My name is Chinwe, I am 26 years old, I never graduated for d
university, simply coz I was stupid and careless, on my 24th birthday, I
received a nice gift, it was a blackberry phone, I always wanted one, it
was like a right of passage, my ex-boyfriend got it for me, he was a
student like me, didn't have a job, and I really never cared to ask as he
could afford it, my concern at that point was, yes I had finally arrived,
other girls in my hostel had blackberries and I would always get pissed
when I heard sounds of pings and messages coming into their phones at
all hours and I would stare at my nokia phone and wish I could throw it
away, but half bread they say is better than none, so I hoped and even
fasted to get a blackberry phone, looking back now, if I had the
opportunity, I'd have a landline with no internet activity what so ever.
Anyway I got the blackberry phone and even got free BIS subscription, at
that moment my life was complete, no more going to the cyber cafes to
check my emails, my face-book or twitter, I had it all at my finger tips,
life indeed was complete, or so I thought. Anyway, I became addicted to
my blackberry and also my social media applications, and since I had
constant access, I quickly gained enough followers, and especially guys,
mostly because I had a lot of erotic pictures on my timeline, I was
popular, finally I felt I was the main girl, everyone wanted to follow me,
I didn't care if it was virtual, it felt good, checking out my profile and
having well over 8,000 followers, more than half of which were guys, but
one particular guy caught my attention, till this day I don't know what
made him stand out, but we got chatty, he sent me direct messages and I
replied, he was quiet a gentleman , and I can't remember him ever
asking for a nude picture unlike the rest of them, so this made me
comfortable with him, his name was tobi, he said he was a doctor , I
didn't have any cause to doubt him, he had extensive knowledge and
even gave me some medical advice from time to time, we eventually
moved from twitter to blackberry chat, we chatted all the time, I got so
comfortable with him, I gave him my number, and that would come to
be the biggest mistake I ever made.
Tobi called me every day, some days he called more than once, at night
he would call and I would lay on my bed and have phone sex with him,
his voice was so soothing, he made me do things I never thought
possible, he had gained so much access into my head, I realized later I
had done some very sick and twisted things just to please him, I would
take nude pictures of myself, I would send him videos of me touching
myself in private, and send him voice notes of me making moaning
sounds and simulating orgasms, and all this while we had not met, not
face to face at least, eventually I played into his hands, I began pestering
to meet him in person, at this point I had lost my mind, I assumed I was
in-love with him, and when my boyfriend at the time broke up with me,
I really welcomed it, for me it meant no more sneaking around. Tobi
eventually agreed to come to lagos to meet me, all this while he had
made me to believe he was in calabar, and would take time off work to
spend a weekend with me in lagos, when I heard this I was excited, he
told me to book a reservation for him, stating he would pay me back as
soon as he arrived and also he said it would make him more committed
to the visit and would convince him of my seriousness, I bought it all, he
was smart, he was cunning, and I was stupid, oh how stupid I was. The
funny thing was I had sent him tons of pictures, and all I had was just
one picture of him, and henever I asked he would claim he wanted to be
sure I loved him for him, and not for his looks, and sheepishly I would
try to convince him of my undying love, and would try to appease him
with nude pictures of my body.
He eventually made it to Lagos, I met him at the hotel, he was tall,
handsome and had a wonderful smile, he made love to me over and
over, and convinced me to spend the night with him, I told him I
couldn't, because I had a test the next morning, now at this point I don't
know what triggered his anger, don't know if it was because I couldn't
spend the night, or maybe I said something else I can't remember saying,
but whatever it was, brought out a very ugly side of him, he called me
foul names, and kept going on and on about how he always knew I was
cheap, and he knew I was sleeping with other men, the same man whom
had swept me away, slammed me on the floor, he told me of how he had
shown his friends all my nude pictures and how they had watched the
videos and listened to the voice notes, he told me he had made a bet
with his friends, that I would actually pay for him to have sex with me,
just to prove how stupid I was, well you can imagine how I felt, I was
confused and shocked, but I attempted to regain any little dignity I had
left, and so I tried to mouth off at him, suddenly he punched me in the
face, and I tripped over, and hit my head on a stool. The next thing I
remember was waking up on the bed, I was tied up, and he was staring
at me, his eyes were dark and he had a sinister smile on his lips, he stood
up and walked towards me ,I tried to scream and realized my mouth was
tapped, my head was racing, the unfortunate part was that no one knew
where I was, he turned me over, and told me he was going to teach me a
lesson, at this point I was naked, he rapped me from behind, and I mean
my anus, the pain was mind blowing, I struggled, and he hit me, when he
was done he brought out a small blade, and he looked at me for a
minute and said, this scare is going to always serve as a reminder, for
girls like you always trying to be more than you are, for stupid fools like
you, he put the blade to my nipple and cut it off, and anytime I think of
it, I still feel the pain, it was like nothing I had ever felt before, he was
calm, like he had done it a million times, I could feel the warm blood
dripping down my mutilated breast, tears of fear and pain running
down my face, and suddenly he turned around again, this time all I saw
was a flash.
I don't know how I survived it, but I woke up in a hospital days after,
well I was awake, but my eyes were swollen shut, It took a couple of
days for me to open my one good eye, and realized damage he had done,
he had plucked out my eye, and cut my face, he had cut my breasts up
real bad, they had to it out, like I had cancer or something, there was no
record of who I was, coz he had taken everything, he had taken my bag,
containing everything I had. I was able to tell the nurses about what I
could remember, and also give them my mum's phone number, the
hospital felt so much pity, they actually treated me for free, hard to
believe right? Anyway I was taken home after weeks at the hospital to
recuperate, it was tough, I was blind in one eye, I had one breast and a
hideous scar of my face, talk about your sinage, he did a number on me,
how dumb was I, sometimes I wish he had killed me, but there are fates
worse than death, and I guess this is one of them, he was gone without a
trace, the receipt from the hotel was in my name, so yes he had played
me from the start. I didn't dare go back to school, I was sure everyone
would have heard, and I was not going to become a statistic, so I decided
to stay home, and mind my business, besides what do I need an
education for, I'd rather stay home, because there is no rising from this,
there is no happy ending to this story, this is the simple ending, I was a
victim of a sexual predator, and I let him into my life period, and I take
full responsibility for that, I was driven by greed and lack of morals, I
allowed myself fall into an abyss, but well saying all this doesn't change
anything, it's a memory I will have to live with for the rest of my life,
well not a memory, because I look at myself in the mirror everyday, who
would want to see a nude picture of a woman with one breast, one eye,
and a stub. I have decided to publish my story, because with the rise of
social media atrocities being committed, every story can go a long way in
saving a life, so while you read, SHARE and help someone back to the
right path, these internet predators are real.
