that I am not attending to anyone. And I
started ruminating over my life…..what
have I just done? Why did I have to do
such even in the office? Why didn’t I take
her home to just do it? As I was thinking
about it an SMS entered my phone which
reads: “meet me at the front of Campari
fast – food joint at Iwo Road in the next
1 hour – Dcns. Emeka”
I tidied up my office, sprayed the air
freshener and switched off the Air
Conditioner, I called the Secretary that I
have an urgent appointment at Iwo Rd
and it will take me 2-3 hours.
When I got there, I saw her already
waiting for me inside the fast – food
joint and I sat beside her.
Me: Ma, it is quite scary for me to come
and meet you here.
Dcns. Emeka: shhhh…. I wanted to talk
with you (she placed her hands on my
laps trying to rub it)
Me: (tried shifting away from her) ok ma
I’m all ears
Dcns. Emeka: you have been avoiding me
since when you resumed.
Me: No….. I am not running away from
you ma. You know the nature of our work
in the church office, not having time for
other engagements.
Dcns. Emeka: I just want to know how
you are faring. Take this envelope (she
passed an envelope to me). Use it to do
whatever you want to do.
Me: thank you ma.
Then I realized that it was about 50,000
Naira in the envelope
Dcns. Emeka: You know the project we
are about to execute in the church and I
want you to work towards it that I should
be the one awarded the contract to. I
promise that as soon as it has been
awarded, I will settle you in cash and in
other way round
Me: how will I help you ma?
Dcns. Emeka: the church board meeting
will come up on Sunday and you and I
will be there; and as you know, I can’t
recommend myself. All the Board
members have united themselves against
me and their main instigator is Elder
Barcanista. I want you to help me.
Accountant use every possible means to
convince Head Pastor.
Me: I am not assuring you but I will try.
Dcns. Emeka: Ok. I will be expecting a
reply from you
Wetin I don enter now??? God!!!!
Later in the day, I called Elder Barcanista
Me: Hello Elder
Elder Barcanista: Hello my son.
Me: e ku ojo meta sir.
Elder Barcanista: hope there are no
problems
Me: No sir. I want to know if the
contractor for the job of constructing the
school at Asejire along Ibadan – Ife
Expressway has been selected.
Elder Barcanista: Hmm…. No
Me: but please sir, what about Dcns.
Emeka?
Elder Barcanista: Lai-lai
Me: but why sir?
Elder: (breathes deeply) She is an
ingrate. I worked a job for her some
years back but after she finished the job
she decided to start fighting with me that
I am demanding too much.
Me: Daddy, I felt your pain sir. But can I
make a proposition?
Elder: go ahead.
Me: Let’s scare her by telling her that
she is not qualified. But I want us to give
her the job. I will talk to her to “pay her
dues”
Elder: Accountant, kini Dcns. fun e?
(what did the Dcns. gave you?)
Me: nothing sir. I just felt that instead of
us taking our food outside, let us cook
and eat our food at home. I will
encourage her to employ most of the
youths in the church that are still looking
for job so that as she benefits as a
member of the Church Board, the youths
in the church also should benefit from
her.
Elder: Accountant, you spoke well. Let
me call the Head Pastor so that I will
convey the suggestion to the Head
Pastor.
Me: Thank you sir.
Call ended.
Time flew to Sunday and after the
service, the meeting commenced, but
Dcns. Emeka was excused.
Head Pastor: I welcome you all to this
meeting. As we all know, we are about
building our model school at Asejire. We
have received various proposals from
different people for the project. Elder
Barcanista suggested to me that we
should give Dcns. Emeka the job but I
feel otherwise. So I want suggestions
from other members of the Board.
Elder Garba: Why can’t we give it to
Engineer David? Why is it that the project
should go to Dcns. Emeka?
Dcns. Agwu: Engineer David is just less
than 6 months in this church. You know
our policy that we can’t give a job of
such enormity to a church member that
has not spent up to one year.
Deacon Oladunjoye: She is right Elder
Garba. Engineer David is just a new
member and according to records, he just
joined a service unit less than 2 months
ago.
Elder Garba: Lai-lai. I won’t agree that
we should use Dcns. Emeka.
I sat there watching how the drama
unfolds to a serious argument within the
church board members. After the Head
Pastor calmed everyone down, I stood up
to talk
Me: Please I want you to be considerate.
We all know Dcns. Emeka. She is a
member of this church for the past
8years. I heard that even the last
assignment she did for the church, she
refunded the balance in the project
money.
All except Me: WHAT???
Me: When I reconciled all the accounts
related to the project, I discovered that
she actually refunded 8.7 million naira
Elder Garba: ALLAH YA KIYAYE!!!
Me: But the former accountant only
declared 5million naira
EVERYONE INCLUDING PASTOR:
CHIZOZZZZ!!!!! 😮
Me: so for anyone who did such project
with open transparency and the structure
still lasted time and again, is it not that
person we are going to give the job to do
again?
Deacon Oladunjoye: definitely she is the
one we are going to give the job.
After much deliberations and review on
the project sum, we called her to the
meeting room:
Head Pastor: Dcns. Emeka, even though
you are a member of the church board,
we have decided to award the project to
you. The letter of award of contract will
be given to you before Tuesday next week
Dcns. Emeka: (happy) Thank you Pastor
and thank you the Church Board (she
knelt down for everybody) and I promise
you I will never fail but I will deliver.
To Be Continued
