WHAT A HOLY SERVICE IT TURNED OUT TO BE

LA PREMIERE TENTATIVE SUR MA VIE AU NIGERIA

 

I was staying at the Sheraton Hotel in Ikeja. And I was a bit disturbed about the inequality between the room rates and the salaries of those who cleaned them, so I decided to move out of the hotel and go to another, I also did some research and found to my dismay that that a room in Sheraton Lagos was as expensive and in some cases more expensive than a room in Sheraton New York and to my sickening dismay the wages of those who cleaned them was not even a 3^rd of what the New Yorker Sheraton employee earned.  (These people were being exploited for services being offered) And I wasn't happy about, so I moved out to a small local hotel n Egbeda

It was a smaller hotel, nothing too fancy, but their hospitality was great and they had the most wonderful tasty cat fish there... you get to choose the one you wanted right out of the pond (they refer to it as "POINT AND KILL")

I changed hotels on Wednesday, and after checking in, I decided to go to the pool side to have a drink.  While I was having my drink I noticed a young tall man going round my table in circles... eventually I think he gained a little courage to talk to me and asked to join me... I said it was fine, and soon after we were having a conversation... late into our conversation, he invited me to church on Sunday and offered to send me a driver to bring me there... I accepted just so he wouldn't bug me any further.

Every day the young man would come and 'check on me', and would suspiciously always ask if I was still going to be around on Sunday, and then ask if I would come to church with him... (My God given Intuition told me there was something amiss) Every day he returned to let’s say… "Check on me" and would still asked the same questions...

On Friday he came to "Check on me" and told me he would send a car for me, but I declined and told him I would take a bike/okada instead. On Saturday, he came to the hotel again and wanted a definite confirmation to know if I would be joining him to church or not. I told him I was absolutely sure that I'd join him to church the next morning, but I wouldn't be taking a bike/okada anymore cos I didn't want to mess up my suit, so I suggested that he'd still send the car to pick me up.

The conversation went like this:

 Young man: "Are you absolutely sure to join me for church service tomorrow morning?"

Me:  "Yeah!! Of course I will, and by the way send that car… don’t want to soil my suit -after all."

That evening I was a bit uneasy and had a gut feeling the young man was up to no good. So I packed some change of clothes in a plastic bag and casually walked out of the hotel telling them I'd be back in a bit. I said "see you later... see you in a bit" (but I wasn't coming back at-least not today or tomorrow)

A week or so prior I had met a family in the neighborhood… but yet quiet some distance away, so I took a bike/okada over there...  I asked to stay the night with them... and they happily agreed to accommodate me. In appreciation of their kind gesture and hospitality I of course bought food and drinks for the family that night … they really appreciated it and by all appearances we all had an enjoyable evening together.

Next morning around 9am –right on time, the girl from the clothing boutique phoned me to say….

"In God’s name don’t come back"….

 I replied: I know…

How many are they?

She said: I counted 6, they're armed…. and they’re looking for you.

 I asked her: are you safe dear?

She replied I believe so. She said I’m flat on the floor behind a counter…

I told her stay there…. We’re on our way.

I asked the father of the house on how to alert the police…

He responded saying he’d take care of it.

The assailants placed all the guest of the hotel flat on the ground around the hotel swimming pool… taking all their money jewellery and whatever else of value.  When they didn’t find me they bludgered the young boy who’d sold my hide to death with beer bottle, several blows to the head but I assume they didn’t shoot him as the shot would have been heard throughout… 

The police had set up their deadly ambush just outside the hotel entrance/exit. 4 were killed upon exiting the premises, another about 100 yards up the street and the 6^th lived to tell the tale as I have.

WHAT A HOLY SERVICE IT TURNED OUT TO BE!!!