I didn’t plan on cheating.
was a young lecturer in a polytechnic, years back when this happened. After my NYSC, I had been posted to a Poly. There I was a junior lecturer in the Business Admin department. I didn’t plan on being a lecturer. As you know, the pay was poor. I wanted to serve, afterwards, go do my masters. Coming from a poor background, I had no plans to immediately get married. My mother scrapped by to get me an education but I knew getting a Masters would give me better chances in future.
I had a friend, Jude, a junior lecturer like me who at that time was planning to go abroad to further his studies. My friend was a ladies man. He slept with half of the girls in his department. I don’t know if they were forced to have sex with him. I just know that he was never short of poly girls. They came to his office, came to the quarters we shared. They were there for many things- for grades, some even came for him to get them admission to ND1. Some came for help to talk to other lecturers on their behalf to pass them and they were not just girls who came, guys came as well.
Jude was quite charismatic
So when he concluded plans to travel. There were a number of things he entrusted to my hands. One of these was helping some girls get admission to the school.
Now, at that time, a few weeks before he travelled, he told me one of the girls he has been seeing has a cousin who wants to gain admission to my department. He brought the girl to our flat that period and told her to come back when her jamb results came out.
Somehow, I think Jude liked the girl. She was about 19years old. But before he travelled, he told me he was going to marry the girl. Her name is Ladi. He said she was wife material. I had no reason to judge or think anything about this until a few months later, Ladi came to my office to ask remind me about the admission.
We were able to get it for her. Jude had settled someone in admissions department and she would come on the supplementary list. All I had to do was follow up. She came into the school and I thought my job was done.
Some six months or thereafter, Jude emailed me, asking if I could accommodate her. Since me left, I was the only occupant of our two bedroom flat.
As lecturers, we often rented rooms to students.
So when he asked me to rent her a room in my apartment, it wasn’t an odd request.
Anyway, Ladi moved in.
Now Ladi is tall, dark, has big boobs and you know…a full woman. Since my friend had eyes on her, I was just kind of taking care of her for him. I also suspect the reason he asked her to come live in my apartment is because he feared that campus guys would not let her rest. She was dark and lovely.
He trusted me to take care of his interests.
Anyway, I looked at this girl as a younger sister, though at that time, I also had a steady relationship but I wasn’t ready to settle down. I didn’t have the money, that’s the truth.
In America, after more than one year, Jude discovered that he couldn’t pursue the studies he wanted to. So apparently, he went there illegally…you know?
He was faced with the reality that he had to work before studying.
Anyway, Ladi called me “broda.” I on the other hand told her I was her guardian and she wasn’t to have any boyfriend on campus because I would flog her.
Two years of (National Diploma) ND and Ladi went for IT, Industrial Training. She got attachment at a company in the same town as the Poly, so she remained accommodated in my house.
Now, if Ladi had boyfriends on campus, she never told me. As for me, I knew my friend, Jude wasn’t also exactly being honest with her. Boys will be boys. He used to call regularly the first two months but later, he wouldn’t call for weeks, then months. Ladi complained but after a while, I told her to focus first on finishing school.
Jude got himself entangled with an American woman. He told me he wanted to use her to get his papers. We teased each other about it. I asked him if American girls were like our girls and all that.
Whenever I had opportunity to talk to Jude, I asked what plans he had for Ladi but he deflected saying he didn’t trust that she didn’t have boyfriends on campus. Well, I told him I couldn’t be sure, girls of these days can fool you. More so, he was facing a lot of challenges too in America and Ladi was the least of his concerns.
It was around that period my mother came to visit from the village. Remember I told you it was a two room apartment, so I told Ladi she had to share room with my mum.
My mum came and she and Ladi blended like they had known each other for a long time. My mother liked her. She began to tell me I had found a wife. Though I tried to tell my mum she was my friend’s girlfriend. Mama kept suggesting I begin a relationship with Ladi. She said I should, “look at her behind, look at her breasts full and rich,” that the girl would give her many grandchildren.
I told her, “Mama, she is my friend’s wife.”
Mum said, “Friend that left she in the past 3 years? Friend that has married oyibo woman? Do you ask a cat to watch over a fish? Call her into the room and sama her!”
My mother made me look foolish. At this time, I was just 33 years old and still on a midlevel lecturer’s pay!
Well, I won’t say I hadn’t been looking lustfully at Ladi before my mum came. I am a man, after all. There was one day, I was sooo tempted. She was coming out of the bathroom, she tied a towel on her chest, and the towel didn’t even go round well…you know. I saw her virtually naked that day but I felt she belonged to my friend…you don’t steal what you have been made to guard.
Anyway, my mum encouraged me to give Ladi money to cook for us…this she did, gladly. My mum began sending her to my room late in the evening.
“Go and get rob for me in Lawal’s room…”
“See if Lawal is awake, I want to use his phone…”
“Go and checkall Lawal to come and eat…”
Ladi and I knew what mama was up to…we let her lead us.
My mother is such a crazy woman. One day, she said she wanted to be hearing Ladi screaming from me giving it to her!
I swear, my mother lives in the village but she is crazy!
Well, after sometime, I knew I had to tell Jude I wanted to marry Ladi. I didn’t want him to find out. I wanted to tell him myself.
I called Jude, we hadn’t been talking as regularly as before. I called and was just perambulating…you know. Jude was busy telling me how hard America was, how he worked two jobs, how he did this, what his wife did…
I said. “Are you still planning on marrying Ladi?”
He said, “Guy, marry who na? That one that has fxcked the whole of town? Please go and get your share, I know you’re still doing mumurity. Take your share before you kick her out of your house!
Huh?
Who told him Ladi was messing around? How did he hear stories about her?
I knew these couldn’t be true, though it bothered me. What if I didn’t know Ladi well enough? What if I had been misled by my mother? What if…?
Anyway. I told Ladi what I had heard about her and she told me she knew my friend would never come back for her. She said she had befriended two guys in the last two years on campus but that when we began our relationship, she cut it off from the last guy…
Ehehnnn? You don’t know women o!
Today, we are married and have three children together. We are even planning to japa like many Nigerians because finally, I can go abroad to do my Masters and my wife and kids are coming with me.
(Series written and edited by Peju Akande and based on trues stories)