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As Nigerians, I believe we all understand what scammers do these days and how funny they can be with their dubious ways. This writeup is not about scammers but about a life-changing encounter I experienced. I have gotten several unexpected calls from people within and outside the country. Some were calls from people I know, some from individuals marketing their legit businesses, and others from scammers. One funny thing about calls is how they make you impatient. I still haven’t figured out why people rush whenever their phone rings. There was a time a network service provider was fond of calling me. I see their calls almost everywhere I go! Imagine rushing to pick up such calls every time. Anyway, today is about Elon Musk’s call.
On a Monday evening, after a hectic day at work, I decided to visit a friend. After catching up over a couple of drinks, we decided to rub minds about our plans for the week and share ideas on making things less hectic. “Omo, the students are giving me headaches; I don’t understand how to open their brains and put English language inside”, this is me ranting about my day at work. “You’ll just have to be patient with them and get how they tick”, my friend replied. "How they tick?”, I exclaimed. “Yeah, how their brain absorbs what you teach them”, he replied calmly. “You know students need special attention, and some need to be slightly independent”, he added. As I was ruminating on what Tunde said and how to implement his ideas, a loud noise came from my bag! It was my China phone, the ring tone that blasts from the loud speaker every time it rings is enough to announce my presence in any street I find myself in! It’s embarrassing, but I have to manage it until my money for a new Android is complete. My friend could only make fun of me while I fumbled my way through my bag to pick up the call. “With this your phone, DJ work go fit you o”, he jokingly taunted. I responded with vertical nods and said, “Na your wedding party we go use am.” I got the phone, but I missed the call. Before I could check whose call I missed, the phone rang again, and I quickly picked up.
“Hello, how are you doing?”, the voice was that of a foreigner, a man. I couldn’t fix it for someone I knew. I looked at my phone before I responded, it was a foreign number. As stated earlier, I have had situations where scammers called me and asked for my bank details, but I ignored them. I wanted to cut the call, but I decided to at least find out who it was. “Hello sir, please, who’s on the line?”, I finally replied. “It’s Elon Musk, I decided to randomly call Nigerian numbers and help any way I can. You are the last person lucky to be on my list, and I’ll donate a total of 10 million naira to you”, he said. I was confused with the statement and couldn’t process it right. Should I be happy, or he's another scammer? “I don’t need your account details, I will send you to one of the bank branches in your country, where you can cash or transfer your gift. I know how scammers work, so don’t worry, this is not one of those calls. I have a lot on hand, I’ll send you the address and date so you can verify all you need to before we meet”, he added. “You’ve been silent, you don’t have anything to say?”, he asked. I was shocked, cautious, and equally short of words. “I can only thank you so much for your kindness, sir, and I can’t wait to meet you”, I managed to reply as if I were unshaken. “Alright then, you’re welcome. I’ll send you the venue after dropping the call. Have a great week”, he said. “Thank you sir and you too”, I quickly replied. Tunde listened to every word of the conversation and was as shocked as I was. As we were about discussing what just happened, a message entered my phone, and it showed a date, time, and venue (the venue was a bank not too far from my work place). “Anything wey wan happen, we go reach there together!”, Tunde said.
In summary, I had an uncle who had been in Canada for about 18 years and never came home. He was the one that got a Canadian to disguise himself as Elon Musk! He came in town (Nigeria) and wanted to surprise everyone. Funny enough, the stunt he pulled worked well because my whole family, Tunde, and one other friend of mine were present at the bank. We were shocked and pleased to see him. Although the call was a prank, I later got a new Android phone from my uncle and also got employed to manage one of my uncle’s new businesses in Nigeria. Although it wasn’t Elon Musk and I didn’t get #10million, but I got blessed through the call.
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