Dr Freaks Journal - Brother Segun And His Stolen Destiny....

Permit me, to bore you with these short stories today...

In the last 3 to 4 weeks, I've had cause to visit a certain SARS (Police) unit in one of the Commands up to 8 times for a particular purpose. (Please note that the purposes of my visits are not the subject of this piece). Meanwhile, this write up was inspired by 2 encounters during my sojourn in the said Command.

Day One:


In the course of my "lawyering" work, I was advised to speak with the "2-i-C" (second-in-command) to the "O/C" (officer-in-charge) with a view to securing bail for my client. As I waited for the 2-i-C in that sparsely furnished and unvacuumed office, a rotund, smiling and bubbly police woman appeared and tailing her "bumper-to-bumper" was "Segun" (not his real name). From the way Segun appeared, with his dressing -shirt and trousers turned inside out and a matching bathroom (rubber) slippers, even a novice could tell that he had just arrived from the "Cell".


Lest I forget, a beautiful woman in her 50s had come in earlier and from the conversation that ensued between her and some of the officers in that office, I could tell that she was well known to them. She oozed wealth and exuded confidence.


Segun was here now and like lost lovers who hadn't seen each other in years, they hugged and the lips of the two lovers met and got locked for some minutes. They cared less about the intruders (us). I forgot to tell you that Segun is in his late 20s or at most early 30s. Age ain't nothing but numbers!


Long and short, the "aproko" in me was able to gather that Segun had been dragged to the unit by one of his creditors in respect of a N29million transaction that went sour. Segun had gone out with Aunty for over 5 years, regardless of the almost 20 years age difference. 

Segun is married, Aunty could not be bothered. Little is known about Aunty's marital status but I was able to gather that her daughter was in Babcock University. She kept on talking about her daughter and school fees, bla bla bla. She offered to defray Segun's indebtedness, however, on one condition. Segun had stopped "servicing" her and she was ready to pay up if Segun was willing and ready to continue with the "Contract of Employment".


During the course of negotiation, Aunty had disclosed that during the currency of the old contract, it was a condition that before Segun serviced her, she must credit his account to the tune of 250k to 500k! Segun was just smiling all through the negotiation period. He never denied any of the allegations, but guess what, Segun refused to sign that agreement! Upon further enquiries, Segun revealed to that rotund female officer (I nicknamed her Rotunda) that his mother's findings/consultation revealed that Aunty has been using his "destiny/virtues" and that he should flee.

 This "destiny stealing" is for real "oh". After all, Jesus Christ felt same way after the woman with the issue of blood touched the helm of his garment.


Guess what, my smart friend -Segun was/is desirous of eating his cake and having it at the same time. He didn't want the contract, but he wanted Aunty to defray his N29million indebtedness. Aunty "don wise", she simply pocketed her cheque books, dipped her hand in her wallet to bring out wads of notes which she shared among Segun and the officers, and left Segun out there in the cold.


That was in December, shortly before Christmas. I visited the unit again after Christmas and Guess what? I sighted Rotunda first, then one crying old woman who turned out to be Segun's mother. Minutes after, Segun emerged again, still looking unbroken.


Take Away:


I do not know what Segun does for a living apart from "servicing" Aunty, but for Segun to be owing another person N29million, hmmm, he must have been living above his means. Wait a minute! Remember Aunty stated earlier that she used to pay him for each of those sessions and that she even financed his wedding and had on several occasions sent money to "Mama". There is an adage in Yoruba which says that "that which you do not eat, do not even take it anywhere near your nose to perceive the smell" (literally translated).


Day 2:


I had met the 2-i-C now and coincidentally, his village is less than 10 minutes' drive from mine so I was now a "brother" and not just "that barrister". The heat outside was unbearable so I requested to go and sit in his office and he obliged me. Few minutes after, he joined me in his office and another police officer with yet another crying woman surfaced.


My "Brother" summarized the facts of the instant case as follows: the woman's son had just been admitted to the "Cell" University on the ground that the boy and 2 of his friends who claim to be members of a secret cult (name withheld) allegedly robbed a woman with a toy gun and dispossessed her of her mobile phone and a sum of N80,000 at gun point and luckily for the woman, she recognized the boy because he had a distinctive feature. He wore dreadlocks and she knew him in the neighbourhood. The boy later confessed to the crime and led the Police to arrest his other friends.


Then, it was question time. The 2-i-C asked the woman what the boy does for a living. Guess what, he does nothing. His girl friend is heavily pregnant for him and the mother was the one feeding the 3 (at least) of them. What does the mum do? She sells fruits around a filling station. Hardworking mother; badly raised Lazy child. What an antithesis. In all of this, the woman never mentioned the dad's name and the 2-i-C then enquired about her husband. Your guess is as good as mine. He abandoned her and her children over 15 years ago and ever since she's been saddled with the responsibility of raising the 4 abandoned children.


Take Away:
If parents must go their separate ways after a divorce or separation, adequate plans must put in place for the children or else they will end up at SARS like Segun and the second guy.


On a lighter note, when another suspect who was arrested with a gun was brought in, my "Brother" received him with the following expression: "welcome to mortuary".
The message sank and I could only manage to feign a fake smile.


Train up a child in a way he should go..

Stay Safe...

Its Kunle