Must Read: The Rich Kids Of Lagos (16+)

Episode 7 years ago

Must Read: The Rich Kids Of Lagos (16+)

In another area of Apapa, two men were trying to take a quick decision. What should they do with this lifeless form that lay on the floor between them? Although he was still breathing and they had been asked to get him to the hospital, they scared of the deep groans emanating from him. Would he die? Or would they be apprehended by the police en route the hospital. These groans were too loud. Should they tie his mouth?
‘Shuga, wetin make we do now?’ asked Kashman who had carefully placed their occupant in the back seat.
‘This guy just lazy anyhow. How many ‘stars’ person give am sef?’ grumbled Shuga. He wondered why he had received the commission for this type of useless job in the first place. All he needed to know was that his balance was going to be fully paid.
‘Nor mind the bobo. Maybe na ajebutter pikin. But if we go that Saint Nicholas side, e fit be wahala o. You know say alugo dey plenty for that side. said Kashman, referring to the police
‘Me sef dey think the same thing o, Kashman. I nor want police wahala. So how e go be? The way this boy dey do sef, make he nor go die for we hand o’ Said a worried Shuga when he heard their companion’s groan.
‘I never see lazy boy like this one. On top how many blows sef?’ asked Kashman as he also commented on the groans coming from the back seat.
‘Wait, wait, Shuga, reverse. Just reverse. I see one hospital there. E dey do me one kind as this boy just dey make noise. Make he nor go die for this car o. Let us take him there’ advised Kashman
‘Aha, Saint Nancy Hospital. Correct. This na the best bet. It sounds like Saint Nicholas too na’ said Shuga, who was pleased at their ingenious idea


They parked the car in front of the clinic and quickly carried their passenger into the hospital. The front desk was manned by a receptionist who seemed willing to be anywhere else but at Saint Nancy Clinic. She chewed gum loudly and was more interested in chasing the flies that perched on her City People Magazine than on the patient who had just been rushed in.
‘Good afternoon Madam’ greeted Shuga
‘Thank you’ she responded with a loud snap of her gum
‘Wetin do am? Na okada?’ she asked, wondering if this was a casualty of the motorbike accidents that had once been so frequent in the LasGidi Metropolis.
The two men eyed each other and silently agreed to lie to the receptionist
‘Yes, Madam. Na Okada’ responded Kashman
‘Ehyah. Anyway he get registration card for here?’ she asked
‘I no think so ma. This is an emergency’ responded Kashman again
‘Okay’ she said ‘Una go pay for card and consultation money first’ she said as she snapped her chewing gum again. It seemed she had decided that this was a nice way to punctuate her sentences.
‘Na you be the doctor? Asked Shuga, irritated that they were to pay consultation fees before seeing the doctor.
‘I resemble doctor abi you see uniform for my neck?’ Responded the receptionist.


She eyed the two men, trying to gauge how desperately they wanted to help their friend. She could make some quick money out of this.
‘Card na N3,500 and consultation is N12,500’ she charged. She had quickly upped the charges so that she could make some money for herself.


After all, they had come here with a car, unlike most of their other patients.
‘Okay, na N15,000 in all ba?’ asked Shuga ‘This na N7,000, we dey go find ATM machine make we collect the rest give you.’ He said
‘Okay, make una nor tey o!’ said the receptionist who smiled for the first time. She was going home happy today ‘What is his name?’ she asked, so that she could begin to fill out the registration forms.
‘Peter. I can’t remember his surname’ responded Kashman
‘No problems. Let me call the doctor. We will take care of your friend very well’ she said as she looked at Peter who lay on one of the benches in the seating area.
‘Hello Sir.’ said Tina into the phone
‘Yes, Tina. What is it?’ her voice always irritated Dr. Gbenle, popularly known as Dr Gbesita in the area. He was known for his expertise at abortions and rumour had it that he had once terminated an eight month old pregnancy and the mother had been able to resume her rice hawking business the next day.
‘We have a customer’ she informed him
‘Na D&C?’ he asked directly. Tina was a trusted ally, although he disliked her, she had proven useful many times.
‘No. Na accident’ she responded brusquely
‘Why you go admit accident victim, you this woman?’ he yelled. ‘Tell them make them carry am go another hospital!’ Dr. Gbenle was angry
Stupid Tina had gone beyond her brief! She knew their area of expertise, didn’t she? Why had she gone ahead to accept someone who had been in an accident? Did she want to implicate him? Admittedly not many people knew that he really wasn’t a doctor. He had dropped out for failing in Microbiology in his Second Year at the University and had not updated himself by reading anything that had to do with taking care of accident victims
‘Dr. Gbenle, you complain too much! Just yesterday, you complained about low business. Today, we have a patient and you are still complaining. I wish I knew what you wanted o’ responded Tina heatedly.

‘Ok. Wait, Go and look at him. Does he have any broken bones? He asked, quickly calming down. He had bills to pay, he would manage this patient somehow.

‘No, no broken bones. He is lucky. They say he fell from the Okada. It is as if he did not wear helmet because his head and face is swollen’ she responded
‘Swollen face? No breakage? Okay I’m coming’ said Gbenle, sure it would be an easy case to resolve.

**********

Simisola stood in front of her father, very angry, for he had kept her waiting at the reception for over an hour. She knew this technique and therefore decided to play it low. A wrong move from her now would mess her case up.
‘Hello Daddy’ she said as walked to his side of the desk to give him perfunctory pecks on his cheeks. They barely touched one another, but it would have to do. There was no need to keep up appearances here. They did not have an audience.
‘I need to join the company, Dad’ said Simi. She went directly to the reason why she had gone to his office.
‘You know my position on that, Simisola’. Responded her father in a soft voice. He did not want Simisola to take over any major positions.



He knew her too well. Give her an inch, she would take a mile, she was too ambitious and could even block her brothers from coming into the organisation when they were finally ready to take over. Moreso, running a business is a man’s job.
‘Daddy, its not fair! I have a strong MBA degree and a First Class Degree in Economics!’ cried out Simisola passionately ‘I would love to work here!’ she begged
‘Simisola! Not now. I’m not in the mood for any of your silliness’ he cautioned
‘Ok then, Father. Give me a contact or allow me work for one of the competitors’ she said, knowing what the answer would be. Chief’s pride was too much to allow him do that.
‘Over my dead body!’ he exploded
‘How about the banks then?’ she taunted, knowing his ready answer
‘No! I told you to stay abroad but you refused’ he said
‘But, you let her work here’ rolling her eyes as she referred to her step mother. ‘Why not me?’ this still hurt. It was almost as if no matter what she did, she was never good enough for her dad.
‘I told you, she’s just the face of the company. Every company needs that soft side. People find her pretty. It works to our advantage’. He explained. Even with her being in the External affairs Department, he knew how much effort he had to put in to clip his young wife’s wings. He was not willing to do that with Simi too.
‘So, your children are never to work, Daddy?


Asked Simi, hurt by her father’s implicit admission that she was neither pretty enough nor fit to work in his organisation.
‘Goriola will work here and run the business’ responded the Chief, simply.
‘Gori? Daddy Gori? He is unwell! He has been in and out of rehab and psychology sessions! How is he expected to run this company?’ asked Simi, affronted that her Daddy would choose sick Gori over her.

‘Gori is a man. Running a business is a man’s job. Look, Simi, I don’t have time for this. I know we often go through this when you are in need of one toy or the other. What is it now? I’m in no mood to be reminded of Gori’s condition!
‘Perhaps you need to be reminded of it. Gori is more than just a receipt you make transfers to!

He is your son! He is currently battling depression and addiction together. He is a good boy turned wonky because of you and mummy and now, that Bytch’ pointing towards her step mother’s office
‘If you want to stay in this office for one moment longer, child, you would have to refrain from calling your step mum a Bytch’ said the chief. He was ticked today as always by the dynamics between these two girls.
‘Daddy, we all know that this is not you. Why won’t you let any of us work here? Why are you using Gori as a front? Why are you willing to give us all the money in the world, but stop us from working? She asked passionately
‘Simisola, it is not how it looks. See, I have my reasons. Okay, look at it this way. It is a big disadvantage to you that you should hold some positions while unmarried. This could make you a prey for dubious men who would try to marry you for the wrong reasons’ he said. This had always been a good response.
‘Daddy, do you think I never learnt anything from you. You showed us since we were young how to identify fake friends. I’m an expert at that.’ Said Simi, tongue-in-cheek.
‘Hmmn so you think all the friends you have right now are genuine friends eh?’ asked her father
Simi swallowed ‘Daddy, you are purposely changing the topic! I want a key role here ‘ she said standing up, ready for battle.
‘Simi, not now!’ yelled her Father.
‘Daddy, if she can be here, then, I can be too! Are you sure she’s not using juju on you and the rest of us?’ asked Simi softly. She intended to plant the seed of doubt in her dad’s mind.

He threw his head back and laughed. A roaring laughter ‘Simisola, you are a child! Nobody can use juju on me!’ he said assertively
‘Dadddddyy’ she was a few seconds from stomping her feet like a child
‘Okay, Simi. Clean your act up, get your fiancé here, let me evaluate him and then, we would take it from there’ said her Dad to pacify her.
‘Daddy are you serious?!!!! Thank you!’ said Simi happily. This could be arranged.

Chief Owen-Browne smiled. If his intels were right, he had nothing to bother about so,he pasted a smile on his face.
‘Is there anything else my little girl wants? He asked benevolently
‘Daddy, can I get a little something for myself?’ said Simi, suddenly acting the role of ‘little girl’.
‘Ok, ok he said as he wrote out a hefty figure on the cheque leaf. When he presented it to her, she whooped. Her father could be so generous. It was on days like this that she loved him most.
‘Thank you Daddy. I’d be on my way now’ said Simi as she left his office.

Chief Owen-Browne sat back and looked at her departing figure. He wondered where he had gone wrong. In spite of all the money he had spent on them, his three children were huge disappointments.

Perhaps he needs to make amends with Toye, his youngest child. Toye showed a lot of promise but had an unforgiving spirit like his mother.

He hoped that when Toye grew older, he would know that it is not such a big deal that he slept with his girlfriend. It was not as though he had proposed to marry the girl or anything. It had just been a passing fling. Toye had caught them and had not spoken to him since then. If only the young fool knew that he, Chief Owen Browne, had helped him by saving him from marrying a terrible girl, perhaps he would have shown some gratitude.

Instead, Toye had cut off from the family and would not even take a dime from him. The idiot did not know that he had arranged with his work place to hire him and pay him a fat salary. The young boy reminded him of himself so much.

Anyway, today was no day for thinking about his problematic family. There is too much money waiting to be made.