New Beginnings

In, 2008 I got a message from the school gate of Bowen University that somebody was looking for me.

When I got to the gate, it was a guy from Oshogbo, he wanted to see a female student who was a bit close to me. It was the female student that told him to ask for me whenever he came looking for her. He told me he came to see so and so. I picked my phone and called the lady.
She showed up a few minutes later and asked that I wait around while she attended to her guest.

He was a banker and she was a 200-level student. She used to be a sort of Runs Girl but she had given her life to Christ and was desperately trying to change her life. The conversation was short, she left immediately afterwards.

Then this banker turned to me and said, “I was told you have some influence on campus and there are many rich kids here. If you don’t mind, I work for so and so bank and we are selling our shares at the moment. I don’t know if you can sell some for me, I will pay you 25% of whatever you sell.”

I said, Okay.

He went to his car and brought me some of the shares documents and explained to me how they were to be filled, etcetera. Then he left 

I never expected to sell any. I took the forms to Brothers’ Hall for Sunday School preview, a few minutes later, a lady saw them and indicated her interest to buy. That was how the forms started selling.

In all I sold shares worth about 1.3 million Naira. The man sent me a bank account 

To pay the 75% into. I did and kept the teller. The 25% remaining I used to settle part of my school fees.  I was feeling so blessed that for the first time, God settled my school fees without a struggle unlike the previous three years when I had to pray and fast and cry before God settled the fees at the last minute.

I wrote my exams and graduated. When I got home, my mother told me she got a call from the Student Affairs office. They requested that I should report to their office immediately. When I got there, I found a petition written by some students about 

the shares they bought. They had not received their shares’ certificates and I was graduating.

One of them went to the bank and discovered that the shares were not bought. The man that gave me the forms had cashed out and left the country. I was in red hot stew
I was told to write a statement. I did.

The school authority launched an investigation trying to establish a pattern of fraud etcetera. They couldn’t because there was none.

I still had the teller of the payment I made but I had deducted my 25% from it and that looked very suspicious. I was naive back then! 

Before I faced the School Disciplinary Committee, I tried reaching out to the people involved so that I could reach an agreement with them to pay them the money if they would withdraw the case.  Some were for it but two Christian brothers with whom I shared a room for two straight years were against it.

One of them was the material witness against me. He bought shares worth 64,000 Naira and I had duped him. It was a terrible time in my life. I fasted and prayed and cried and pleaded for divine intervention. I would most certainly lose my degree certificate. At the time, I felt my life was over. I mean, I wanted to commit suicide. I thought hard and long about it. 

What would I do with my life without that degree? What if I wanted to go to into banking or politics tomorrow and they do background checks? I had ruined my life forever.

Somehow, I fasted till the day I faced the School Disciplinary Committee.  It was the worst day of all. I had assumed they would give me the opportunity to explain myself.

Oh no!

I was guilty and there was nothing I could do about it. To make matters worse, the material witness gave them the impression that when I came to his house to beg him to withdraw the case (I went with my Mum and we met with him and his mother) I had somehow threatened him or he didn’t feel safe, etcetera.

They brought in lawyers and police officers, locked me in cuffs, took my finger print, called a police truck to come and take me to the station.

Wow!

My spine had turned to water. God seemed to have hidden his face. Just as I was about to be led to the truck, one of the panelists said, “This guy was my Sunday school teacher for four years on campus, he is brilliant, he is a prayerful student, a great example to other students. He made a mistake here. There was no other report of any allegation of wrong doing against him apart from this one. If he was a fraudster our investigations would have revealed a pattern and we did a very thorough investigation. We even interviewed his lecturers and roommates. He made a mistake. He made an error in judgement. We shouldn’t ruin his life. Please take him out of the cuffs and let him go. We can settle this without destroying his future.”

The lady that spoke was the Vice Chancellor’s wife. Her voice had weight.

The others said, “Okay ma.”

They removed the cuffs and let me go.

The woman said, “Sowemimo, come and see me later. We have other cases to attend to after now. ”

Wow!

I walked out of that hall with shaky legs. I was so scared that my body was still shaking hours after the event. It felt like I was rescued from the jaws of the bear.

The school authority wrote to me later asking me to refund the 25% to the students. It took me some time but I paid each one of them back in 100 folds.

I finished paying the debt last year. I was not given my certificate because of this case
I couldn’t do the National Youth Service Corps.

I couldn’t aspire to the kind of jobs I had desired to have. I was afraid that if anyone dug into my past, they would see that blot.

I refused to start the ministry God committed into my hands because of it. I was scared I would be called a fraud, shamed and hung out to dry.

Until I finished paying that debt, I wouldn’t allow anyone to put my face on a poster for any ministration. I even changed my name partly because of it.

When I finished paying the debt, I wrote about it for the first time. I apologized to those that my action affected in public, even though I had repaid them. It was a crippling baggage at the time.
Because of it I never engage and I will never engage in any business with anyone.

I hold physical services without collecting offerings. I seriously wanted to be rid of the stigma and live my life but it wouldn’t go away.

One day the Lord said to me in a vision, “Cast it on me, from this day, I relieve you of it. Condemn every tongue that rises against you in judgment. I have given you the right to live in liberty in my name.”

That was how I was set free. That’s why your opinions won’t matter! 

If you praise me, duh! If you troll me, duh!

I have an audience of one. I will do as He says and let all men be liars.

As a minister of the gospel this is how you must live your life too, independent of circumstances, immovable, unshakable, live your life to please the Lord, not the mob.

The handwriting of requirements of wrong have been blotted on your behalf.

If you made mistakes, please forgive yourself and let go. And if any raise a voice against you, condemn them!

I love you

-GSW-