17/02/2022
ÑOT EVERYONE DESERVES TO BE PITIED.
I was driving leisurely along Esther Adeleke Street Lekki when I observed a three story building that was at the edge of completion. I got curious and went inside. An elderly man was sitting on a plastic chair. He welcomed me and took me round. He was the property owner.
The property is a block of 8 units of 3-bedroom flat. It was for sale. When the man learnt that I am an Estate Surveyor, he asked me to market the property on his behalf. He asked for my opinion of how much I thought that the property would go for. I did a spot Valuation and gave him the lowest and highest prices he should expect. He was happy because the figure he had in mind was slightly lower than what I gave him as the lowest price. He asked me about the percentage he would need to pay me as Agency fee if I sell the place. I told him that the minimum is 5% and the maximum is 10%. He told me that he would pay me 5% if I get a buyer to pay the minimum price that I had advised, and 10% if I get a buyer to pay the maximum price that I had advised.
"Sir, you can come and place your banner on the property" he offered. "No Sir, I can't do that because there is a banner of another Estate Surveyor on the property before I came here. My professional body does not permit such. Don't worry Sir, I will start marketing the house" I assured him.
That was how Chief Olatunji started calling everyday to plead with me to bring buyers. "Sir, you have not brought anyone to inspect my property" he complained. I assured him that I was working on the brief.
One day, I was surprised to see Chief in my office. He had traced my office through the complimentary card that I gave him.
He started begging me to help him sell the property as his bank was on his neck. He even attempted to kneel down for me. He looked and sounded very desperate. It was obvious that he was a drowning man. He told me that he hardly sleeps because of the threats from his bank. He said his blood pressure had gone up. He said that this property might lead him to die unexpectedly, if he doesn't get a buyer soon. He kept calling me "Sir" despite my telling him several times to address me by name since he was older. I could not bring myself to tell him that I was not working on the property since every Agent I knew confirmed that they were already marketing it for him.
His property was "an instruction to the whole world". Nevertheless, I felt pity for him. I instructed my Secretary to include the property in our property bulletin immediately.
I called one of my clients in Lekki and introduced the property to her. I spoke glowingly about the property. I rushed to her house and took her to inspect the property. She advised me to call her husband and introduce the property to him. But he must not know that I have told her already. I called Oga and introduced the property glowingly. He said that they don't have plan to buy any property for the meantime, but since it was from me and I talked so well about it, I should call his wife and take her to inspect it. The second day, I took madam again for inspection. We spent more than one hour this time. She was meticulous. She condemned the quality of the materials used in the finishing. She promised that they would buy, but that the price I gave was too high. And that I need to get the husband to inspect too. I knew that it would be a herculean task to get the husband to inspect, since he was a very busy man. I kept disturbing the man. One day, I got to his house by 6am and waited till 9am when he was set to go to work. I practically coerced him to inspect the property. He complained about the finishing and the price.
I knew that Chief Olatunji would accept any reasonable price since he was already boxed into a tight corner. However, I was determined to get the best price for him since I know the value of his property. And I also empathize with his situation.
The three times I went for the inspections with the prospective buyers, Chief Olatunji was around. He didn't come near us at all. He was intimidated, since we normally come with siren and police escorts. He would be standing timidly at one side, gaping at us like a chicken drenched by heavy rain. He normally calls me more than five times everyday just to get progress report.
Madam told me that Oga was dragging his feet because he doubts the viability of buying the property. She told me that she likes the place, but they won't buy except I do something to convince Oga. The husband is an accountant, so I knew that he would appreciates figures.
I quickly did a comprehensive Valuation report on the property. I stated the estimated amount that they would need to expend to turn the property into a high end one. I stated the expected income. I calculated the Annual Rental Return, the Pay Back Period, the Return on Investment, the Future Value of the property in 10 years time. I even included a table showing the trend of Capital Value appreciation in Lekki over the last decade. I did a projection of the expected rental and capital values of the property over a 10 year period. For this comprehensive report, nobody paid me a dime.
Oga was impressed with the figures, he asked me to bring the title document so that his Lawyer can do a search. He promised to pay within 72 hours. I went to Chief Olatunji's house in Ikeja G.R.A to pick the document. Chief was elated.
Chief kept on saying that they had not met him, so he didn't think they would pay. All my assurances fell on deaf ears. To fulfill all righteousness, I took Madam to meet Chief. Madam told him that the meeting was not necessary. "Obande is not only our Agent, he is a family friend. So we are comfortable with him". We exchanged pleasantries and that was the end of the meeting.
The second day, Oga called me to his office to tell me that he was ready to pay, but he would not pay the amount that I was insisting. He told me that the quality of the materials used were poor. He told me that he still needs to pay me fee. I told him that the amount that I told him was the amount that was the fair price for the property. I told him that I would tell Chief to discontinue the tiling works since the tiles he was using were too cheap. I advised Oga that he should change the tiles after we have paid. I told Oga to pay the right price and forget about paying me any fee since Chief would pay me. Oga asked me to write him a letter telling him to pay the price and forget about my fee. I promptly went to my office, did the letter and brought it to him.
All these developments, I was briefing Chief. He was praising me "Sir" "Sir" all over the place. He reaffirmed that he would pay me 10% fee and thanked me profusely. "Mr Obande, God sent you to deliver me out of this situation" he enthused. I told him not to spend any further money on the property as the buyer will buy it "as it is" and complete it to his taste.
Oga called me to say that the payment would be ready on or before 12 noon the next day. He promised to call me once it was ready. Chief was beside himself with joy.
By 7am the next morning Chief Olatunji was already in my office. He got to my office even before my Secretary. When I came in, he was pestering me. "Sir, are you sure that they will pay today?" I told him that the prospective buyer is the Chairman of a bank. I told him how I met him and how many properties he has bought through me. I assured him that the man's words are his bond. I advised Chief to go home that I would bring the payment instrument to him. He insisted on staying in my office. Because of his disutrbance, I had to briefly escape from the office. My Secretary even took the imprest money to buy Chief Olatunji food when he was hungry. By 11am, he kept on pestering me to call Oga. Oga reiterated that the payment was not ready but I could come to his office and wait. Chief insisted on following me. By 12noon sharp, someone brought an envelope to Oga. It was the certified Bank cheque for the property. Oga handed it over to me. I asked his Secretary to make photocopies. I begged Oga to follow me to his conference room where I handed the payment instrument to Chief who was beaming from ear to ear.
From that day, Chief Olatunji became a new person. He became a familiar stranger. All his humble and timid mannerisms disappeared. He promptly bought the latest Range Rover Sport SUV. He was no longer addressing me as "Sir". His voice even changed. It began to boom. He was now talking very slowly with confidence mixed with a bit of disdain. Suddenly, he began to display the "arrogance of the rich".
When I demanded for my fee, I was shocked by his response. "Obande, you are a professional. How can you be asking for your fee when you have not finished your job? Have I signed the transfer papers? Have I handed over the property to Kolade?" I was taken aback. He was even calling Oga by his first name.
It was a difficult task making him to sign the transfer papers. He didn't handover the property until Oga threatened to have him arrested. "I can't handover my property to an Agent" he insisted. He even refused to handover the property to madam.
As for my fee, he innitialy refused to pay anything. "Obande, do you think that I am stupid? How can you say that the buyer who accepts everything you say will not pay you fee?" he bellowed at me. After much pressure he agreed to pay me 10%. I sent my account number and he paid less than 2%. "Even bigger Estate Firms were ready to accept 2% You that your firm is not up to theirs, you want 10%. For what? Did you build the house for me?. The amount I sent to you is what I can pay you. If you don't like it, you can do your worst", he thundered.
It was out of pity that my client paid me additional 2%. The client tongue lashed me for pitying Chief Olatunji so much from the onset. I could not believe that it was the same pathetic looking Chief Olatunji that had changed so drastically overnight. Money is powerful indeed!
Chief has since joined his ancestors. But I can never forget about him.
Why do I tell stories of things that happened to me? I do it because humans learn faster from stories.
Why did I recount this long story? So that we can learn that poverty tames people and makes them humble, while wealth brings out the inhumanity in some folks. We must know that character is dictated by a person's current condition. Some of the purring kittens you see are actually lions. They are only subduedd by their circumstances.
May we not waste pity on those who don't deserve to be pitied. Not everyone deserves to be pitied. ....(A reflection of an unconventional mind)
Trust nobody life is full of fake peopy.
