The price of wealth (II)
Like I’ve said, when mother confronted her with the issue, Aunty Huwaila had apologized, told us she had no idea what her daughter was up to now that she lives on her own in another part of town and had promised to get to the bottom of the mystery and get back to me. I […]
Like I’ve said, when mother confronted her with the issue, Aunty Huwaila had apologized, told us she had no idea what her daughter was up to now that she lives on her own in another part of town and had promised to get to the bottom of the mystery and get back to me. I believe that’s what she is trying to do now. She probably wants to tell me what her daughter said in her defense and would try to implore me to believe her and forget what I had been told. But frankly I am not ready for that. This is why I have been avoiding her call all this while.’ Barirah concluded.
‘I think you better put that phone back on and pick her call. Give your cousin the benefit of the doubt and listen to what her mother has to say. Who knows this might all be a huge mistake on Hauwa’s part.’ I advised.
‘I’m afraid I can’t afford to wish so Bint. You see only last month I was at my Uncle Iro’s house to report his two daughters to him for being seen at my husband’s office for several days, without my knowledge. I asked my uncle why they should be there when they could easily tell me what they wanted and I could ask him to help. Uncle Iro was also very unhappy about it and he summoned the two women immediately and asked them if it was true. They admitted that it was true and the older of the two, who has always been the vocal type added that they were forced to seek my husband out due to their hardened circumstances. She explained that they were in dire financial straits, due to their unmarried status, one is divorced and the other widowed, so the only way they could get out of their misery was if they got a lucrative government contract which only my husband can give them. “Then why didn’t you go through your sister? Why should you go seeking help from her husband without her permission?” their father demanded. Again Zabiya was quick to answer “You know she would never have permitted us to do that and she will end up reading meanings into it.’ She accused. At that comment I refused to respond, her father too was quiet for a moment, probably thinking I will say something but I refused to.
“Do you really blame her if she refused to allow you to go after her husband seeking for favours? What does that say about us? That we are a family of ingrates who don’t appreciate all that our dear Barirah and her husband are doing for us; we have to go behind her back seeking for more.” Uncle Iro scolded. “I want you to apologise to her immediately and to never go near her husband’s office again. You have no business going to him to seek contracts. I have since advised you two to dust up your graduation certificates and go looking for jobs. But you both refused because you are looking for an easy way to get big money. Well tell her you are sorry and start looking for meaningful employment from tomorrow.” Their father ordered. They grudgingly made their apologies and walked out of the room. My uncle assured me that this will never happen again. I thanked him, gave him the normal money I send to him every month and left. Now just as I was trying to get over that, Mairiga’s case came up. How do you expect me to believe it didn’t happen that way when all around me cousins are trying to warm their way to my husband in order to get what they can from him?’ Barirah asked rhetorically.
‘I’m sorry to hear this Barirah, but this is the price you have to pay for being wealthy.’ Maryam chipped in. ‘ As far as your cousins are concerned you are too lucky to be spared. The first two are unmarried and unemployed and they see you happily married to a wealthy politician and a serving federal minister. Everything seems to be going well for you, so going to him with a demand to be made rich is to them a small price you have to pay for being so lucky. As for Mairiga, even though she is employed, the principle is still the same that while you are an adored wife living comfortably off your husband’s wealth, she had to go to work in a bank every week day and in the evening return to an empty house; with no husband or children to make it worthwhile. I am not saying that anything can justify what she did, travelling all the way to Europe to engage in an affair with your husband. But this is how she’ll see it, as taking her pound of flesh from a cousin who has it all.’ Maryam concluded,
‘I understand your point Maryam, in fact I have been telling myself more or less the same thing since yesterday. But this does not excuse either of them. Mairiga or my husband. I mean, I have always known that he has a weakness for women but I never thought he will extend his net to include even my relatives, though they may be flaunting their attraction to him at all points. And I know Mairiga has always been overly ambitious, sometimes to the point of recklessness. But even then I didn’t expect her to go this far. Now look at what a mess they have made, of both our marriage and our family ties. How can they both be so immoral?’ Barirah cried in anguish.
‘I am very sorry Barirah. Please stop crying, though we all know how painful your situation is. Let’s all think and come up with a way to handle this problem. We need to put our heads together.’ I suggested.
‘Did you say your husband always had a weakness for women, how long have you known?’ Asabe asked.
‘Oh, for a long time. It started just a few years into our marriage. Whenever I confronted him with something I found out, he will deny it, make up some alibi and end up by showering me with gifts. Till the next escapade.’ She explained, dejectedly.
‘But did you ever sit down to discuss the problem with him?’ Asabe insisted.
‘I just told you that whenever I tried he will deny it and then bribe me with gifts.’ Barirah replied.
‘What I meant was a situation where you will sit down with him and say “Look, if you aren’t satisfied with just one wife, why don’t you take another so that we can end these illicit affairs all together? I am tired of having to confront you with one allegation after another every once in a while.” Did you ever try to do this?’ Asabe asked.
‘No, I could never do that, in fact I still can’t ever do that. Why on earth should I ask my husband to take another wife? You know what co-wives are like. I can’t stand their trouble, their unnecessary rivalry, their hypocrisy, No, that is totally out of the question.’ Barirah argued heatedly.
‘Well, the result is what you’ve seen.’ I joined in at this point. ‘A man who showed consistently, from the early days of your marriage that he enjoys the company of other women is a man who can never be satisfied with one wife. If out of love or respect for you he couldn’t pluck the courage to marry another, you should have offered him that option, like Asabe said, if only to stop him from living a life of sin. Now look at how far he has gone in his indiscretions, to the point of taking your first cousin on an official trip abroad. Sometimes there are no perfect choices in life, it is about taking the lesser of two evils.’ I urged.
‘Yes, Bint is right Barirah, you have to make a determined effort to end your husband’s licentious ways. First of all make sure the affair with Mairiga ends immediately. Confront him with it, tell him you know the truth about the days they spent together in Germany, her pretending to be his wife and what you know about her being on holiday not on an official trip. Show him the gravity of the offence he committed by engaging in an affair with your own cousin. Then after all that is settled, bring up the issue of his taking another wife. But that second wife must never be Mairiga or any other desperate cousin. Let him not complicate matters further by doing that. Make that very clear.‘ Maryam advised.
‘Wow, this must be the most difficult decision I ever have to make. I really need time to work on myself and prepare what to say. Of course I will confront him on the issue of Mairiga tonight but the other project needs a bit more time. And if he were to say that he will not take another wife but will immediately stop his wild ways, I will gladly take him on his word.’ She resolved. with a weak smile.