Many years ago. I was fortunate to work as an attendant at a fuel station in my vicinity. I don't know of other shifts, but for mine, I worked with Blessing, another fuel attendant, Bisi, the mart attendant, Bunmi, the manager, and the director, Mr Oils.
My working experience from the start was so awesome. Mr Oils, an elderly man of sixty-five, was a man who was kind, supportive, and valued hardworking youths. He sincerely appreciated it so we can do better. Bunmi, the manager, was a young lady of the same age category as all of us, but no one dared to challenge her effrontery. She was one of the nicest people I have ever met. Starting, she will give me tips after closing, then she brings daily lunch to my post whenever I am on duty, and her kind mannerisms are also top-notch.
Blessing and Bisi used to look as if they drank a cup of lime but who cared. All I knew was that I wouldn't mix business with pleasure in order not to fall like Antony, the protagonist in the Shakespearean text “Antony and Cleopatra”.
As months went by, Mr Oils called an impromptu meeting. “ Good day, sir,” we all greeted, and he answered before he continued.
“ Your manager has enrolled for a part-time course and she will be off duty on Tuesdays and Thursdays”. We all clapped for her and congratulated her before the director continued. “Oyebolu will be in charge of the sales account on those days to cover her lapses,” he noted, giving us a smirk and grin.
Everyone looked at me in shock as I took it up with a reply. “ I am all ears sir”.
“ The meeting is dismissed. Bisi, give everyone a bottle of soft drinks and any biscuits of whichever they want, and give me the total sum,” Mr Oils concluded.
“Thank you, sir, “ we all said before leaving his office.
An hour later, Bunmi called me up and taught me how to do the sales account, fill the ledger, and balance sales, illustrating that I should do that day’s account at night. I passed in flying colors, so I was told I am having a payment raise and daily tokens as airtime on the days I was to manage, and each day after closing, I was to go to Bunmi’s house to remit the cash to her mother, as online banking was not in use then.
Everything went well the first month, but all of a sudden, two weeks after the first month, as an assistant managing post, another impromptu meeting was called by Mr Oils. “ Good day, sir”, we all greeted as usual, and Mr Oils answered before he continued.
“ I have noticed that when you give people a chance, they take chances. I have confirmed from the first week of Oyebolu’s management that his account was always balanced on the ledger but the remitted money is not. At first, a few thousand, but now tens of thousands. I intentionally kept quiet to see if it would continue and it did. So I am stripping him of his post today,” he concluded with a frown.
Everyone looked at me and I was shocked to the heart. I knew for sure I counted and recounted the cash before remittance so “how come?” I asked myself soliloquizing. Mr Oils ended the meeting as usual, ordering drinks and biscuits for us, and we thanked him and left his office.
That day, I lost my appetite and was down, but I also noticed that Bunmi's behavior changed all of a sudden. No extra tips, no free lunch, and she kept to herself, always behaving moody, so I understand that day that something is wrong in the native language, which states, “ ejo lo wo ni nu” ( snakes have hidden hands). I kept to myself and this time, Blessing and Bisi were now coming closer. I left the job months later, as I couldn't bear the continuous shortages I had every day, which left me with half payments in some months and no payments in others.
Some years after I left, I was already admitted to the University of Science and Technology and was on my way to a lecture when I bumped into Bisi one morning. We boarded the same bus, and I was surprised to see who was beside me. She told me how everything played out back in those days.
“ Do you know that the manager was having an affair with the director?” she said, looking at me and nodding her head mockingly.
“ Your fall was staged,” she concluded with a smile. “I don't understand,” I replied, looking confused.
“Yes, after you left and were told you left town, I became best of friends with the manager, and it was then that I knew different secrets,” she said.
“ Mmm I replied, so what happened?” I asked curiously. “ Bunmi told me that her mother claimed you were gaining too much power, which means she was losing too much power, too. Her mother purposely removed the money to implicate you,” Bisi said with a poker face, but I was like, Bunmi's mother smiles every time I come to remit the cash, and looked very happy to see me.
Bisi continued,” Your shortage was the second scheme to scare you away, knowing that you had caught the foul play,” she noted, but this time looking dead serious.
I replied, “As you can see, I am doing better, and I thank God I left when it was the right time”.
“ So are you still there?” I asked her in return.
“No, I was sacked” she replied.
“Why, if I may ask, “ I said, mockingly nodding my head, as she had earlier.
“Mr Oils tried to lay his hands on me, and I gave him a slap,” she replied.
“Ohh!! I see some wolves always hide in sheep’s clothes using deception to hunt while other wolves take other sheep as puppets”. I stated.
Bisi couldn't understand what I said and was looking lost as I told her goodbye.