Chronicles Of A Married Man - 29

Wahala Dey......

Two weeks ago during the champions league final weekend (oh, how I wished Chelsea lost!); we had our usual fellowship. It was time to catch-up and have some good time. It was a full house even though we had to go home early, no thanks to Gov. Wike and his curfew.


While we were having our usual gist about some of our mutual friends and life in general; Baba K threw in the bombshell. “Osy’s wife is divorcing him!”. I almost choked on the beer I was sipping as it went into my wind pipe. To say the rest of us on the table was shocked was an understatement.

Osy has been married for over 11years years and everything was near perfect except that they have not had any child of their own. They have done everything humanly possible to have a baby. Osy had to quit going offshore just to be with his wife. He even had to change his church to The Redeem church just because his wife felt their previous church (Jehovah’s Witness) wasn’t a “praying” church; all in a bid to have a child.

Osy married his childhood sweetheart and they have practically been friends for the past 26years. They moved from Asaba after getting married after Osy secured a job in an oil servicing company in Port Harcourt. Because of their cooperation, they built their own family house in Port Harcourt after 5years with both of them contributing to it. The wife is a hardworking lawyer who has always supported Osy in all his venture. They were so in love and we admired them as a couple.

Naturally, we were all eager to hear the fully story from Baba K about what actually happened. What would have made such a wonderful marriage collapse? Baba K gave us the full gist an when he was done, our beers tasted stale as we all lost appetite to drink.

Two years ago, Osy got a little contract through a company working for Exxon in Eket. He will always be travelling there to get some things done as part of the requirements of the contract. So, last year during the covid lookdown he was stuck in Eket. He had made friendship with one lady in Eket. Of course, we all know what happens when a man and woman become friends.

 The lady got pregnant.

Osy was in a fix. He loved his wife no doubt, but what is he going to do about it. As for him, abortion was not even an option. That was how they kept the pregnancy. The lady gave birth in December last year and has be causing all sorts of problem and asking Osy to come and “pay something on her head”.

 The whole thing blew over when the lady called Osy’s wife and played all the tape. How she got Osy’s wife number is still a mystery till date.

You can imagine the disappointment and the ensuing anger that followed. The wife was heartbroken; and like the saying goes “hell has no fury like a scorned woman”. 

Osy has parked out of his house since April and the wife has already filed for divorce. She has threatened to bring Osy down. And to think that this was once the gentle and nice-looking woman we have all admired as Osy’s wife still beats my imagination.

Friends, family and the church are still begging her as at this point of my writing. 

She said she would have forgiven Osy for cheating on her; but having a child out of wedlock while she doesn’t have one of her own is unforgivable. Osy has become a shadow of his old self. But guys are rallying round him to ensure that he gets back on his feet. Just because he made a mistake shouldn’t be the end of his life.

I know Osy will be fine las las irrespective of how things turn out. It was a wake-up call to all of us to do better and be better as family men and as husbands. It was a moment of sober reflection for us all, that there are always consequences for your actions. If the divorce should go through, Osy will definitely lose his house and other possessions and his marriage and friendship of 26years! 

That’s talking about consequences of your actions.

Fellowship ended and we all rushed home. Nobody wants Wike and his Police wahala.

Later that night, the whole got me thinking with a critical question: “What is my marriage and family worth to me?”, “will I be willing to lose my marriage because of some careless tryst?”. It is important that we all determine what our marriages is worth to us. The amount of value we place on our marriages will determine the extent we will go to keep it.

Some days later I told my wife about the story and wanted her opinion. Her first but not an unexpected question was “why do men cheat sef? Why would Osy leave that his lovely wife and go out to cheat?”. 

 I was just looking dumbly looking at her, as if there will be any good reason enough why a man would cheat in the first place.

Then I asked her my own question too for good measure. “If it were to be me that did what Osy did, what will you do?”. She looked at me sternly and replied “Just do it first, you will find out”.

Gat to go now. See you next week.

Ciao!