Corruption – Episode 27
Corruption – Episode 27
© Akoto Alexander
Lovia’s End:
Cindy: Hey I was thinking you were going to pass the night outside the house?
Lovia: Outside the house? For what reason will I do that? My dear move from the door so I go in and change myself, I need to reheat the stew in the fridge and boil rice this very moment.
Cindy: Boil rice for who? Why are you expecting someone or you came home with the man and his driver? Hey I saw the car that came for you earlier on, I can feel you really enjoyed yourself to the fullest.
Lovia: See erh, never envy another person for no just reason because you might never know the sacrifice or things they are doing or paying to keep what they have.
Cindy: Why are you talking in parables and acting weird this evening? Don’t tell me the man made some sexual advances towards you that is why you a behaving this way because we have been giving our bodies to some useless people and we don’t even complain on that act, let me tell you this, we are in the era of using what we have to get what we want so you need not feel bad when a rich handsome dude makes some advances towards you.
Lovia: I see you want a second by second update on this acclaimed dinner date I had?
Cindy: Of course my dear, I was even thinking you were going to return with a paper bag which contained something nice, a hamper or even ice cream, but all the same, I am waiting for you to brief me on your date. Please add my stomach to the rice you are boiling because I am already starving. I haven’t been able to step out of the room since the landlady came to pull a stunt.
Back at the President Office:
President R. Mensah: (sips his whisky) Honourable so after the young soldier was killed by the enemy David took full possession of the soldier’s wife. What happened next because I want to be sure if you know the whole story very well.
Hon. Nii Nortey: Oh you Excellency, I am very familiar with that story very well. This very story came in my O level exams and I got 1 in the subject called Christian Religious Studies. After David took possession of the woman, a prophet who was an adviser to him one day came to him. They were having a discussion when the prophet ironically put up a story about; a rich man who had many servants and many farm animals, he had an important visitor one day and instead of the rich man to ki*ll one of his many farm animals, he went in for one of his servants only animal and killed it for his visitor. The prophet then asked David what he would have done to the rich man if this case was brought to him? David with pride and arrogance said, he would have made the rich man to pay four times of what he took from his servant then possibly ki*ll him for what he did to his servant for being so wicked and heartless.
President R. Mensah: (cuts in) The prophet then looks into David’s eye and said to him, you are the rich man in the story you just narrated. Your coverted the wife of your neighbour who was not yours and you issue a death sentence letter to that same soldier to be delivered to his commander. That story you just narrated can be found in the old testament, that is 2nd Samuel 11 downwards of the Holy Bible and the soldier was Uriah the Hittite whiles the wife was Bathsheba the daughter of Eliam. The prophet in question was Nathan right?
Hon. Nii Nortey: Your Excellency, you can be a good preacher ooo, see the way you quoted the place we can find that bible story accurately. I myself I had forgotten where exactly that story was located in the bible.
President R. Mensah: That is why I said we were going to brainstorm together. If were are making direct reference of the story to our daily lives then Hon. Nii Nortey Robertson, you are the David in that story. Some weeks ago when the residents of Madina-Adenta staged a demonstration because of the absence of a footbridge on thier highway, I instructed you to get a footbridge done, you spearheaded a committee which designed a very nice and solid footbridge which you brought before me and gave an outstanding presentation on it, I approved of it and immediately made the finance ministry to release funds for the project. Why then did you call the contractor handling the contract to do something that was below what I approved of? Do you know how stupid I felt when I went to the place to inspect the level of work done?
Hon. Nii Nortey: (now sweating even when the room was chilled) Your Excellency, I can explain.
President R. Mensah: Of course I wanted an explanation that is why I invited you over into this office. I didn’t want to listen to your explanation alone so there has been a third party in this office all this while, behind that big swivel chair is Hon. Mavis Asantewaa my Chief of Staff, madam kindly turn so that our guest sees you. I want you to tell us everything from the beginning to the end if not I will use your words against you and mind you, every conversation taking place here is on tape. Yes our conversation here is being recorded so that we will all be very careful and selective with our choice of words. Now I am listening to you my honourable minister.
Back at Lovia’s End:
Cindy: Oh but the man didn’t try at all by slapping the waitress as you said her action wasn’t intentional. Also you shouldn’t have taken personal interest in the behaviour of the youngman, who knows he might have acted that way because of stress from his work. You told me that his company was a very busy place so that could have been the reason for his aggressive action.
Lovia: Okay if it was about stress, tell me why he didn’t pay for the drink he ordered? Which lady in her right senses will offer to go into a relationship where the man doesn’t respect woman? You heard me say she called me a b***h just because I was pleading on behalf of the waitress. Put yourself in the shoes of that waitress, that monster was only interested in me because he saw some potentials in me which will help his company and not because he wanted me for anything. If he was a good guy like by now he should have been married and building his family. All that idiot cares about is his work and himself and nobody else.
Cindy: My friend drop that sermon and come here, go on your knees so I deliver you because I can see the witches of your house are at work. The opportunity that came your way is rare and hard to come by, for this kind of opportunities you don’t take or grab it but rather you embrace it and never allow it to go. You don’t judge people just because of their first time mistakes, we all deserve a second chance in our lives one way or the other. My dear this is the only opportunity that will liberate you and your family from the shackles of poverty. Don’t say I didn’t warn you or give you proper counsel when you needed it later when it is too late. Call that millionaires and tell him something that will calm him down my dear, you are the coupon to our riches so don’t mess up girlfriend.
Lovia: If that arrogant, bossy, rude, self centered and egocentric man is the only man for me, then I will prefer to be an unmarried woman. I will prefer to eat my banku without fish and hot pepper rather than eating pizza that will come with problems. Please let’s drop this topic because I am in a very bad mood this evening.
Cindy: Had I known has always been a slogan for people who didn’t listen to wise counsel. If you say I shouldn’t talk about this current issue I have heard you but if riches eludes us in the future I will always curse you in my head.
Lovia: You can even curse me when you are making love, I don’t care. You are equally beautiful and even well endowed both front and back than me so you can use what you have to get a better and richer man than what came my way. Let me go and buy a bag of water since the sachet water in the fridge is finished. (steps out from the room)
Cindy: (talking to herself) Ah God why? Where did I go wrong that you decided to swerve me with this jackpot? It is indeed true that, “the one who gave birth to the stupid child didn’t suffer like the one who is grooming the child”. You get this life changing opportunity and you throw it away just because the man is rude, let me ask you this, which rich man isn’t arrogant and bossy? Oh goodness me, she left her phone behind, I will copy the man’s number and make a follow up call to see if I might be lucky and get him into my net. For me, so far as the man will provide for me and give me what I want, I don’t care the nonsense he does. Those ladies driving G Wagon, Range Rover and those expensive cars are not better than me, I am much more prettier than almost all those I have come across. Let me copy the number before this bad luck girl comes back, if you went with me like all this wouldn’t happen. (takes Lovia’s phone, scrolls through it and dials the number that called earlier unto her phone).
Back at the President’s Office:
President R. Mensah: After listening to all you said, I will temper justice with mercy. I won’t sack you as I intended to do earlier on but I will have you write you own resignation letter and deliver it to me, I believe you will have a good story to tell the media and if you fail to do that, the recording tape here will find its way to the public domain. By noon tomorrow I will like to have your tendered resignation letter on my desk and every shaddy deal you have engaged yourself in which I have records, I will like you to bring every pesewa that you accrued from it or else you will regret ever knowing me. Have a nice evening and I need not tell you to keep mute on our friendly discussion here. My warm regards to your wife and kids.
Hon. Nii Nortey: (gets up from his seat with his face looking down) Thank you very much your Excellency for the opportunity you gave me and the mercy you had on me. (makes way to the door)
President R. Mensah: Mmmm Hon. Nii Nortey, please come and finish the whisky you poured into the glass, no one can consume it and that expensive whisky shouldn’t go waste just like that.
Hon. Nortey leaves the presidential palace with a lot of things running in his mind as to what excuse he was going to give in his resignation letter because the public would definitely hear of his absence in the ruling government. As he was deep in his thought his phone rings and it brings him back to himself, he checks the number which was an unknown number and he answers it.
On Phone:
Caller: Good evening my energetic honourable minister.
Hon. Nii Nortey: Good evening, please may I know who I am talking to?
Caller: Eeeeeiiii honourable don’t give me the impression that you have deleted my number on your phone?
Hon. Nii Nortey: My dear I lost my phone some time back so I lost all my contacts and I didn’t do a sim backup so I am now retrieving my missing contacts.
Caller: So you don’t recognize my voice too? I remember you once told me that my voice was something you could identify even in your sleep so I am shocked you still can’t make out the person you are talking to.
Hon. Nii Nortey: Hmmmm my dear, the pressure on me and the way my mind is hot, an egg can get boiled when placed on my head. Please introduce yourself to me.
Caller: Yoooo I don’t have anything else to say, this is Gifty. The nursing student you met last year when you came to a programme at the KNUST campus.
Hon. Nii Nortey: Hey after I gave you my contact that night you didn’t call me and the number you gave me also was a wrong number, any time I called a guy answered the phone and he warned me never to call that number again so I deleted that number.
Caller: Hmmmm that night when I left you at the hotel, I was robbed by some guys and everything was taken away from me, my handbag, phones, tablet and the money you gave me, the only lucky thing that happened to me was I keeping your call card in my bra. I got a small phone some days later and went to activate my number again but after waiting for days and your promised call never came in, I felt you didn’t want me around you again so I decided not to call and bother you.
Hon. Nii Nortey: That is so bad, I don’t know what informed your desicion but whatever we shared that night, it keeps lingering in my mind up till date. So tell me, where are you now?
Caller: Well after school I was lucky to do my service at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital and after my service, they retained me as a staff nurse over there but right now, I came to visit a friend in Accra so I am in the capital city.
Hon. Nii Nortey: You don’t mean it, you mean you are in town and you are now calling me, where exactly are you now?
Caller: Oh honourable I just got to town this evening, my friend has even stepped out and I am sitting outside in the mosquitoes, I was surfing the internet when I came across a story where you went to commission a project, I remembered I still have your call card so I was trying my luck if you had not changed your number as some politicians do when they get some positions.
Hon. Nii Nortey: My dear why would I change a number that I have been using for the past 17years? I want to see you this evening if you are free and okay with that?
Caller: Of course I am okay honourable, I am free right now so where should I meet you?
Hon. Nii Nortey: I will text you the place I am right now, charter a taxi and come over right now. I hope you have not made any foolish boy to drill away your nice guitar shape and body?
Caller: (laughs before talking) Ah honourable, as you said the day we first met, you said my body is the body meant for rich and big men like your type so from that day, I have been abstaining from the young guys who only come in to explore we the ladies.
Hon. Nii Nortey: Ah you are smart and I love you for that, let me quickly send you the text message so you join me, I have missed you and can’t wait to have you in my arms again. What a reunion it is going to be tonight. See you soon. (ends the call and text the caller)
Driver: Boss, are we going somewhere else?
Hon. Nii Nortey: Oh yes, take me to the club house………
What will Hon. Nii Nortey say in his resignation letter?
Do you think it will go well for Cindy in her intended adventure?
Why do some women, ladies or girls envy their fellow friends?
To be continued
