Thread by @GbengaWemimo

I learned a bitter lesson about money when I was an undergraduate; when you are in a desperate situation that involves a financial need and you have no legal means of raising the money needed to meet the need, the best thing to do is wait for a miracle or allow the worst to

happen.
Any other alternative apart from the ones listed above will get you into big trouble
No matter how desperate you are and how appealing the alternative may seem, it will never be worth it in the long run.
I had trusted in God for my school fees from 100 level and he always

came through
Sometimes at the last minute and at other times at the right time but by the time i got to the second semester of my final, i had gotten tired of the process of fasting and praying and calling relatives and applying for scholarships and writing letters to churches

The school fees was too much for my mother to handle when it was 250K (100 Level fees) but by the final year, the fee had practically gone up to 450K
I kept telling myself, I should have opened a shop with the 250K fees I paid in 100 level instead of getting such an expensive

degree
Apart from the fee, I had to pay departmental fees, project fees, group assignments, transportation within the campus, feed and buy recharge card for my phone
(I was using a "Tear your pocket siemens phone I bought for 500 Naira at Katangua market) at the time
I also had

to keep my CGPA at 4.5 and above
It was my main marketing strategy for getting help from those I wrote to
People see my grade and feel they should contribute to my success one way or the other
Keeping the CGPA up meant studying day and night
I was a library rat and yes, it is

crazy studying that much without the assurance that you were going to write the examinations due to nonpayment of fees
I devised a method in my 200 level that worked for two years
I stole exam cards from the Faculty office and somehow always got them signed
When got into the

examination hall, i realised it took thirty minutes for the ID checks to start
The enforcement officers went to the bursary daily to get a list of students who had not paid and then they go from one exam hall to the other trying to fish out defaulters
I knew if I got caught I

would be in soup because they would discover that I stole the examination card without paying fees and wonder how I got it signed
The key was not to get caught, so I would prepare hard for the examination and finish all the questions in thirty minutes!
Before the checkers leave

bursary, i would have submitted and would be on my way back to the hostel
I once wrote a three hours paper in seventeen minutes because the checkers arrived early and I was able to submit and make it out of the hall before they got to my table
That was quite a close shave but it

was a catch me if you can thing and I had mastered it
The fees would eventually get paid one way or the other and nobody would be any wiser
But it was a high tension business
Like playing Russian Roulette, you never can tell when the bullet you be in the barrel
I really wasn't up

for it in the final year
I told God he had to help me early or I would help myself
The devil heard me loud and clear and knew was ready to be tempted off track
Three days after we resumed that semester, I got a message that a guy was looking for me at the school's gate
I went to

check out who it was
It turned out he had a babe on campus who was a friend of mine
The babe told him I was a respected fellowship leader and if he mentioned my name at the school gate, the security people will allow him access into the school.
I heard what the man had to say and

took him to the cafeteria
On the way to the cafeteria the man asked me how come the security people allowed him in at the mention of my name, he said it was quite unusual
(The school was a private University and entry/exit rules for students and visitors was very strict)
I told

him i am a member of the student's executive body and I have a sterling reputation
Then he said "I am a banker and my bank just started selling some shares. Is it possible that you can market the shares, i will give you 25% of whatever you make in form of investment. I just want

to leverage on your popularity and reputation here
There is nothing illegal about it
I told him I would think about it and left him at the cafeteria as my guest
He met the lady and left about an hour later
When I saw the lady later in the day, she gave me two envelopes
One with

5000 Naira cash gift from the guy and the other full of the shares acquisition form
I took both envelopes to the hostel
My roommates saw the forms and immediately signified their interest
Some took up to five forms for themselves and their siblings
Within a week, I had sold off

all the forms
The 25% i was promised was enough to pay my fees
I deducted it from the money and paid my fees
God has answered my prayers
I called the guy
His bank branch was in Oshogbo
He drove down within three hours to collect the filled forms and the rest of the cash
Wow!

I had a victory dance in my hostel that day
I was smart but I dulled my senses to all the red flags because it was convenient to do so
I had a need and it had been met
I knew 25% of the cash didn't make any sense
I had gone to check newspapers in the library and verified that the

shares issue was authentic
I had asked a few people who told me shares are not sold that way
How can a marketer make 25% of people's investment before the investment was made?
It didn't add up but I was desperate
A week later, I found out the guy and his family had relocated to a

country in Europe
Some of those who bought the shares wanted to know when their certificates would be ready
I called the man
His number was not going through
I went to see the lady that he was going out with at the female hostel
The lady said he was not her boyfriend like that

she was his side chick
She said she had been trying to get across to him too but she had been reliably informed by a mutual friend that he had relocated with his family the previous weekend
You need to see how my feet went ice-cold!
My sweat was chilling cold despite the hot sun

I had desperately tried to help myself and dug my way into a black hole
I didn't know what to tell those who bought the shares
The school fees i paid became irrelevant
I fell into depression
All i saw was a disaster
I was angry and defiant
I didn't even bother going to God in

prayer
It was God's fault
Why didn't He help me right early as the psalmist cried?
A lot of wrong decisions, lies, and half-truths followed until I finished my final examinations and submitted my project
I just wanted to graduate and run away
Of course, the students that were

scammed took the case to the school authority
I faced the SDC and my certificate was withheld to date
At the time it felt like I should just die
Many years of testimony ruined by one foolish move that a ten-year-old ought to see through!
I eventually went back to God and he did

what he has always done for his prodigal sons
He took me back and led me into the light by His Spirit
If I don't tell the story, nobody would know I went through such but I like to tell the story as often as possible
Especially when I see desperate people seeking a windfall

I was saved from going to jail by the whiskers on the case I stated above
I had since restituted & cleared my conscience with all those involved but I knew the decisions I made that led me down that path
Learn from this experience
Desperation is not an excuse in the court of law

@threadreaderapp compile