A Tale of Deceit: How a man in Abuja with fake labour story targets women on roads, by Aisha M Auyo

A Tale of Deceit: How a man in Abuja with fake labour story targets women on roads, by Aisha M Auyo

It was a Friday, and I was in a hurry to leave home for the office. A few minutes after I left home, I realised that I had forgotten my wallet. I was disappointed in myself, knowing that this meant trouble. The road officers will eat me alive, I thought. If the need to buy anything comes up, I can do a bank transfer with my phone, but what do I do when officers ask for my driving license? I prayed not to meet any of them because they wouldn’t believe that I had forgotten my cards at home.

I was engrossed in these thoughts and all of a sudden I heard a tap on my window. A distressed man was busy talking to me. I wined down the glass and asked what the problem was. He said he was driving his wife, who was in labor to the hospital, but their fuel tank ran empty, and they didn’t have money to buy it. That if I could just give him money, he’d get the petrol and rush her to the hospital. He was holding a 5-litre Jerri can and was pointing to the filling station opposite us.

Seeing his distressed look made me regret forgetting my wallet more, I wish I could help him, I thought to myself. I sympathized with him and told him I’d left my wallet at home, and wished the family a safe delivery.

The traffic light turned green, and I zoomed off, praying that someone would help that distressed family. I can imagine the wife in pain, inside the car, waiting for her husband to get them petrol so they could reach the hospital on time.

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I reached the office without any of the officers stopping me, which is very rare. I thanked Allah for the luck and immersed myself in my work. But as much as I tried to focus, the image of that distressed man holding Jerrican and running helter-skelter on the road asking for help kept coming back to me. Also, the imaginary scene of a wife in labour stuck in a fuelless car waiting for help from strangers. What could be more terrorizing for a woman?

On Monday morning, I woke up early and made sure I had put everything I needed in the car. Won’t risk repeating what happened on Friday. As I reached Berger Bridge, I thought of that family again, and boom! Kamar Aljani, I saw that distressed man holding that Jerrican in that same clothes talking to a woman in front of me. I winded my glasses and I could hear him telling her the same story he told me. She didn’t buy his story, so she drove on.

I waited for him, and he shamelessly came to my car and told the well-rehearsed story of his wife in labour. Then, I understood his tactics. He only targets ladies, knowing that we will do anything to help a woman in labor. I’m using the same car I used on Friday, but because he was not paying attention, or because he was blinded by indolence and dishonesty, he couldn’t identify the numerous women he tried to defraud.

The light turned green and I drove off, I could see him via the mirror talking to another woman. It’s disheartening. The way I was so disturbed on Friday, the way I pictured a distressed woman in labor, only to find out it was a deceit. These are the kinds of people that make us not believe those who are truthfully in need of our help.

Many of us have encountered videos showing individuals pretending to be handicapped, using crutches or wheelchairs to elicit sympathy or donations from passersby. In a dramatic turn of events, these pretenders are often seen abandoning their props and revealing their true abilities when faced with a sudden, life-threatening situation. For instance, a runaway car with failed brakes, a tear gas incident, or an unexpected police raid can prompt these individuals to forget their pretense and sprint away at full speed. Once the danger has passed, they often relocate and resume their deceitful activities. This phenomenon is not unique to Nigeria but occurs in various parts of the world. This discouraged many from giving alms to street beggars.

So, I think this man thought of a novel concept, and targeted the gender with more empathy. I wanted to snap his picture and use it in this story, but I decided against it. Wonders shall never end, on Nigerian roads.

Aisha Musa Auyo is a Doctorate researcher in Educational Psychology. A wife, a mother, a homemaker, caterer, parenting, and relationship coach. She can be reached via aishamuauyo@live.co.uk

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