The Ambitious Girl

                    The Ambitious Girl

      (a short story by Lene Ododomu)

There are great days which will always be a renewable good time in your life that you can never forget, and there are also bad days which will be a distressing and ill-fated  time in your life that you can never fail to curse everyday. Can I ever forget that day of my Matriculation in the University of Abuja? If I could remember very well, it was during this day that I met a young and good looking guy who won my heart over with enticing material gifts, catapulted me to the top of the world, made me feel like I can swallow the whole world with pride, made me feel like I can touch the sky and play with it, promised to take me to Canada to further my education with a decent job after round off with my studies and lured me to abandon the dream of my heart whom I was managing with his sales boy job in H-Medix at Wuse 2, Abuja, and dumped me  in external mystery and bitterness.

I met this devil of a man called Kuro in 2021 last year at my matriculation ceremony in the UofA. He happened to be one of those early friends of Powei. They were in secondary school together at Saint Segun Memorial High School (SSMHS), Akure. While Powei round off his secondary school and went to the university, Kuro left for oversea through the influence of his friend whose name was  not disclosed after round off his first degree in the university . He went to Canada where he claimed to have begun his business activities.

While my fiance who I met during his National Youth Corp Service (NYC) in my school back then at Derimobo Model College which was established with the aim of eliminating examination malpractices in the area of Ese Odo local government, Ondo state, was still adjusting  his first post service job and Kuro was busy moving in and out of the country on business trips. He was importing in a variety of goods, such as: cars, shoes, phones, wears, foreign rice etc. He has nine flashy cars for his personal uses and five houses in both national and international. He had one in Dubai, one in Canada, one in Indian, and the other two in Nigeria: one in his own town and the other one in Abuja. He was a master of money, that is, he spends money the way he wish and money cannot dare to dry in his hands or accounts. Infact, he was a dream of every woman.

During the matriculation ceremony, he saw me and made passes at me. I respectfully told him that the young man who invited him to honor me on my matriculation ceremony and who is also his friend, is my fiance and that we were planning a marriage in my final year on campus. He looked at me on the face and laughed uncontrollably, and then gave me his business contact address while he said we human beings are always seeking for better life partner. He further stated......"Are you happy with the life you are living or do you want to die in poverty? Can't you change the narrative of your family background? The young man you claimed to love is a poor richest man for crying out loud.  He will ruin your future. I believe it is God that sent me to save you from the coven of poverty  and you should be happy about it. So think about it and I will remind you in few time", he smiled at me and walked away.

This became a dilemma to me because I was completely lost in confusion. So I advised myself to give a time before open up my mind to him.

On my way to class from Gwagwalada to main campus, he saw me at sultle ground and offered me a help by driving me to my lecture venue at Tetfund  and promised to come back after lectures to take me for lunch which he actually fulfilled. 

During the lunch time at Douye restaurant in Cov-Ground when two of us were together, he opened all the secrets my fiance had allegedly revealed to him about his plans for me, that he would not marry me and he wanted only to use me as sex toy and dump me later. He went ahead to open his brief case and brought out international passport and visa with my names on them. He told me that I would travel with him to Canada in three weeks time and should not let my fiance, Powei know about it because he would do everything possible to stop me. Immediately, he brought out a cheque and signed the sum of 12million (Twelve Million Naira Only) just to change my wardrobe. I became more confused but this time I said to my self......"Tonia you are not born to die in poverty. Don't procrastinate your mind this time. Reject the poor richest Powei and follow the master of money. No man can make it in life without the ambition for good life. You are a real Warri pikin na, abah. So why you dey fear to take a risk?". 

I could not hesitate as ambition controls my mind, so I agreed to abandon my fiance and travel with him.

We arrived to Canada safely. He became very fond of me and he treated me like a queen. He bought a variety of things for me and even promised to be sending money to my people in the village. I began to wonder and asked myself, what I have done for him to deserve this favour, even to the fact he wanted to marry me which he has not even opened up to me? I wasn't having this thought, but later got to know that devil does not give free gifts. So he was doing this strange favour just to use me as sacrificial lamb.

Kuro deceived me! He bought some dresses which I called "The First Class Wears" that can only be afforded to wear  by a president or minister, and arranged them in a big cargo which he directed me to deliver to one of his friend in Dubai. Unknowingly, the luggage I carried contained some peddles of drugs which I later identified as cocaine, and he sold and made money from them. Also, he is an internet fraudster (yahoo), and he occasionally renews his powers by drinking human blood to persuade his client and I was his next target to be sacrifed after returned from this very message. This drugs I ignorantly carried were banned by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA). So I was arrested at the airport for trafficking peddles. Before I could say a word to explain my innocent self, the NDLEA had already jailed me. 

While I was waiting for trial, Kuro visited me in the prison with his lawyer and threatened me that if I tell the court that I was sent by him, he will bribe the warder to poison me to death and even the judge too will be persuaded with money to  sentence me for life imprisonment. He then told me that I was just one of his victims who he brought from Nigeria that were doing the same job for him that he later sacrificed to renew his powers to increase his wealths. I became so afraid and regret how I end up my dear life in a premature death just because of my greediness. I cried uncontrollably but the sky laughed at me for my foolishness.

During the day of my judgement, I saw Kuro in the court room sitting as audience. When I was asked to narrate how I got to the country and involved in the business, then I told the court without minding Kuro's threat that I was brought by him, though I was still afraid to tell the main truth that I was sent by him. 

Kuro was the only Nigerian in the court, so the judge  used him as the eye of the Nigeria Ambassador who was unavoidably absent. He then used the opportunity to witness against me that I was arrested many times in Dubai for doing this illegal business, so the court should not grant me bail because I will commit more crimes by 

even assassinating the president of the country when released. I was just looking at him like a fool.  I don't blame him because I caused everything for being greedy and ambitious.

I became hopeless and helpless because there was nobody to help or defend me in the court. I don't know anybody in the country, except our house gate man, Sani. Since I cannot defend myself in the law court without a lawyer, the judge urged  me to get a defendant lawyer by all means which I know that I cannot afford. But to my greatest surprise, a defendant lawyer  came from Nigeria who I later identified as my fiance, Powei to defend me. When the final hearing round off,  I was found no guilty that Kuro, who had already gone mad by trying to sacrifice a girl who he brought from Benin and whose mother is the head of the Benin witchcrafts , was the one behind the crime, that I was ignorant and a victim of circumstances according to the judge. 

After Powei won the case and released me from the jail, I find it difficult to approach and thank him because shame shadowed me. To my greatest surprise, he said to me that there is no sin without forgiveness, so he has forgiven me. He narrated his story of how he became a lawyer. He told me that he was rescued by a lady while trying to commit suicide after I abandoned him for the devil, Kuro. 

Because he had the desire to study law as second degree, the woman sponsored him and he was signed in Gani Fawehinmi SAN & Co. after he finished his law practice. He was so skilled in the work that he won all the cases that came his way, especially in supreme court, so he was given the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN).

For me, I was like a poop before his eyes because I deserve nothing but worthless. But he clothed me with love and forgiveness, and I asked if he is engaged with the lady? Then he told me NO, that he was waiting for me! Meanwhile, he arranged the lady to marry his London based friend and they are blessed with two kids while enjoying life in London.

 I and Powei also actualized our dream as we got married on the 16th of January, 2022. I can't stay without seen the Angel who made it possible to actualize the dream. So I insisted  knowing her and Powei took me to London to pay her a visit which she was very much happy to welcome us. 

That period was lawyers' holiday (August break), so we spent  one month in London before returned to Nigeria. 

My womb was blessed with fruitfulness, so I happily became pregnant and gave birth to my first child in America who I named Ininifi, meaning (endurance).