Till today, I still baffle at how hardened Chidi is. He's been owing me some amount of money for two years and he's still living his life with boldness, passing through my compound without greeting me because he has added me to the list of his enemies on the street. Many times, I've approached him to get my money, but no way. I've also seen the shop owner close to my house shouting at him to get her money from him, but no, all these don't affect him. He lets those shouts roll off like water off a duck's back.
If it were a money borrowing case, it would have been better because I'd know that I violated the law of 'borrow out what you can afford to let go,' but this, it was work I did for him.
Early in the last two years, in 2022, on a sunny day, I brought out heaps of clothes I was about to wash when I saw him. Chidi walked into my compound in a staggering manner; it seemed as if he was drunk, but it was too early for a young guy in his mid-20s to be drunk in the morning. So, I assumed that maybe he was sick or had an injury on his leg.
"Bro, I want to wash all these," he dropped the clothes on top of the ones already on the floor and sat down on a plastic chair beside it.
I was happy because it's not every day I get to welcome such a young guy into my space, which means I will charge him well for being lazy to wash his clothes by himself.
"What happened to them?" I picked the clothes and I was shocked to see liquid mixed with food particles stained all over the clothes.
"Mtcheeew! We were high yesterday," he hissed, bent down his head in between his legs as someone that was tired of life, and he continued, turning up his face to my direction, "can't you see my face, the alcohol effect is still there."
So, I got it right when I saw him coming with staggering.
I picked up the clothes, counted, and charged him, which he didn't haggle. He left and promised to come back after four days to pay and get them.
Surprisingly, it was three weeks later when I saw him again. He came to my house late at night, around 10 pm, and he was asking me to give him some clothes to return to their owner because the guy was pressuring him. He said it was his friend's clothes that he had worn that day and accidentally vomited on, and his friend asked him to wash it. He seemed very humble and sincere, so I decided to give him the clothes since he promised to pay me back in the morning. I trusted him because he's someone I often see around the neighborhood; I even know his mom and where they live.
One week, two weeks, three weeks passed, and all he does whenever he's passing my compound is to throw away his face to the opposite direction. I became so shocked because how could someone be so hardened not to feel that it's an offense to be in debt and not show concern about it.
I thought of many approaches to use to make him bring my money, but none of them were visible because I had heard from the woman, the shop owner close to my house, how she has shouted, reported him to his mom, and even his workplace for him to pay all the money for the things he collected on credit, but nothing worked.
I knew the don'ts in debt recovery, one of them being never to involve police, but he didn't seem to know those rules, so I devised a means to threaten him.
That day, I met him walking past my compound as usual, and I hurriedly blocked him.
"Bro, I know I owe you, and I'm coming to clear it," he said with his face squeezed like he just met the devil after his life, and he tried walking away like he's in a hurry, which I walked and blocked his front.
"I'm not here to tell you to give me my money; I'm here to tell you that if you don't bring the money in two days' time, I would get the police to arrest you. I've exercise patience enough." I haven't warned someone with a loud and strong tone for a while, so I made sure my voice was strong enough to pull up the peak of the threat.
He smiled and later squeezed his face back, "I've heard you, can you allow me to pass?" I was surprised at how he didn't feel my threat. I walked off the way and let him pass.
That was the moment I gave up on the money because actually, involving the police, which is not even ideal, would cost more than what he's owing. I didn't disturb him again until after like a month; he called me on the phone to send my account details. I was surprised; I sent them to him, and before I knew it, he transferred half of the money.
Should I pursue the for the remaining part? Admittedly, I lack the strength, but I accepted the one he offered and thanked God for touching his heart.
Thanks for reading