Day of Reckoning

Photo credit: Pixaby 

Kene’s parents were below average income earners but they tried their best to send all their children to school, Kene was the last child and he was treated specially.

When his siblings did not have meat in their food, he had in his, when the others stayed at home because school fees were not paid, Kene was in school. Mr. and Mrs Thomas made sure that their last born child never lacked. They loved him the most and they showed it by the way they treated him.

Kene even looked different; he was always dressed like a rich kid while the other dressed in cheap second hand clothes.

He grew up this way and by the time he realised that his parents were low income earners, he struggled to live the life that he was faced with. He still lived better than his siblings, the only difference between him and the biblical Joseph was that in his own case, all his older siblings adored him; he was their special brother.

He passed through the University and managed to graduate with average grades, then he had to face the real world, how would Kene maintain the lifestyle that he was used to. He saw how his parents struggled to provide for him in school, they did all they could to get him a comfortable accommodation off campus. He lived well but he knew that it did not come easily.

Faced with the world, Kene knew that he had to survive, it was a tough world and he no longer wanted to receive from his parents. A white collar job was not on his list of ways to make it, he wanted to get there fast, give back to the parents that treated him specially and the siblings that loved him unconditionally.

His older siblings were still struggling to find their feet years after graduation and he did not want to join the queue. One thing was on his mind, the “Get Rich” syndrome. He mingled with older people who had “made” it in life and he had to be like them.

The only way was fraud!

Kene got himself a godfather in the business, he learnt the job very fast and in a short while he started to shuttle between Nigeria and other countries. He had arrived and in a big way. 

The first thing he did was to buy a vehicle for his parents who never owned one. It was a big celebration in the Thomas’ family; Kene had broken the poverty jinx.

This young man is celebrated everyday by his parents who treat him even better now. He is now the original special child who wiped the tears from his mother’s eyes and made his father worthy of a chieftaincy title.

His parents know very well that their son’s business is fraud but they accept whatever he brings to them with arms open wide. Kene sorts everybody out, his siblings have all benefitted from the largesse of their baby brother, and he can do no wrong in all their eyes.

Did I mention that he bought a home, moved his parents to the home and handed them over the keys?

There are a lot more parents like the Thomas’ who turn a blind eye to what their children do as long as they see the money. Daughters in Universities and without any known day or night jobs send money to their parents and also buy them expensive gifts yet the parents do not question the sources of their incomes.

The love of money has destroyed homes and caused some parents to suffer moral disability. 

All you parents who act like the ostrich, you hide your heads in a hole and act like you do not see what goes on and wait for danger to pass. You will have yourselves to blame on the day of reckoning. 

PS: The names used are fictitious