Guys, I know I have been away for so so long. I am really sorry. I went searching for something…bear with me.
I am kinda rusty, but together we can find our form together. It’s a journey and with your help I won’t derail again.
Reay Wen Yppah
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January 15, 2018
7.37 a.m.
It was just one of those regular mornings. The usual hustle and bustle of Lagos was just starting. People had places to go and they were in a hurry to get there. And as it was usual, in a city with filled with all kinds of people living under all kinds of pressure, it was not out of place to see a few angry faces so early in the morning.
Angry faces on even angrier bodies.
Subomi dialed up the volume of the car stereo, this were not the thoughts he wanted to have. All these people who are walking around as if they had no troubles in the world or like their troubles didn’t bother them that much, they were the real hypocrites. The ones whose anger is shown so clearly on their faces, wearing it proudly for the world to know how much pain they are in, those were the heroes.
He had graduated from being a hypocrite to being a hero. That didn’t last long, because he was not one of those kind of people who get stuck in a moment or a situation for long. Today, he is elevating his status one more level. He couldn’t be at the same mundane level with these other cowardly people who go about venting their frustrations on others who have chosen, also cowardly, to continue to live their lives as best as they could.
Until about three months ago, he used to be a mid-level manager at a corporate finance firm. His life was good and he had little to worry about. In fact, it was the life – good pay, a nice car, nice house and a young and happy family.
Things went south when the banking industry hit a crisis. The job cuts started first as a rumor, people receiving their letters in dozens. Then, like a massive tsunami it didn’t stop just at the shoreline, it kept coming until it engulfed every nook and cranny of the financial services industry.
Subomi was the first set of people to get a letter in his firm. He was at first unfazed by it, he could always get another job. But, after the first month it became very apparent that the struggle to get a job was not going to be as easy as he thought. As as they say, when it rains, it pours. It just so happened conveniently that about the time he lost his job, his rent in his nice flat in Ikoyi was also due. What was he to do? No job, no realistic hope of getting one soon enough.
He was at a friend’s when he heard of MRM. In his desperate state, it was a good enough risk to take. He knew well enough it was a scam, but the heck with it. He would go in quick and get out quick. He put half his savings in that very day and he doubled it. He cashed out and felt good on account he can at least pay his rent for another year. Looking back on the events that unfolded after that point, he almost felt like crying. He should have just stayed out of MRM, but he hadn’t.
Thoughts began to enter his head. If he pays the rent, what next? How are they going to survive till he can secure another job? How can he tell his wife he had lost his job, considering she and their daughter was used to some expensive tastes? How can he even sustain his own status among friends and family?
He had some many bills and financial commitments that had to be sorted. He couldn’t do so for long with a regular job. So, in order to find a solution in the short term and against his own better judgement, he had put the entire fund in MRM again. He can quickly double his takings. It will be just the last one and then he will concentrate on getting a job before Nikky finds out something was wrong.
It was the biggest mistake of his life. That month, MRM began to face problems. At first, they said something about the system crashing. Then later on that people would get their money, but they were starting with smaller amount claimants.
The stories grew fast and wide, stories of people who had put in millions and tens of millions. Everyone was on edge and throughout the saga, he became increasingly violent and it was no surprise Nikky took his daughter and fled from the house.
He has resigned himself to the fact he has lost the money for good. He has also resigned himself to the fact that he was solely to blame for the loss of their entire life’s savings.
He had not resorted to drink or drugs or any substance abuse of any kind like many others would have. He had however turned into something worse, he lashed out at everyone and anyone. He was like a man on a mission – a suicide mission.
The thought was probably planted sub-consciously in his mind at some point. The way he had reacted to his travails had only gone on to reinforce it. He checked the rear mirror, the traffic light would soon pass him and he would arrive at his final destination. He would arrive at the place where he wants to make his statement to the world, the same way Bouazizi had done in Tunisia. This was where he was going to make his stand against a very cruel world.
He parked the park on the curb. The street name sign boldly announced itself – Broad Street. This was the nerve center of commerce, trade and finance in the state. It was also the place where his troubles had first started. It was also the place where it will all end.
He opened the glove compartment, took out the brown envelop which contains details of his short life. He placed it on the passenger seat, it may spark something or it may not. He wouldn’t know. He took out the small pistol which had been given to him by his ex-military father. He put it to his temple, and pulled the trigger.
The pistol fell between his laps, it’s job done.
January 18, 2018.
12.13 p.m.