"Resist the urge to shalaye"

       "Resist the urge to shalaye"

       Over time, Nigerians created the slang "resist the urge to shalaye" some even say To shalaye is human, to gbenudake is divine" I use to wonder what this really meant till I experienced  what this situation meant, grab your popcorn and zobo! it's story time.
      My name is Yvonne, 24, second class upper graduate of Geology and mineral science. I had finished school 4 years ago, no job, no Money, it was basically my hairdressing skills that was helping me survive which was bringing very little money, my friends were very supportive especially Tomi, always helping me and sorting me out one way or the other. I was Happy and grateful for her, she got a job as the senior H.R Manager just after graduation and she was doing very fine, I on the other side was just trying to survive. I kept on pushing, built my skills and kept on applying for jobs, my parents were tired already, I just had to move with the hope that things get better.
     Recently, I got a call from Exxon mobil (A leading oil and gas company in Nigeria) yet again, I had applied for their trainee program right after graduation, passed 2 stages of their interviews and got dropped for no reason. I got a call for an impromptu interview, omo! Exxon Mobil was my dream workplace!  I prayed on my way to the interview, long story short, I got the job! not as a trainee but A full staff! The salary was 7 digits with a lot of incentives and allowances, God is great! I was so happy, I called my family and told them, I called "Tomi" and told her EVERYTHING on the phone, she sounded quite cold when I mentioned the company name "Exxon Mobil" I didn't pay attention to how she acted, I simply wanted to share the good news with her afterall she was my friend, little did I know.
      Three months into my new job, I was glowing up! Clear skin, good hair, everything was bright and beautiful for me, I was enjoying life! I invited Tomi for an All-expense weekend get-away courtesy of me. She was my friend and she helped me through when I was at my lowest, SHE DESERVED IT! The get-away came, I enjoyed myself with tomi as usual, we spoke at length about a lot of things, Including my job, SALARY, benefits, I even went as far as telling her I made 1.7 million per month, she was flabbergasted but didn't really say anything.
      Two weeks ago, I was kidnapped on my way to work, I was raped and shot at my left leg because I tried escaping, these kidnappers wanted 20 million naira Ransome from me afterall i worked in an oil company, Jesus! Who told them? My parents didn't have the money, no hopes. Just as i was about giving up, God came through and "somehow somehow"  I was released while the kidnappers were arrested, in the course of their interrogation, they stated that my best friend sent them, they also indicated that she even wanted me dead because I was doing better than her and becoming a life threat to her, my salary was too much and she was annoyed, she basically wanted me to continue begging money from her. Sigh..  this was somebody I always told everything about me, we grew and did things together, My best friend! I learnt in the hard way to never trust anybody yet again, I learnt to keep quiet, not to trust people, not to tell them your earnings and salary. I learnt that no matter how close you are to them, Resist the urge to speak unnecessarily! You do not know their intentions, Resist the urge! Resist the urge to shalaye, it can put you in deep troubles that you might never get out from, Nigerians would say, "To shalaye is human, but to Gbenudake (keep quiet) is divine! Gbenudake! (Keep quiet)! It will do you good! "Resist the urge to shalaye!"

Written by Lharmi.