MY dear Temilolu, I find myself in a situation that’s tearing my heart into pieces and it’s been difficult to share it with the closest person to me – my husband. Perhaps your heart-warming analysis and advice even for the most heart-wrenching circumstances would save the day. I grew up under the strict control of my parents. My late dad was a high chief in our hometown and a lot was expected from his children and entire family. I was very beautiful as a young girl and in my university days, guys were always after me. One of them was the most popular and most dangerous guy on campus, Femoo, who was supposed to have graduated the year I got in. Obviously, he was the head of the most dreaded cult on campus. I had heard all sorts about him including the fact that in one particular year, two ladies had a baby each for him. He had a way of trailing me after lectures. He knew my dad’s status in town and so he was careful not to terrorise me. On the other hand, I was in love with Dapo, who was, indeed, my first true love. So many times, we would bump into Femi who would threaten him but Dapo who was completely lost in our world would never utter a word. In our final year, Femi was still around and that was his eighth year. We all graduated that year and my relationship with Dapo continued. A day before we were expected back for our call-up letters, I discovered I was pregnant. It was a mixed feeling. I was very happy I would marry Dapo immediately. On the other hand, I was scared of what my dad would think though I graduated with honours.
Dapo and I met on campus the following morning. I told him the good news and he was over the moon with joy. Later in the day, on our way out of campus, some guys who were obviously cultists shoved us into a car and drove us far away to an unknown destination. When we got there, Femoo was waiting and said he had nothing against me but that it was a taboo for any enemy of his to remain alive. Before we knew what was happening, right in my presence, he shot Dapo in the head. I passed out immediately. By the time I came into consciousness and opened my eyes, I was in the hospital being watched over by my mum. I was told that our security guard found me unconscious at the gate then I was rushed to the hospital. I was very confused at first but within a few minutes, the event which was like a scene out of a horror movie flashed back. I passed out again.
Within a few days, there was serious trouble in town as a result of two feuding families. My family and Dapo’s family. Let me save you the gist….it was horrific because everyone blamed me for being the cause of Dapo’s death. The embarrassment was too much for my family. When my dad discovered I was pregnant, the first thing he did was to send my mum and I away. At that time, he was about to take a second wife as his relationship with my mum was strained and so found an excuse to send her away. My mum told me point-blank not to follow her. To further worsen the situation, even when Dapo’s family heard I was carrying his baby, I was a taboo in their house-hold so they would have nothing to do with me. My dad had placed a curse on any family member who dared to plead on my behalf or accommodate me. His secretary, who had been watching all this, graciously took me in, though we had to manage with her meagre salary. Before long, she got married to a wealthy Edo man who had just returned to the country after 18years abroad and we moved into his house in Benin with my baby. He was a very kind man and treated me like his child. Unfortunately, Aunty Stella died in the third year of their marriage during child-birth. That same year, my dad died and I wasn’t even told until I heard after the funeral. I got nothing from his estate. My mother never looked for me. Oh, it was a sorrowful year for us. As God would have it, Uncle Mark (Aunty Stella’s husband) and I found solace in each other; he fell hopelessly in love with me and married me.
I gave him three boys in quick succession. He presents Enitan, my daughter as his first child to the world and has always treated her like a treasure. He sent her to the best schools and Ivy League institutions abroad. Two years ago, while visiting Enitan in the U.K., she introduced Tony to me as her boyfriend and when I was returning back to Nigeria, I secretly prayed with all my heart that my daughter would marry such a boy. He is an omoluabi personified. I had always wished my boys would be like him. He’s a completely different breed from the present generation of youth. My husband feels the same way about him. Enitan called me last month and told me that she’s pregnant and they have both decided to get married. You can imagine how ecstatic I have been only for Enitan to post his parents’ pictures (though they are not married) and kill my joy. Femoo the cultist who turned my life upside down is my prospective in-law. I am too shocked and too sick to tell anyone. How can my daughter marry the son of the man who MURDERED her father? Please help!
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