It is said that no one goes to a native doctor to find out why things are moving well for him.
Once things are moving well, then he must be doing things the right way. In his mind, he is a genius.
However, once things aren’t going well, then something else, not him, must be the cause. Maybe an evil spirit, or evil man or woman.
So, I was caught in the same web, enjoying myself. Having a woman that loves me, getting good grades, having good friends and lots of time to play, hang out, watch movies, etc.
For the first time since my secondary school days, my life wasn’t complicated.
Then I decided to open up a business. I could do it in the evening when lecture is over or during the weekends. Amaka can also be there on lecture free days.
I couldn’t really get lecture free days as a student of combined social sciences, because if it was psychology’s lecture free day, it won’t be philosophy’s lecture free day, and vice versa.
After thinking it through, I decided to open up a gas refill shop.
Odenigwe was a student area and students used mostly cooking gas since kerosene prices went up the roof.
I realized that I could go to Willy Gas in Eha-Alumona, buy gas in large quantity with big cylinder, then top 100 naira per KG and sell to fellow students.
Wonderful idea!
But where’s the money?
I borrowed some money from my mother, and then some from Jeff, but that was only enough to rent a shop and furnish it.
I needed money to buy the large gas cylinders and to fill them too.
That was when I began to take what belongs to Caesar and give to God. I couldn’t resist that urge of robbing Peter to pay Paul.
That evil spirit led me to use my school fees and Amaka’s school fees to buy Gas Cylinders and fill them at WillyGas.
That particular decision caused a chain of reactions that would later ruin the rest of my stay in the University.
I printed fliers and tipped all classreps to post them in their Whatsapp groups! The flier boldly read: DUKE OIL AND GAS!
That would later become my nickname and soon, it made me popular on campus. Everyone knew the name; Duke Oil and Gas.
We were just entering our 3rd year at that time and some people started whispering into my ears that I could win Faculty President with my popularity.
The more popular I got, the more Popular Amaka got, especially since her backside would naturally distinguish her wherever she enters.
We became a popular couple and small insecurity began to creep in. Plus the suggestion that I could win Faculty President.
We felt the need to start dressing well, so instead of using the business proceeds to boost the business, we started buying good clothes and shoes, sometimes, to match.
From a naive boy that entered school two years earlier, I became the talk of the town. The role model of many people in relationships and favorite to become the next faculty president of Almighty Social Sciences.
But how long will that last? Let’s find out in the next episode.
DUKE THE NIGERIAN
(NAVIGATING THROUGH SCHOOL, Season 3; Episode 3) was brought to you by Ugwuagbo Emmanuel Chizoba Daniel (Zoba De Great)