on top of his table for him as the boss is concern with respect. I did not even know he still thought of it and he just went straight to that same yesterday's subject.
The Boss: Concerning that girl issue you told me yesterday, forget about her she is not a good girl. She is a dubious human being. If I had been around you would have send her the ₦1500.00 recharge card and if she is in this Lagos we would have used money to confuse her to loose the other man that she is with because she is a money girl and at the end when she has lost everybody she will now marry money. She is a stupid girl.
D' Prince: Meanwhile, I have not told him anything about 'T yet. I was still understudying 'T. So, what I then did was to send that same equal amount of ₦750.00 credit card to 'T to recharge her phone.
D' prince: Hello, 'T, check your inbox, I just sent you a recharge card, load it and flash me, I will call you back to know whether it has entered.
'The Treasure: Good morning, eyah, OK, thanks a lot, I truly appreciate. God bless you uh, you are amazing.
D' prince: You are welcome.
D' prince: Likely about 5 to 7 minutes or so, my phone rang, I looked at it and it was 'T. I picked the phone up and I cut her call and called her back. She did not picked it but called me back and I decided to pick it.
D' prince: (phone ringing again...) I picked it.
The Treasure: Hello,
D' prince; Hello, has it entered?
'The Treasure: Yes, thank you so much, you are amazing, God bless you oh, am truly grateful. You are such an amazing person.
D' prince: Don't mention, just take good care of yourself for us and that is what matters.
'The Treasure: I will, thank you very much I truly I appreciate.
D' prince: Catch you later, bye.
'The Treasure: OK, bye eh.
D' prince: As for me even if this kind of appreciation is fake then she must have gotten a good home training on it from her momma. And I said to myself that even if I do not marry 'T, I will get to thank her mom someday for her good upbringing of 'T.
D' prince: Surely, the value of a giver is attached to the gift he gives; in other words, people show appreciations to your gift to them based on how they valued you. So, when scarlet was not always showing appreciations to my gifts even back in Warri and still did this particular one I was not really that surprised because the truth of the matter is she does not have any appreciation for my person and it is like I have been forcing myself on her and probably she sees me as one of those spoilt brats out there under the umbrella of family cover, but making a request from me to test me whether I am still up there to take decision on me was where she got it all wrong and her own morals too was also faulty.
D' prince: After that period I went to 'SLOT Stores' and I but two phones exactly the same models and I gave one to my boss' wife and the other one to my god daughter. My boss and his wife were still jokingly making reference to the one I bought for his wife in form of appreciation till I left him but the one I gave to my god daughter Ewoma was just one moment excitement. Even when I call her she will not even pick my calls, if I like, let me call her hundred times she will tell you she was not with her phone. OK, let me chat with her she will say bye bye am busy but I always see her engaged with others chatting online. I asked her one day, so, what did I bought the phone for you for? The only day she will call me is when she has one demand or the other to make.
D' prince: I was inside Ecobank making transactions a certain day and my phone was ringing... Helo, she cut off and I was sort of worry that before this girl will flash me, I hope nothing is wrong oh? I queried. I then called her back immediately.
D' prince: Helo
Ewoma: Helo, digwo
D' prince: Vredo, how are you?
Ewoma: Am fine
D' prince: You called me so talk.
Ewoma: Ehn, my phone mouth piece had spoilt so I want you to return it to Slot, after all the phone has a warranty na .
D' prince: Ewoma, since I bought that phone for you how many times have you called me with it even flash self? Oh! I see, it is only when you need something that you will remember me that I exist isn't it?
Ewoma: Bros Prince not be so na, you are my SLOT na.
D' prince: OK, I have I heard you. Bye bye.
D' prince: Meanwhile all the recharge cards I have been buying for 'The Treasure, the prayers remained constant. So, one day I decided to buy her 400.00 recharge card instead of the usual ₦ 1500. 00 or ₦750.00 and the prayers remained the same. Another day I decided to do something a bit different, that day I was coming from Alagbado, where I went to drill a borehole in one of my site where I was setting up a pure water factory for one of my client. I wanted to call her late in that night around 11:O'Clock PM but I thought otherwise and I decided to call her around 9: O'clock, . That night I called 'The Treasure, she picked the call but the network was very poor, then she was in Abuja, she tried severally to connect me but to no avail. What she then did was to call me with someone else number but the network was still breaking. I got home that day around 11: O'Clock and I called her back on her number and the network was clear enough this time, I then told her that I just got inside house now that tomorrow we will talk.
'The Treasure: It's OK, you are welcome, take good care of yourself.
D' Prince: Thank you dear, good night.
'The Treasure: Good night.
D' Prince: On the following day, Sunday morning I decided to call the new number she called me with on the previous night.
D' prince: ( phone ringing...) Hello,
The Unknown Guy: Hello
D' prince: I heard a man's voice, so, I greeted, good morning my brother, please sorry for the disturb, 'The Treasure called me with this number yesterday night, I don't know whether she is there with you so that I can speak with her, it's like her phone was having some network problems yesterday night.
The Unknown Guy: She said she want talk to her sister and I non know say na you be her sister she want talk to.
D' prince: All those explanations are not necessary, right from the telephone conversation alone I can sense the green-eyed monster in this guy's tone, I then answered, OK my brother, am very sorry for the inconveniences, I thought she is there with you so that I can speak with her but it's ok, thanks, I appreciate.
The Unknown Guy: No oh, I non know where she go.
D' Prince: OK, thanks, bye.
'The Unknown Guy: OK, no problem my broda.
D' prince: The guy uses Ibo dialect, probably Anabrarian, I mean from the way he sounded on his ascent definitely he might have come from Anambra State of Nigeria . Though, the game she played on the guy was not that morally upright but to me it shows I was special to her for her to use her sister as a cover up just to reach out to me with someone else number, OK, let's see how it goes.
D' Prince: Looking at the human scenario critically; my life, my happiness, my social networks, family and religious expectations I then came out with the conclusion; my decisions in life are based on the power of my human judgement subjects to facts and wisdom of God available to me and should be void of all forms of sentiments. So, I chipped it to one of my colleague, DeeGee, at a building site I was supervising for my boss at 23 Road, 'S' Close, Nepa Office, Festac Town, Lagos.
D' Prince: DeeGee, am running a 3 mouse race that involve 2 of my Witnesses' sisters and one none Witnesses girl. In a way I practically set up the race between religion against morality; I mean I deliberately brought in this none Witnesses girl into the choices due to her morals against 2 of my Witnesses sisters for religious sentiment but believe me, as I am talking to you right now morality is winning the game.
DeeGee: In fact from what you are telling me right now you over trying self to go all this far to get a woman, some of us just did 'tugbu tugbu, baskolaba, koko yaba, ayaba do'. Na e will take marry oh but in your case you really dey try oh, if I must say, all women na the same nah! But in a more serious note if I may ask you whom are you marrying is it religion or a companion that will make you happy throughout the rest of your life?
D' Prince: Haha haha, I laughed, a good companion, I answered.
DeeGee: So, you have your answer. People like us are looking up to you for your great intellect and wisdom. And there is nothing I will tell you right now that you do not know already.
D' Prince: Yeah, I know it's just that lifetime decisions are not always easy to take. Anyway, let's go for lunch.
DeeGee: Yeah, the stomach infrastructure is also very important.
D' Prince: On our way to lunch, I pulled back a little and put a call across to 'T.
'The Treasure: Hello, good afternoon,
D' Prince: Afternoon, how are you doing?
'The Treasure: Am fine, how is work?
D' Prince: Cool dear.
D' Prince: Babe you know what? It is like we are playing a game of three mouse for survival for the fittest and it's like you are winning the game.
'The Treasure: Game, what kind of game is that? I don't like games oh hoh!
D' Prince: Don't worry, when the time comes you will know, all I can tell you right now is that you are winning the game. Take care of yourself, bye bye.
'The Treasure: OK, bye bye.
D' prince: One thing for sure with me and 'T is that she appreciate my kind of person and I appreciate her person as well. And in such chemistry if two quarrel they are bound to reconcile easily. Her charming morals were her magnetic beauty to me far different from the unattractive immoral of that of Scarlet's privileged class where I am a deserter. One thing that is common among everyone in the privileged class out there is that they are not ready to settle for anything less, everything they do must simply be the best and nothing less. So, Scarlet attitude later on was not really a strange one to me, it is a World that I am very used to and I know how things work out up there.
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