On Tuesday, being sick/missing my mum's cooking and craving Nigerian food led me to joining Nairaland, a Nigerian community online. I created an account and put up a post asking people for suggestions on where one could find naija food in Brussels. Almost immediately I started getting lots of emails, none of them responding to my question, but all asking how to get a visa to Belgium. I replied a lot of them, telling them that I had no clue about immigration issues but in spite of this, received quite a few life résumés, with people telling me their stories. I began to feel really bad about being so useless at helping, so I deleted my profile. However, just before that, I got an email from someone who's problem seemed straightforward and easy enough to resolve. It was from a guy in Dubai who wanted to come to Brussels next September for his Masters; he just needed someone to pay in the application fee of 50€ for him. Since the whole thing seemed above board, I agreed to help.
He sent me the money via Western Union yesterday, and I did the wahala to go out in the cold to collect it. When it came to paying the fee, I asked him to come online (whatsapp) because I was worried about making a mistake and wanted to be able to double-check every detail with him. From the payment point of view, everything went smoothly, but we had to wait to get a confirmation from the University and/or my bank that the money had gone through. It was during this waiting period that the bobo realised that he needed a girlfriend! He started asking me some strange questions and as I could see what direction he was headed in, I quickly cut him short by telling him that I HAD A BOYFRIEND.
My people, the man no gree free me o. He started going on about how the good ones are always taken, how he just needs to get here and I would fall in love with him and so on...you know all that bullshit that men sometimes think girls like to hear. I was like thank you but NO! He sha kept going on, even talking about divine meeting gan. Me, I was like God forbid bad thing! Then he started boasting about how he's gone out with lots of white girls but as his parents would never accept them, he'd decided to come home to someone who would know his culture. I just yimued and asked him wetin concern agbero with overload? All that history was none of my business! Eventually sha, he asked and I answered him truthfully, saying that no I wasn't with a Nigerian. However I also told him that I did not choose my partner (or friends) based on the colour of their skin but on their character...that's when he started saying loads of stupid stereotypical crap. Trying not to be too rude, I told him off mildly, and he took that as an invitation to start sending me pictures. One of him being and I quote, "a hot nigga," another with one of his "white" girlfriends who was actually Filippina I think. At that point I realised that I was chatting with an idiot, and was just waiting eagerly for him to confirm that the transaction had gone through before blocking him. All the while he continued "trying to woo me" by denigrating non-nigerians, talking about how we'd be married by the end of the year and how our meeting was divine intervention. Me I sha told him bluntly that I rejected his claims IJN, and that as soon as I recieved confirmation, I'd block and delete him sharpish. As if he didn't have ears, he then started asking me for me pics! I was like no, never. I don't know you and as I said, I have a boyfriend and this is purely me doing you a kindness. He kept insisting and even asked me to give him back his photos. I was like na me send you? Pictures that I deleted almost immediately! My phone's memory is not limitless so I can't afford to keep rubbish on it.
Anyway long story short, I told him that he was beginning to sound like a broken disc and asked him to change the subject. I started asking him about his studies and other things, and that my friends is how the conversation fizzled out. No longer willing to wait for the confirmation, I decided to just block him and delete his number. A bit harsh I know, but abeg the guy was just so inconsiderate. You ask a stranger for a favour like this, then you start adding other errands (he got me to call the school sef) and then as if you haven't abused of their kindness enough, you decide that you'd like to break up their happy relationship and ruin their life into the bargain. Stupid alakoba! My favourite cousin used to call this kind of people "awon aye, a nirun lahon." Everyone always says I'm too trusting, and maybe it's true, but I've just learnt another unfortunate lesson...be careful who you help.
