A 41-year-old man who identified himself as Ayinde has narrated how his recent job loss and subsequent financial constraints is negatively impacting his family, turning his wife and kids against him.
The auto mechanic in an emotional interview with NewsClick Nigeria said his job loss was occasioned by the sudden death of his boss, who according to him was a top staff of DHL.
“I worked as a personal driver and mechanic for my former boss who was a top shot at DHL. The pay was good and the man never treated like a driver but family. I never hid anything from my wife and two children. We were having it all fine and I gladly sorted the bills – house rent, feeding, school fees, general welfare, etc.”
According to him, things took a different turn when his boss died and he exhausted his savings on taking of the home.
“However my boss unfortunately died and that brought an abrupt end to my service for him. In less than few weeks, I exhausted my savings and we were almost back to square one. It became difficult to feed and even renew house rent. My immediate attempts to see if I could be absorbed into DHL didn’t work out. I also couldn’t immediately get another job and even mechanic side hustles that I used to manage with before wasn’t coming”
Ayinde explained that when the situation became unbearable, he had to beg his wife and children to go put up with their grandmother at Agbado Crossing while he doubled his attempts to get back on track.
Wife rents new apartment
He explained further that not long after he asked his wife and children to move to their grandma’s place that he heard from a relative that they had rented an apartment.
“Some few months after my wife and children moved in with their grandma, a close relative who saw me at a place I was trying to make ends meet told me that my wife had rented a new apartment and packed from grandma’s place. And she never mentioned it to me despite the fact that I still kept in touch and spoke regularly to them on phone. I called her and she confirmed it,” Ayinde explained.
Despite having his reservations, he said he later joined them in the apartment. He said as soon as he joined, his wife began treating him with disdain, asking him to do house chores in front of the children.
“As soon as I joined them in the apartment, my wife and kids, as if in connivance started treating me with disrespect. She’ll ask me to do house chores in front of the kids and sound so condescending. I couldn’t help it. I felt rejected by my own immediate family and started drinking alcohol thinking that can help erase the memories.”
Wife sends him packing
Ayinde said despite putting with the unfair treatment and hoping for things to take a new turn, his wife out of the blues one night called someone to eject him out of the apartment saying she could no longer afford to have him live under same roof with her and the kids.
One night, close 1am, She called on someone to come and push me out of the house. They threw me out with my few belongings. It was late at night and I have no clarity of mind on where to go.
With no place to sleep, I walked around until I eventually laid down near a railway track and slept off.”
He recalled that he nearly lost his life when a train approached while he was sleeping. According to him, someone woke him up just in time to escape being hit by the train. He said he would never forget the experience and thanked God for keeping him alive.
Ayinde who was teary for most part of the interview said he was still supporting his family from the N40,000:00 salary job he just got wondering why a family he loved and supported would suddenly turn against him over his financial challenges.
Efforts by NewsClick Nigeria to get reactions from Ayinde’s wife and kids was unsuccessful as at press time as calls to their mobile phones wasn’t answered nor returned.
