By Victor Edegbai
The bank put a lot of funding into training. The board was determined to change the perception of “old people’s Bank “ to new generation Bank. It had arrays of courses to be taught, ranging from Basic Banking to Social Knowledge.
Mr Fine Ajaegbu, the Enugu Training School director would always come to give us pep talks and leave for other people to come and teach, but he made it a point of duty to always come and tell us about SPECIE.
Specie is the movement of cash with bullion van from branches to the hub and then from hub to CBN and back. He told us stories of various attacks by robbers on some specie movements and how staff were slaughtered. He told us of this particular one where the robbers used bullets to rip the bullet proof van, killed the police escorts and went away with cash and summed up by letting us know that we as new employees will be made to accompany specie movement since a staff must accompany them. Till date I still wonder why he had to open our eyes to the danger, then summed up with a NOTICE that we were going into the danger.
So as I resumed at Ariaria branch, my first prayer point was FATHER LORD, I DO NOT WANT SPECIE MOVEMENT. I don’t know if I was praying it wrong, or I was supposed to use Ibo to pray it since I was in Ibo land, because for what ever reason, my prayer was answered in the opposite direction. Boom! Head of cash Sir Chris walked to my front, dressed in his overtly fading dark grey suit with a greenish blue shirt and black tie, an unusual smile to his face. “Boy” he called . “Oya come go specie”. I think Chidi saw the fear in my face, because that his sonorous laughter suddenly filled the air and sounding like “Sebi na you beg to aoply”.
I cleared my desk, and followed Sir Chris without hesitation. He gave me instructions and I entered bus to Aba main, did the documentation and entered inside the Bullion van with the driver and escorts. The first thing I noticed was that I was the only one not wearing bullet proof vest. My imaginative brain immediately began to visualise flying bullets and how the others were bouncing it away with their vest while mine was just entering ‘ratatatatatata’ like de Boss in the last fight of indian movie. I quickly snapped out of the imagination and quietly muttered GOD FORBID.
My village people were determined to fill me with fear sha! But GOD pass dem. Oga Odo, one of the hefty men accompanying the driver suddenly started talking about a bullion van belonging to another bank that was attacked. He described the horrid details better than Mr Fine Ajaegbu sef. He even described the colour of the blood, the number of people that died and now said “….and one of the Bank staff just young like this Oga wey dey follow us so… “ obviously referring to me. GOD punish Devil. I didnt know when I began to cry. My immediate thoughts were “So na like this I just take my hand apply for death”. I cried quietly for a few seconds, then cleaned my eye and started praying quietly. That is how day one of the specie movement went.
Day two was more fun. The guys did not talk of shooting and killings this time, they were more concerned about reaching on time. I began to enjoy the thrill of fast movement, soldiers driving in front of you and behind you, clearing the road, the bullion van driving with obvious recklessness. It began to feel like I was part of an action movie where I was the important drug lord with many body guards.
As the days passed, I gradually forgot about Mr Fine Ajaegbu’s scary stories and settled in to the thrill and pomp of specie movement. Then one Friday, I sat up as usual to go and pick normal documents for specie. Only to see Sir Chris walking to me. He wasn’t wearing his trade mark suit this time. He had on a darker one, nicer and slim fit. He just came straight to me and said “Boy, you won’t be going for soevie today”
Oh, how I felt disappointed
Barr. Victor Edegbai AKA Grandpa is a father of many nations, positive thinker, and friend of many. I like trouble, because I be lawyer.
Kwatinu d story