THE MAN I CALL FATHER WANTS TO SLEEP WITH ME:

 “I had given up all hope of going to university until I met Mr. Jacob…he took over the sponsorship of my education like a father. Then things changed dramatically between us as he began to pester me for sex…”

My name is Roseline Ajayi and I’m a young lady of 23. I hail from Kabba in Kogi State and I’m a Mass Communications Student of the University of Jos in Plateau State.

I am the first child of my mother and I have four siblings. My mother was kind enough to have me out of wedlock and to this day, I don’t know who my real father is. I hold no grudge against my mother for having me. She could have had an abortion like many people do and this experience I’m sharing with you wouldn’t have occurred.

I was raised by a distant relative, an aunt who was like a mother to me. Mother had to get married and didn’t think she would attract suitors with me around.

 Several years later, I could meet with my step father and siblings, as they came. While my step father, a quiet and kind man, worked as a bricklayer, my mother augmented his earnings by trading in petty stuff. With four children and me, life was tough. My parents were best described as peasants.

I never quarreled with my mother or with my step father. I would say we have a cordial relationship. However, I have never been able to discuss intimate things with my mother because I didn’t grow up seeing her as my mother.

When I first met Mr. Jacob, who turned out to be my benefactor, I had just received my SSCE result of 8 credits and I was excited. I wanted to go to the university to read Mass Communications but knew there was no way I would find the money to pay my fees. Still I continued to dream of going to school. My dream had almost been shattered as I lived with my mother and step father before I met Mr. Jacob. For the record, I would like to state that my parents did not refuse to train me in a tertiary institution. It was just glaring that they couldn’t because they were so poor. Feeding was a problem and the money my step father made from his brick-laying job wasn’t much. There were also my four siblings to feed, clothe and train in school. Not to mention the rent in Abuja that seems to go only one way - up!

We all attended a wedding, one Saturday in Jikwoyi. That was the first time I went to that church. I observed that the wedding ceremony was scheduled to take place soon after we arrived but the seats in the church were still dusty. Confidently, I speedily got a damp cloth and began cleaning the seats. I didn’t know Mr. Jacob, then a deacon, was observing me keenly.

 After the ceremony, he called me and expressed surprise that a stranger in the church could be so hard-working. We exchanged pleasantries and he began to ask me about my family, education and other small stuff. I soon let out that I had just left secondary school with 8 credits and would have loved to read Mass Communications but my parents were too poor to send me. That was how Mr. Jacob came to be my sponsor. He said a promising girl like me should not forfeit education because of poverty. He practically adopted me as his own daughter. I was very happy. I was going to school and now had a father!

Mr. Jacob didn’t waste any time in fulfilling his promise to me. He bought an IJMB form for me and processed it. Before long, I was in school. He paid my fees, rented an apartment for me and always gave me more than enough pocket money. I was overwhelmed with joy. I didn’t know such kind people still existed in Nigeria. My mother and step father were beside themselves with joy for me but had suspicions about our relationship. They said men didn’t just assist young girls like that: they wanted something in return.

“He’s a deacon in our church, you know,” mother told me. “And do you know he’s married with two children? His wife and kids stay in Lagos,” she added.

They couldn’t believe that a man would just agree to see a young, beautiful girl through school with no strings attached. As for me, I saw Mr. Jacob as a father, a man of God and a philanthropist. How wrong I was!

After performing creditably well in the IJMB scheme, I had no difficulty in gaining admission into the University of Jos to read my beloved Mass Communications. Mr. Jacob made sure every need of mine was catered for. He paid my fees, rented and furnished an apartment for me and constantly gave me pocket money that ranged from N40, 000 to N50, 000.

We began this father-and-daughter relationship that saw me calling him ‘Daddy’. From time to time, I’ll design beautiful cards and either give them to him personally or send them to him to show how much I appreciated his kindness.

 I soon observed that Mr. Jacob always seemed jealous whenever he sighted me with a member of the opposite sex. At such times, he would reveal a strange side of him that I never knew existed. He would grow very angry and cold. Whenever I visited him to know what went wrong, he’ll scold me for dating “small, dirty boys.”

Now, Mr. Jacob is about 50 and I’m just 23. He is also a pastor of a church and is married with two children. I owe him more than my education. However, the latest development since last year has made me wary of him. Aside from getting jealous and possessive any time he sees me with a young man of about my age, Mr. Jacob started coming to visit me more often than before - unannounced. He’ll stay the weekend, which is from Friday night after work and leave early Sunday morning to go and conduct service in Abuja.

Whenever he arrives unannounced and happens to see me chatting with a young man, he’ll get angry. Last year, after I confronted him on his behavior, he spoke very seriously to me for the first time.

 “I love you and want the best for you,” he said, “I don’t want you to end up marrying a poor man like you mother. When you are ready for marriage, I’ll take you to a special herbalist who’ll prepare a portion for you to marry a rich man. Look at me,” he continued, “do you think my promotion in the Federal Ministry where I work or in the church is by accident? I make things happen for me.

I was shocked that the man who could preach like the apostle Paul was seeing a juju priest and wanted me to see one too.

Mr. Jacob has also been making serious attempts to sleep with me. Whenever he visits me in school, I sleep on the rug and leave the bed for him. The first night he attempted sleeping with me was around 12 a.m. I had finished watching a movie and was about to doze off when I felt his hand on my breast, fondling me. I was shocked that the man I call daddy could try such tricks on me. I managed to resist him without screaming. Since then, he has been making more attempts.

Recently, I told him I have found a man that wants to marry me. He grew very angry and said he’ll no longer pay my school fees. We have not been seeing for two months. Whenever I try to visit or call him, he shuns me. I have nobody to pay my school fees as my boy friend is yet to find a job. One fear I have is borne from the many fetish objects I have seen in Mr. Jacob’s room. His private room is like a Babalawo’s shrine. I had the opportunity of seeing the room when he gave me his room key. I am afraid he could harm me or seal my womb if I go ahead to marry my love. Perhaps this is why his wife and children don’t stay with him. I am confused and stranded. What is the way out?

Editor’s note: Please leave your comments. You might be helping Roseline or someone in a similar situation.