Chapter 1
THE GIFT
SUNDAY JULY 2, 2023
Everyone seemed to be so serious except him and his mum. He was once like them, but only for a brief period. Today he had to pretend that he was deeply moved by the sermon Pastor Tayo just gave. He had no idea why he was in church today; his mum had told him that Pastor Tayo had invited them both and would like to see them when the service was over.
It was the first Sunday of July, so there was a special thanksgiving in church that day. It was the normal tradition at Saint Peters’ Church to do a special thanksgiving the first Sunday of each month. The same set of people who seemed to have been so serious just after Pastor gave his sermon danced round the whole place disorderly as they made their way to the front to give their offering.
“We will stay here,” his mum had whispered to both him and his little sister. He understood why. Why should they dance round the church when they had no offering to give? His mum was not about to give their remaining money for transportation back home as offering in church, which was the right thing to do.
Minister Jonathan was dancing exuberantly as he made his way to the front with his family at his back to offer his offering. This caused other members of the church to start recording him with their phones. A habit that always baffled him.
Back when he was eight years old, his father had told him that Jesus said in the book of Matthew that we should all pray in secret and not openly. That when we pray out in the open, we have no reward. But when we shut the door and pray, the Father in heaven will reward us.
So when he was in Primary Four, his class teacher suggested that the class observe their prayer in the assembly ground. He spoke up immediately, saying what his father had told him to the class. To which Ndubuisi, who was one of his classmates replied to him, “Is it the same father who just got out of jail?”
He remembered the whole class erupting into laughter, even his class teacher joined in smirking. He didn’t blame him though, everyone had always laughed at him. He should have been used to it then, but still he wanted people to stop laughing at him and start liking him. Even though he acted otherwise.
Yes, his father just got out of jail, but it was only for six months and he was cleared of any wrongdoings. But maybe he was out of line to try and preach to his class using his father’s name, given the wonderful reputation he had.
Ever since then he had learned to keep his observations and theories to himself, and there were many of them. So he was going to keep shut about people recording dances in church, not like he could do anything about it.
He didn’t really pay attention to the rest of the service, he kept on thinking about what Pastor Tayo wanted to say to him. It surely could not be about him not going to church frequently. Not that there was any way Pastor Tayo could know what for sure.
When the service was finally over, he immediately turned to his mum, “Can we go and see Pastor Tayo now?”
His mum sighed, “Pastor Tayo might be busy right now, we would wait until he is ready for us.” He didn’t hide the disappointment on his face, but his mum ignored him.
Saint Peters church had a section for people who were waiting to see the Pastor after church. He, his mum and his little sister waited there. Ten minutes later, an usher came to the section to meet them.
“Mrs. Adegoke, Pastor Tayo will see you and your family now.” His mum, his sister, and himself all finally made their way to the Pastor’s office.
Pastor Tayo was seated when they all entered his office. On seeing them, he got up to his feet, shook all their hands, and offered all of them seats.
When they all sat down, he looked around to get a glance of the Pastor’s office that he so much admired. Before getting to the Pastor’s office, they had to pass through the Secretary’s office first. Both the Pastor’s and the Secretary’s office had an oval shape, but the Pastor’s office had a bigger radius.
“How are you Timilehin?” Pastor Tayo had probably said for the third time now. He was so busy looking around the office that he hadn’t even noticed Pastor Tayo was talking to him. It had taken a nudge from his mum for him to realize.
“I am fine, thank you sir. I was really touched by the sermon today.” Was there really any need to lie? The lie, however, brought a smile to the Pastor’s face.
“I am happy that you did Timilehin, I am only an instrument to pass God’s word to his people.” Pastor Tayo paused for a few seconds and then continued. “I know it is a long journey from Saint Peter’s back home, so I really appreciate your being able to come today.”
Timilehin was about to respond, but before he could do so, Pastor Tayo continued again. “It’s a fine pen you have in your pocket there.” Pastor Tayo said, looking at the pen in the pocket of his shirt.
“Thank you s–”
“Thank you Pastor Tayo,” his mum cut in. “It is a nice pen indeed, he likes to wear it because he thinks it brings him some kind of luck, especially during examinations.”
That was one quality Timilehin had never liked about his mum. Anytime they were with strangers, she could not keep her mouth shut about his private business.
Not that he would say that Pastor Tayo was a stranger, he had invited his family to church today. Because he said he wanted to see them, now that they were at his office, he hadn’t even said anything about why he had invited them. He seemed to be only interested in small talk.
After talking the ‘adult talks’ with his mum for close to five minutes, it was then Pastor Tayo said, “Mrs. Adegoke, I think that there might be an opening for Timilehin.” What does he mean by there might be an opening? Timilehin thought.
Though it was his mother that asked the question, “What do you mean that there might be an opening?”
“Well...” Pastor Tayo replied. “Frank dropped by here a few weeks ago, and said a thing or two about Timilehin’s struggles.”
“Frank did what???” his mum replied, her voice sharper.
“Look, I know you and Frank haven’t been on talking terms, but he said some things that made me feel compelled to help Timilehin’s situation. Just listen to me.”
Timilehin’s situation, why does my dad keep doing this to me? “Alright, I am listening, what did Frank have to say?”
“He said that this is the third year that Timilehin would be writing JAMB examinations, and that for the third year in a row, Timilehin would have passed JAMB, but would not gain admission to any University due to your family’s financial issues.”
Due to your family’s financial issues, if only you were a good father, would we have certain financial issues? How on earth could a responsible man who had abandoned his family go around and start spreading the issues at home?
Yes, Timilehin had written JAMB three times in a row, and each time he seemed to get better at it. The first time he had a score of 230, the second time he scored 260, and just now he had scored 305. A score that had shocked his family. But were there really any surprises? Someone doing nothing at home had nothing to do except study the same past questions.
After the first JAMB examination, he had gotten admission to study Biochemistry at Redeemer’s University. Of course, his family had no money to pay for it. But his Uncle had offered to sponsor him.
It all started well, his uncle had paid his first semester school fees, and Timilehin resumed there. During a student’s fellowship Timilehin was attending. He had received a phone call from his father, which was strange because he hardly talked to his father.
At that moment, Timilehin felt trouble on the line. When he had cut the call from his father, he simply could not believe it, the message had darkened the day. What did his father mean by saying his Uncle was dead?
He had to pretend like he didn’t understand. Five minutes after he had cut the call, he was still standing in the same position. At that moment, he felt what Roberto Baggio, the man who died standing, must have felt after he missed a penalty in the World Cup final.
Timilehin finished the first semester, but had to withdraw because his mum couldn’t afford to pay the fees. After the second JAMB exam he got admission to Unilag, but around the same time, a sudden sickness took Tolani, his younger sister, so his mum had to use all of the money she had saved up to help treat his sister, and he also had to stay back to help take care of her.
Now he had admission again to Unilag, but after not being able to meet the deadline to pay the acceptance fee, he could kiss the admission goodbye, and he had already.
“Pastor Tayo, I really appreciate you taking your time to listen to my husband and for you calling us here. But I am not sure how I feel about Frank telling you all these things.”
“I understand your annoyance with Frank, but his actions caused me to pray about it,” Pastor Tayo paused and then continued, “and I feel God is leading me to intervene. Have you heard of Maverick’s University?”
Isn’t this interesting? “I think I have heard of it, Pastor Tayo.”
“Then you might also know that it is a Christian University. I was able to place some calls, and I have gotten Timilehin admission into the university, that is of course if you will be willing to accept the offer.”
The reaction on his mum’s face was difficult to describe; she was obviously shocked, she hadn’t expected to hear this. “Your offer is too generous, Pastor Tayo,” his mother was finally able to reply. “But isn’t Mavericks the same university that is very expensive? I hear they pay nothing less than a million naira there. And like you said about our financial struggles, I don’t think I have enough money to pay for the university.”
“You have nothing to worry about on the payment front, due to Timilehin’s excellent academic performance, I was able to get him a full scholarship to Mavericks.”
“Full scholarship?” His mum stretched forward, her eyes widened.
“Yes Mrs. Adegoke, a full scholarship.”
“I... I don’t know what to say sir, you are too generous, Pastor Tayo.”
Pastor Tayo smiled. “It is God who is doing this for Timilehin, Not I. Also, Timilehin would be introduced to a staff there that would act as his guardian. If Timilehin needs anything, he only needs to communicate with the guardian and the church will cover the expenses.”
There were almost tears in his mum’s eyes, she had worked and toiled to ensure Timilehin would be able to get to University, and it had looked like it wasn’t going to be possible. A part of her had almost given up.
“Pastor Tayo? I really don’t know what to say,” she said, as a drop of tear rolled down her cheek.
“Say yes, and that Timilehin would make the most of this opportunity.”
“He will, Pastor, he will.”
I will? Timilehin bit his lip when the sudden realization came that he had no say in what was happening.
“I will,” he replied. Maybe it was not his choice, but affirming he will made it look like it was, at least to him. “Pastor Tayo, this is too kind, I don’t know how to say thank you.”
“Thank God!” Pastor Tayo replied. He turned to Timilehin, “Please, you and Tolani wait outside for a while; I would like to discuss a few details with your mum.”
Timilehin dragged his baby sister up and they both exited the Pastor’s office. He was back sitting down where he was waiting initially. “I don’t want you to go, Timi,” Tolani hugged him on his stomach. “When you go, who is going to look out for you like me?”
Timilehin had to hold himself from laughing, but in a way, she was right, his sister who was eleven years old was his best friend.
“Isn’t that cute?” Timilehin turned to see who said that. The face looked very familiar, but he couldn’t quite remember where he had seen him from.
“I believe this is the first time I will be seeing you in two years,” the voice continued. Could this be Jonah? Jonah was the last born to Minister Jonathan. Timilehin had last seen Jonah at his uncle’s funeral in December of 2021.
“You’ve also grown taller,” Jonah said.
“It’s nice to see you too, Jonah,” Timilehin replied as he stood up to shake his hand. “Tolani, you can remember Jonah now?” Tolani stared at Jonah and shook her head sideways.
That made Jonah smile a little. “So what made you decide to visit us today? And why did Pastor Tayo want to see you?”
“I came for thanksgiving service... At least once in a while, I feel I should come to church.”
“Hmmn, I see,” Jonah replied, “but what did Pastor Tayo wa–”
“I heard after your uncle died, you stopped coming to church. Is that true?” Jonah’s immediate elder sister, Johanna, cut in.
“Yes, yes it is true.”
“So now you really expect us to believe that you just came to church today for thanksgiving?”
Timilehin did not reply.
“It seems to me, you came here to beg for money.” Johanna finished her statement, disgust evident on her face.
“Johanna, you can’t keep doing this. You can’t talk to him like that, we are the minister’s children, we have to set a good example and we should treat our guests with love and respect!!” Jonah said, almost shouting.
“You can’t talk to my Timi like that!” Tolani replied angrily as she stood up to face Johanna, who towered over her due to Tolani’s short height.
“My Timi, I hope you took no offense,” Johanna said. “Pardon me, it’s just that you don’t easily fool me like you do the rest. I observed you closely during the sermon today, and I saw how deeply you pretended to resonate with Pastor Tayo’s sermon. At first, I wondered why would an unbeliever like you be touched by a sermon?”
“But then, your micro expressions betrayed you. I saw the sudden change in your expression when my father was dancing. It was for a brief moment, but I caught it. So don’t come in here and pretend like you are here to give thanksgiving.”
“Enough!!!” Jonah shouted. He turned back to Timilehin and offered his apologies for his sister’s behaviour.
“I must remind you, in case you have forgotten, that I am older than you, so you dare not raise your voice at me.” Johanna snapped back at Jonah.
“And yes, I heard you asking the unbelieving beggar what Pastor Tayo wanted with him. I think I might know that. I overheard Daddy talking to Mummy about a scholarship. Though at the time, I wasn’t sure who it was for, Daddy said the person would be in church today. I don’t need to be a genius to figure out you’re the one.”
Small wonder I haven’t missed this bitch. Under normal circumstances, he would have been angry, but at this moment he wasn’t. Maybe because a tiny part of him had wished Johanna would have been happy to see him today; he had always liked her, but she had never shown him any warmth.
“Never call my brother a beggar again or you would regret it!” Tolani said, standing in front of Johanna.
Johanna paid her no mind, “My Timi, don’t you have anything to say for yourself?”
Timilehin turned and faced his Tolani, “I think we should wait somewhere else.” Timilehin took Tolani by the arm and pulled her in the opposite direction. As he left, he saw how Jonah had looked at Johanna angrily to which she was nonchalant about.
He bumped into his mother as he was walking; he hadn’t noticed when she had come out from Pastor Tayo’s office. His mother had obviously noticed the change of mood on him and his sister’s faces; she couldn’t understand what had made them sad so quickly just a few minutes after Pastor Tayo had given them the good news.
“Are you afraid to go to Abuja all by yourself?” his mother asked him, thinking that may be the reason for his sudden change of mood. Timilehin shook his head.
“Well, I guess we should be going; we still have a long journey ahead of us.”
“Hold up, Timilehinnn!!!!” Timilehin turned back to find Jonah running after him. They were already out of the church premises.
“Mrs. Adegoke, if you don’t mind, I would like to have a few moments with Timilehin.” She nodded her head and both gentlemen moved away to talk.
“Look Timilehin, I’m sorry about how my sister treated you.”
“It is okay.” He was already used to all kinds of maltreatment, so he saw no good reason to go about nagging about this one.
“No, it’s not okay. I know my sister has always been kind of tough, but she had no right to treat you like this.” Jonah paused. “Well, I also want to wish you good luck in Mavericks before you leave.”
“Thank you Jonah.”
“Just remember you have people back at home praying for you and waiting to see all the miracles God will perform in your life.”
Timilehin didn’t like the sound of that. Did Jonah mean his life was so terrible that he now needed others to pray for him so he could succeed?
The journey back home was faster than they had expected. They lived in Mowe, Ogun State, and Saint Peter’s was in Lekki, so they expected it to be a long journey, but the express had been free and they got home faster.
About two hours after Timi had gotten home, his mother called him to say that his friend, Deji, had come to visit him. He and Deji both went to the dining table, where they usually discussed when Deji came to his house.
Timilehin told Deji about what happened in church today. Deji was happy about the scholarship, but he was very angry about how Johanna had treated him. “Those rich brats always look down on us.”
“Yes they do,” Timilehin said in agreement. “I am not sure I am happy about this scholarship. Sure, it’s a great thing, but you know how much I have come to despise some of these Christians over time. Now, if in the near future I become a successful individual, they will tell me I owe my success to God.”
“I understand your frustration. But right now, I think you should just blend in, like you did earlier today. When you get to Mavericks, do what they expect of you and make them think you actually believe. But when you finally become successful, it won’t really matter; it would have been a small price to pay.”
“You are right,” Timilehin said. Timilehin had always listened to Deji’s advice, it had always seemed good, after all it had been Deji who had started to convince him to turn away from God.
After Deji left, Timilehin lay on his bed looking at the ceiling, a little part of him made him feel that he was on the wrong path, it must have been the Holy Spirit. Timilehin continued staring at the ceiling until he slept off.
