A Promise From My Heart

47.

I have been called trouble for simply refusing to let most people walk over me, cheat or insult me and get away with it. Difficult was another word used to describe me for standing my ground and refusing to budge. Many had said I was too fierce for a woman. No man would want me because I am not meek. I have gotten used to being called those that they no longer bother me. The one thing everyone was right about was my sharp mouth. It had saved me and also landed me in countless troubles.

The judgement was in the way Amir's cousin, Tajudeen, looked at me as I approached them. The cause identified but I had chosen not to dwell on it. He had watched me exchange words with a reckless driver who had thought it was right of him to demean me and question where I got a car from. As usual, I was called an ashewo, the only riposte he had. Well, what I had said in return was something I do not want to recall. It was vulgar and had left the driver stunned.

I had met Tajudeen at Hanifa's wedding. He's her elder brother. Tall with skin the shade of cocoa, shining like he had glazed it with oil, a well structure face, beards enclosing around full lips and a build that told of constant visit to the gym. He appeared closer to Amir. I could tell from the way they acted, spoke and were mostly together when Amir was not with me.

Auntie Nabila was a sweet woman. Her smile was kind, her touch motherly. Her eyes were gentle as they looked at me with admiration. When she spoke, her voice was tender. I saw her pass a silent look over to Amir which I did not understand. He did because he smiled. Auntie Warqah was quite intimidating in a way they seemed so hard to challenge her. She had an aloof air around her amplified with perceptible pride. The way she talks in polished English accent, walks and acts in general was elegant. She rarely smiled and she viewed everyone like they were below her. When she looked at me, I felt my inside tighten, my resolve almost broke. Her look was condemnatory, made me unsure about myself but I had shoved my chin in the air and met her gaze squarely with a tight lipped smile. I would not allow her berate me with one sweep of her eyes.

Hanifa Shonekan was humble compared to how I had viewed her online. I had expected a snobby, proud brat but she was neither of those. I had followed her Instagram, liked every post of hers, admired her but I was not a fanatic fan. Never was. I do not worship celebrities, go mad about them, feel entitled and support them even when they are doing pure rubbish. I just liked her. I liked that she did not give a damn about haters in the comment section who constantly told her she was living a good life free of money problems because her father had embezzled money meant for the public. It was partly true. Her reply was flaunting her life more and it stirred more reactions and rage.

The Shonekan family is one of the richest families in Nigeria. Ahmed Shonekan is the progenitor of the Shonekan family. He was a cocoa and cassava farmer who supplied large British trading companies with raw materials before independence. He began the importation and distribution of some Europeans good in Nigeria. The business flourished and he became a partner with well-known foreign organisations. His sons, Akorede Shonekan and Mashood Shonekan, both from different mothers, expanded the family business to shipping, agriculture, politics, banking (Pioneer Bank), Education (Ahmed Shonekan University) as well as oil and gas and gold mines. They formed the Shonekan Group of Companies.

Prominent members of the family are Suleiman Shonekan, a former governor of Lagos state who owns a construction firm, Zainab Shonekan-Jembi, a businesswoman who specialised in clothes trading, and Abdulwahab Shonekan who owns an aviation company and was a senator. There are many others, successful and wealthy in their chosen and inherited fields.

So, no naira was saved to make Hanifa's wedding one of the most lavish weddings in the country, the kind that prevails amongst the wealthy. Her shoes, according to gossip blogs, were between the price range of five hundred thousand naira to a million naira per pair. Her wedding dresses were made by top designers like one of Dubai's top designers whose name I cannot recall and Deola Sagoe.