BEST TEAM RACE ESSAY CONTEST

Name: Oluwasegun Badru

Topic: RAPE

Team: Blue

Location: Lagos

The financial year of my Organization was drawing very close to an end and as expected, we had lots of
reports to submit within a small timeline. Due to the nature of this exercise, every member of staff was
required to work tirelessly. The auditors will be flying into the country very soon and since Management
did not want any delay, they promised to pay us extra allowances for the time we will spend at the office
after official closing hours. I was excited at the prospect of this.

I have worked as a Personal Assistant to the Branch Manager of one of the Country’s biggest financial
Institution for 10 years. My job normally required me working extra hours without extra pay. So, when
Management informed us that we would be getting extra payment this time, I became more excited. At
least, Tobe will be able to go on the Dubai excursion after all. Oh! I forgot to tell you. I am a single
mother to one of the brightest and most charming boys God created.

Before you ask, I had him out of wedlock for a man I thought I would be spending the rest of my life
with. Well, all that is in the past now. Tobe is now 8 years old and growing to become a responsible man
unlike his Father who was a drunkard and an unrepentant liar. Pardon me, I deviated again.

I was recently transferred to the Ikeja Branch of my Bank as a result of the Bank’s realignment program.
I was happy to be in Ikeja not only because it would allow me spend more time with my son, it also
meant I would not be experiencing the traffic on Third mainland bridge again. If only I had known what
fate had in stock for me.

Work was going very well and my boss who I would be referring to as Mr.Y made me welcome and
helped me settle well into the new branch. Mr. Y was the true definition of what a boss was supposed to
be. He was not only interested in how I carried out my job, he was also interested in my own personal
development. When he found out I had a son, he became more determined to help me succeed in the
Bank. Sometimes, he would allow me to close early so that I could spend time with my son. Other times,
he would randomly send me money to buy stuffs for my son. He was the boss everyone dreamed of
having. Two months ago, Mr. Y mobilized a deposit of N5 billion into the bank and to my surprise, he
wrote to the management of the bank that I mobilized the funds. When I heard this news, I was greatly
overwhelmed. I had already been recommended for promotion and the most surprising part of it was
that, I was going to be promoted three grades higher. Mr. Y was indeed an Angel in human form.
It was the 24th of December and we had finished all the reports in record time. This meant we could
spend the Christmas holiday with our family without the Auditors or Management. At about 9:15pm, I
went to my boss’s office to tell him I was going home. My car had developed fault the previous day and
so I wanted to leave on time in order to get a bus. My boss told me to wait for 15 minutes more with the
promise that he would drop me off. He offered me cold Chivita which I accepted. I did not know what
came over me after this. No!!! I was not sleeping. I was awake but I was just too weak to carry myself. I
tried to close my eye whether my strength will be restored but I was awaken to Mr.Y’s hand dragging
me to the floor and lifting up my dress. I tried to move but I couldn’t. I only lay there as my boss used his
filthy instrument to defile me right on the floor of his office.

After a few stomps, Mr Y finally stood up. I was mad deep inside me but also grateful my ordeal was
over. While still in that state, I noticed another familiar face trying to do the same to me. It was Larry
(name withheld), the Fund Transfer Officer. Larry had an eye for me but I barely reciprocated his
gestures. He did not show me mercy even when he knew I could not resist. I passed out while Larry was
still in the act. I woke up the next morning to find myself on my bed in my own house. When I asked the
Nanny what happened, she said my boss and a colleague brought me home because I collapsed at the
office. I was weak, my back hurt, and I could not walk properly because my limbs were sore. I crawled to
the bathroom so that I could get a bath and laid in bed all day. It was a horrible Christmas.

I could not tell anyone about my ordeal because of the fear of losing my job and the stigma that would
follow. I went to the hospital for checkup and the Doctor told me they found traces of Ketamine in my
blood. Now I know why I was not able to do anything when my boss made his first move on me. The
doctors had no proof that I was raped since I had washed the semen away. Three days later, my
promotion letter came. I was promoted to head the Operations Management team in Benin. I was happy
to leave. It signaled a new beginning for me and my boy.

It is now six months since I left Lagos and I am pregnant with another baby. The only difference is that,
this baby belongs to one of the two (not sure about the number) men who raped me on 24 th of
December, 2019.

My name is Jenifer and this is my story.