Counterfeit

Wednesday, May 1, 2019

He got a message from the office Whatsapp Platform
There will be no May Day Holiday
He wondered why
He grudgingly went to the office
It wasn't as if there was a particular emergency 
to attend to
The company promised all the staff members, 
that all the public holidays would be observed
Though being a Christian Organization
Holidays of other religions were not observed 
even if it was a national holiday
But the usual national holidays were a given
When he got to the office, he went to the Human 
Resources Manager
Why were we told to report to the office?
The Human resources manager didn't 
mince words
"If there would be a holiday, we ought to 
have been notified by the national headquarters, 
they didn't send us any memo and our management 
staff members also didn't mention it, 
I will always err on the side of caution, 
I cannot declare a holiday unilaterally even 
if it is a public holiday! I answer to the Boss's 
instruction!"
He didn't expect any less
The Human Resources Manager was a proper 
donkey on a leash
His idea of being a productive servant is to 
say "Yes" to whatever the boss says
That was how he compensated for his gross 
incompetence 
The whole office was aware of this
He went to the accounts department
To his amazement, none of them showed up
He went to another department and found
 the office firmly shut
It dawned on him immediately that other 
departments in the same office were observing 
the national holiday without any repercussion 
whatsoever
He went back to the Human Resources Manager
"How does this make sense, that only two 
departments in the office were open
to do practically nothing and there would be no 
incentives for those who came and there would be 
no repercussion for those who refused to show up!"
The Human Resources Manager laughed and 
said "I announced on the Whatsapp platform 
that there was no holiday, the obedient ones 
came and the disobedient ones stayed away! 
God will reward each accordingly!"
He closed by 5 PM that day and decided he would
 take the rest of the week off
He felt it was unjust of the Human Resources 
manager to overlook the behaviour of the other 
staff members and hide behind "God will reward 
the obedient"
So he stayed away from the office on Thursday 
and Friday!
When he got to the office on Monday, 6th May
He met a crisis
His boss was set to travel to the UK on Tuesday 
the 7th of May
He had a ten years visa and visited the UK 
unfailingly once every year
He was aware of his Boss's plan and was 
instrumental to the purchase of the flight ticket 
and  other details
As soon as he got to the office his boss summoned 
him
His Boss: So what happened that you were not in 
the office on Thursday and Friday?
He: I worked on "worker's day" sir and other staff 
members didn't, so I took the rest of the week off
His Boss: You took the rest of the week off? 
Without even a phone call or any form of
 communication? 
How could you do that? Is that even responsible?
He: I don't understand sir, I had finished all my 
chores for the week on workers day and placed 
all the files on your desk before I closed that day
His Boss: So what? Was your duty here only to 
treat files and leave like a secretary? 
You are my Personal Assistant! I am your 
principal! I know I gave you a lot of latitude
and right now I am regretting it!
It was at that point he realised something 
must have happened
He had a wonderful understanding with 
his boss
He treats the man with utmost respect 
and dignity
The man, in turn, gave him the room to work 
independently and not necessarily like an appendage 
as other bosses with a personal assistant do
Something terrible must have happened in his 
absence...
He: Sir, please, tell me what happened in my 
absence, 
His Boss: Well, I came here on Thursday with some 
Naira notes
About One Million, two hundred thousand naira
I wanted to convert the money to Pounds Sterling 
because of my trip 
I waited all day for you to arrive but you didn't 
show up
I had no plan of coming to the office today so I 
brought the money here on Friday
expecting that you would come around and take 
it to the bureau de change for me
I waited until of noon before setting out by myself
I went with the staff bus and the staff driver
We got to the Bureau de change
I chose an office so that I can trace the place in 
case something terrible happened
Because I know from experience that you cannot 
trust these people
They counted the money and gave me 2,500 Pounds 
I counted the money myself
I authenticated it too
I have been travelling to the United Kingdom every 
year for 12 years now
I am very familiar with the currency 
We concluded our business and I returned 
to the office
Around 2PM when my wife came to the office, 
I handed over the envelope where I kept the 
money to her for safekeeping
She opened the envelope to verify the amount
And we discovered that the bills were looking
 quite strange
Upon proper inspection, we discovered that the 
bills were counterfeit
I immediately called my friend in the police force
He came around and checked the currency, 
he confirmed it is fake
He brought with me two people from the 
anti-fraud unit and they also confirmed that
I had been duped!
Later that afternoon, I took the money to the 
bank and asked the bankers to authenticate it
It was finally concluded that the money was fake
I was able to place the lot side by side with 
genuine bills 
The difference was very clear!
That was how I lost over a million naira 
to fraudsters
If you had been around, you would have run 
the errand for me
You know I have always entrusted you with 
sensitive assignments like this
I don't know what to do and I have to 
travel tomorrow"
He: Sir, do you have the money?
His Boss: Yes
He: Can I have it?
(His boss hands the envelope over to him and
 a business card)
His Boss: That is the business card of the man that
 changed the money for me! I have called the 
number several times but it is switched off
He: Okay sir (He turns to leave)
His Boss: Hey, I thought you wanted to check 
the currency out and verify that it is fake
He: No sir! I will be right back sir
He put the envelope in his jeans pocket and stepped 
out of the office
He called the staff driver
The staff driver drove him to the same popular market 
where the Bureau de change was relocated
He walked to the bureau de change
He was all smiles and sunshine
Many touts approached him
He ignored them all
He walked straight to the Bureau de change written 
on the business card
He met a man in the office
The man asked him what he wanted to do?
He said he wanted to convert Pounds 
Sterling to Naira
The man asked him how much he wanted 
to change
He told the man 2,500 pounds sterling
The man asked him if he wanted Cash or 
bank transfer
He said Bank transfer
The man requested for the currency 
He gave the man the envelope
The man brought out the money and checked
 it out
Then he took out his phone and asked for 
the account number he was supposed 
to transfer the naira equivalent to
He gave the man his account number
The man did the transfer
He waited until he got the bank alert
They shook hands and he left
The driver took him straight to his bank
He withdrew the One Million, one hundred
and seventy thousand, five hundred and fifty 
Naira that was transferred to his account
He took the cash directly to his boss in the 
office 
When he handed over the money, his boss 
was shocked
His Boss: What! How did you do it? 
What happened?
He: I just went there to change the pounds 
sterling 
back to Naira sir
His Boss: Ha, that was very risky! What if they 
arrest you for peddling fake currency?
What if they beat you up or injure you?
Wow!
He: let's thank God nothing of such happened 
sir! 
The cash was not 1.2 million Sir, It was 
1,170, 550.00 Naira
His Boss: It's okay, It was roughly the 
same amount I went to exchange, give or
 take a few kobos! I know the exchange rate 
dropped a little and those black market people 
are shady but I am very grateful! 
This is full restoration!

PS: The event happened in Lagos, May 2019
Jesus turned water to wine
This is not just something to read and fantasize 
about
It is not a fairy tale
Stop underestimating the anointing of God at 
work in your life
If you don't build yourself to work in and 
live in miracles
Your life will remain ordinary!
Casual Christianity benefits nobody
Most believers would accept the event 
described above 
as a loss and they would then be petitioning 
God for
restoration or resort to cursing the fraudster
 and being bitter with
God for making such a bad thing happen to them
Walk in the reality of your new life in Christ
Let this new life consume you, let this new life 
take you over
Let go of your "control"!
Surrender fully to the Holy Spirit
Ride this wind of glory and achieve great things
It is time to walk in the supernatural!
                     - The Brother in Jeans and T-Shirt!