This story ain't for the weak....😁😟
It all started when a friend of mine called Wike got connected back to an old friend of his – Ali. Wike was a man who had made some mark in his engineering profession, he has his own engineering firm and earning his dough. Ali, on the other hand, was Wike’s friend back in their university days but somehow they lost contact over the years. The status of two friends were the two sides of a bimetallic strip – it was too contrasting. Ali was not living a good life, no job, not even a family. The history of how they met exactly was not entirely clear to me but the main point is that they found each other.
It is safe to say that Wike picked up Ali and cleaned him up, all out of the love for their bond back in school. He offered him a job in the lower cadre of his firm and got him a good pay averagely higher than the amount for the job. The lower cadre consists of those who were not part of the technical staff who do things related to the engineering profession. Ali was also getting his life back at least.
On one of those days, Wike told his friend that he remembered they were both in the same department then and asked whether he would like to be among the technical staff since a vacancy was open. Ali with joy in his heart answered in the affirmative. But Wike said he had to bring in his credentials because it has to still pass through the required setting. Still, he is going to put in more than a good word for him.
Fortunately for Ali, he got the job as one of the junior technical staff, he got trained for some months on the modus operandi of being a technical staff. And that was the beginning of another blossoming era for Ali. Some years later, he rose through the rank to become the deputy of Wike. And somehow he got married to the half-sister of Wike who played a major role in facilitating the relationship in the first place. You must say, “Wow, the bond is getting stronger”. Right?
There came a time when Wike was becoming less engaged in the firm’s administration so he directed most of the correspondence to Ali. This was due to the constant ailment he had and was in and out of the country most time. At some point, Wike wanted to check on his company and see how it was faring and saw that it was on the verge of bankruptcy. He immediately summoned his deputy on phone. He asked to be clarified on the issue and even questioned the competency of Ali. Ali tried to explain some things but it was all falling on the deaf ears of Wike who tasked him to place bringing the company back on track as his paramount priority.
Fortunately, some months after, Wike got a hold of an international contract to which he was to just come in person, submit his proposals and it was his! But he could not go so he sent his friend to represent the company. Wike was in high spirit because he believed that the proceeds from the contract will resurrect his dying company. In the long run, unfortunately, the contract award did not go as planned. He lost it! How? He thought. You know, something he had finalized on the phone because he had a connection on the inside who they’ve known each other for a long. However, he launched a series of investigations to know his supposed rival who got the contract and how.
In the long run, he got the shocker of his life. The company that got the award was his deputy – Ali’s. It turned out that he had been using his firm’s money to finance the development of his (Ali’s) company. And that was the cause of that bankruptcy some time ago. Back to the international contract issue, Ali had sidelined Wike and went to represent his own interest and presented the bill. You know, he was given the contract because he had acted like it was all Wike’s knowing!! Oh my! It was like the whole world was spinning against him! This was who he called his friend.
Now that Ali knows his cover had been blown, he sought to seek the good eyes of the one who had brought him out of the gutters and cleaned him up. Well, the deeds had been done. The contract award could not be revoked – it’s an international company thingy not one within the power of Wike. And the firm was collapsing.
Ali told Wike everything. He said it was not even his idea at first, man, it was that of his wife – Wike’s half-sister. She had installed a chain of evil ideas. In fact, Ali confessed that she was the one who said Wike might die of the ailment and that could jeopardize the future of the company, hence her husband's too. It turned out that she proposed the idea that her husband could register a company and use her half-brother’s company’s money to fund it. Since he was the one kind of majorly in charge due to the unavailability of Wike. This just showed that the seed of bitterness of some products of polygamy had begun to bore fruits in her.
What a world! A supposed friend and family member. This kind of betrayal is like a two-edged sword – from two strong points in his life. Wike was shattered into bits. It was as if a nuclear bomb of a thousand megaton hit him!!
This is my entry to the Hive Learners edition here.