It was a slow Saturday morning. I had just woken up. I sat in the compound on my favourite chair. I was just enjoying the view.
Suddenly, my phone rang. It was Ugo. Ugo was a friend of mine. I've known him for a while. However, I was surprised that he called me that early on Saturday. So I picked the call.
"Hello my brother" I said.
"Hello Blessing. Good morning. How are you?" Ugo asked
"I'm fine. What about you?" I replied.
"I am okay. I just want to discuss something with you" he replied.
At this point, I got curious because his voice became serious.
"What is it?" I asked.
"My rent is due. I don't have the money to pay yet and my landlord is on my neck. Please, can you lend me 100,000 naira so I can pay. I promise to pay you back in one month" Ugo said.
I thought about it for a while. I had that amount saved for something else, but I decided to make the sacrifice and give him the money.
"Alright. I'll give it to you but I really need it back by the end of the month" I said.
"I promise, I'll give it back to you by then" Ugo replied.
I sent him the money and I went about my day as usual.
Time passed by and a month elapsed. I was waiting for him to send the money or at least call but I didn't get anything from Ugo.
I waited for an extra month but I didn't hear anything from him. Then I decided to call him.
"Ugo, what is going on? I have been waiting for you to send me back my money" I said.
"I am very sorry. I don't have the money yet. I'm still struggling to raise it" Ugo said.
"But this is not what we agreed. We agreed that you will pay it by the end of the month. Now, an extra week has passed and you haven't sent it. I need that money" I said, trying to control my anger.
"I know I didn't keep my word. But things just didn't go according to how I planned it. Please, give me two more weeks. I'll give you your money. I'm begging." Ugo replied.
I wanted to give Ugo an ultimatum. I wanted to tell him that if he didn't give me that money back, I would escalate the issue and embarrass him. But I felt that it would be harsh. Ugo was my friend, and even though he broke his promise I didn't want to embarrass him. I know that sometimes the words we didn't say come back to haunt us but I didn't want to tell him harsh words.
I gave him extra time. Two weeks passed and I didn't hear from him. A month passed again and I still didn't hear from him.
One afternoon, I met with a friend of mine, Calistus, and we began catching up and talking when suddenly he said something that surprised me.
"Do you remember Ugo?" Calistus asked.
"Yes, I remember Ugo very well. What happened to him?"
"It's not about what happened to him. It's about what he did" Calistus replied.
At this point, I was getting worried. I began to wonder if something bad had happened to him.
"Did you know that Ugo bought a new car last week?" Calistus asked.
"What do you mean? Is it not the same Ugo that owes me money?" I asked in shock.
"Yes, it's the same Ugo" Calistus replied.
"So you mean this man has money and has refused to pay me what he owed" I said in wonder.
I was already fuming. Not because he bought a new car, but because he still owed me money while he had enough to buy a car.
I had been calling him but he refused to pick up my calls.
Next, I decided to pay him a surprise visit the next morning. That morning I got to his house and met him as he was about to get into his car. He was shocked, like a man caught doing an evil act.
"My brother, good morning. You didn't tell me you were coming" He said with a fake smile on his face.
"There's nothing good about the morning. You know why I am here. Give me my money. I don't want to talk much" I said bluntly.
"I wasn't expecting you today. Just give me the rest of the day to gather it and send it to you" He replied.
"If you don't give me my money now, I am going to cause a scene" I replied, already raising my voice.
"Alright, fine. Is it because of this money you want to embarrass me? Give me your account details" he said
I gave it to him and he sent the money. As soon as I received it, I told him
"You're not a good friend. Characters like this are why people don't help people in need."
I stormed out of there knowing that our friendship would never be the same again, but I was happy that I got my money back.
Lesson learned.
When money gets involved, friendships are lost.