He now calls me "MY BLOOD BROTHER"

Thank you once again for finding time to go through my post. You are part of my success story. In this topic I want to share with you, it's very important to really painstakingly read and try to understand what I am about to share with you. I know one way or the other someone might have shared an experience or same topic here but for the purpose of my personal experience and opinion I would really love to drop this article here for you to read my story and learn from my own story.

I have tried to keep some certain incidents that happened to me personal but this particular incident I want to share on this platform will really open your eyes to know that friendship is beyond what we think of it.

I will share with you a life story of what happened to me some years back between my best friend and I.

My Story

I met this young fellow in the year 1998 where I did my secondary school years and we happened to stay in one class room as classmates back then, we became friends and during that period I got to understand we were from the same village so our friendship got stronger and 6years later we graduated. Back home our both parents were family friends and we lived in the same location of the city so our friendship became stronger by the day and we had so much experiences and struggled to survive together as good friends, later after series of writing examination to gain admission into the higher institution, he finally got admission to study one of the engineering course in one of the federal universities in the country, a year later I also got admission to study one of the social science courses in one of the federal polytechnics in the same country but in this case the two institutions were close neighbors so we could still visit each other in school and hostel where we had accommodation. He graduated before me and did his one year national youth service and after a year later I graduated and joined him to serve my country as a youth corps member.

When we finished service, if you are living in this side of my world, you will understand that after your school, you are expected to start hustling for yourself to make ends meet. Life was tough for the both of us, we submitted several curriculum vitae to companies and firms yet we could not get any call for Interview, remember that this side of the world I came from, government is not providing any enabling environment for graduates in times of job opportunities. We have a lot of young and old graduates roaming the streets seeking for job employment but no availability of job anywhere. So we kept on applying and decided to try some business so I went into fashion designing while he started gas and oil business. During these periods of hardship, we were so good friends that turned to be brothers, we helped each other in every aspect you can imagine of as friends turned brothers.

One faithful day, a friend of his who traveled outside for some years called him and told him that he will help him to come over to abroad but before he left, I had little savings and because he was traveling and things were not moving fine with both of us so I gave him my little savings to add up to the money he was traveling with, finally he left for overseas.

In the year 2015 When he traveled I tried every means I could to reach him but no way, reason was that I had no phone number I can contact him with up there so it was very difficult for me to get across to him except he manages to call me with the new line he will be using over there. So I waited patiently for his calls and text messages and finally he called and told me everything went well and his friend was doing fine as well. After sometime he called me again and told me that I shouldn't worry that once things get better for him he will surely bring me over to where he was, and that his friend has asked him to try and do so for his friend the same way he brought him to abroad, so I shouldn't worry soon everything will be alright, also that I should keep working hard and keep hustling until I hear from him. Before he hung up, he asked me to keep praying for him to make it over there, I responded to him surely I will always.

After months of struggling over there, as God may have it, I received a call from him that things have turned out well for him and that I should get ready to join him, I was so excited and happy, after the calls, he sent me twenty thousand naira (#20,000) and I thanked him. Two weeks later, I chatted him, he didn't respond to me, I called him on the phone he didn't pick my calls, I got worried and tried every possible means to reach him still I couldn't. All of a sudden, he stopped chatting me nor pick my calls, he blocked me from his WhatsApp line and stopped communicating with me, i started wondering what could be the reason behind his sudden attitude towards me and I couldn't find any answer to it.

I became disturbed and told my family what was going on and they adviced me to move on with my life and that I should never put that incident in my heart and so I listened to their advice and moved on. That same year, he came back for the Christmas holidays and refused to invite me over to his family house for us to meet. He kept his  holiday visit away from me until he had some days to travel back after the Christmas celebrations and holiday, he called me that we have to meet so I went to see him to really know what was going on, immediately I saw him he started sounding angrily towards me that I messed up, that he got report that I was telling everybody that he has made money to the extend he is afraid of been kidnapped, I was shocked and very dumbfounded with the manner he was addressing me, I was disappointed and out of anger I left his house and he didn't bother to call me back.

He went back to overseas and stopped communicating with me, he came back several times during celebrations periods and even for vacations. To cut the long story short, he finally came back to Nigeria due to his papers have expired and he didn't want to go back again to the country, so he was here spending a lot of money and having fun. The promise he made to me he didn't fulfil it. He stopped associating with me because I was not his level any more because of his fat bank accounts, his cars and all his investment. But when all of these were happening, I always consult my family and they will keep advising me not to hate him nor get angry with him and the way he was treating me.

After a while, things started falling apart and gradually his riches started going down and eventually lost everything due to bad company. All his friends, family friends and those he was spending his money with left him, he started looking for my contact and called me for us to meet, at first I didn't want to see him because of how he treated me when he made money, but on a second thought I allowed us to meet. He started confessing how he was listening to bad friends and their advices and he was so sorry for everything and that he has learnt his lessons in a hard way, I told him that I am not bearing any grudge against him, and that I will not change from the way i have been doing towards him and also will I change from how I have kept our friendship in my heart right from the first day we became friends.

I forgave him and started helping him out with the much I can both financially, economically, physically, etc, he is married with a kid but to feed right now is a very big issue for him, I have been assisting him to feed his family, and any other way I can, his family member have refused to assist him and it was these same people he spoilt with his money when the bed was rosy, they all deserted him except me that is sending you this story. He now calls me "MY BLOOD BROTHER"

LESSON TO LEARN.

1.Always value your friends no matter the circumstances.

2. When you are at the top, always make sure you treat the people under you very well and respect them.

3. The wealth and riches of a man can disappear at any time, but true friend is eternal.

4. Don't always base your relationship and assistance around your family, always extend your hand of friendship outside the walls of your family because there are friends that are better than blood brothers.

5. Never listen to gossips, anything someone tells you about another person, please be sure and do your personal findings to know whether it's true or not before you conclude.

Always be your brother's keeper.

Thank you so much for your time and for reading my post 🙏 Rafd9828