That
love turned a remarkable corner when in March 2014, they got married
and began to live as husband and wife in Shabu, Lafia. But some four
years down the line, the love made in heaven has become shattered on
earth, no thanks to fertility challenges.
What
God has joined let no man put asunder, the Old Book says. But it is
most painful when the man used in putting asunder that union is your
bosom friend. This is the truth that hit home as our correspondent sat
through a session in which Salamatu told a stunning tale of how she was
impregnated by her husband’s best friend, Mr. Francis Kulungu, 35, an
indigene of Awe Local Government Area of the state and a land and
property agent in Lafia.
Bubble burst
The
bubble burst when Mr. Funtuwa, in anguish, reported to the Chief of
Shabu, Alhaji Sulieman Abdullahi, the three-month pregnancy his wife was
carrying for his best friend. In an interview with Saturday Sun, he
talked about how he started suspecting his friend’s affair with his wife
when he started frequenting his house, on the pretext of paying a
friendly visit, even when he (Funtuwa) was not around.
“Owing
to the nature of my work as a mechanic, I close very late, but each
time I got home after that I would meet him sitting outside and waiting
for me or I would be told he had just left,” Funtuwa told our
correspondent. “Some of my neighbours who suspected something fishy
between them complained to me about the man’s closeness to my wife and
wondered aloud what the kind of friend he is, saying he was always
visiting and chatting with my wife in her shop.”
Having
been alerted, Funtuwa decided to keep a close but surreptitious watch
on the two. But over a four-month period, his trap caught nothing
tangible he could use to openly confront them over their evil deed.
Didn’t a proverb say that as you monitor the moves of an animal trapped
inside a hole so does it from there monitor your moves too? So it was
with the two lovebirds engaged in an illicit affair and Funtuwa.
Foolproof trap
When
his efforts seemed to have drawn a blank, he hit on a seemingly
foolproof idea, which he felt he could use to nail them once and for
all. On May 14, 2017, he lied to his wife that he was going to Kaduna to
buy a Peugeot 406 engine for one of his customers’ car and that the
trip would keep him away for three days.
But
rather than travel as he had made her believe, he stayed in a
neighbour’s house hoping to monitor his wife’s movements from there. The
following day, he returned to the house at about 12:30pm in the middle
of the night only to discover to his dismay that his wife was nowhere to
be found. Further move to know her whereabouts was thwarted by his
discovery that her phone was permanently switched off for the two days
duration.
Unknown
to him, his wife and his friend, Kulungu, had left Lafia, the same day,
for a visit to his (Kulungu’s) younger brother, schooling at the
College of Education, Akwanga, and spent two days there. At the end, the
wife returned only to meet an enraged husband waiting for her at home.
“That
was the beginning of the problem,” Funtuwa icily observed. “I demanded
to know where she went. She was too tongue-tied to talk. From that time
till now, we’ve not had sex because she was unwilling to tell me where
she went. I reported the matter to her parents and they supported me to
insist on knowing where she went.”
For
a long time, she continued to remain taciturn. On Sunday, July 30, 2017
matters took a turn for the worse as the enraged husband changed
tactics, drew a cutlass and threatened to kill her right in their
bedroom if she refused to open up. “At 11pm, when I could no longer hold
my anger, I drew a cutlass I bought last year to protect myself in case
of an attack and asked her to say her last prayers as I was going to
kill her. She started pleading for her life. But all her pleas fell on
deaf ears as I told her firmly that I would only spare her life if and
only if she told me the truth and nothing but the truth about her two
days trip without my knowledge and about her relationship with my friend
(Kulungu).”
Midnight confession
Having
been so cornered with no way of escape, Salamatu opened up and began to
sing. She told him all she knew about the affair that she said started
with Kulungu in April. She confessed that she was actually the one who
seduced him into the secret love affair and she did that to know whether
her inability to conceive for the past three years they’d been married
is hers or husband’s.
On
the mystery surrounding the two days trip away from her matrimonial
home, she revealed that Kulungu took her to his younger brother’s
apartment in Akwanga where they had fun for two days. Crying profusely,
she earnestly pleaded for forgiveness, adding that her desire to have a
child led her into trying another man to know where the problem is and
that’s why she couldn’t use condom. In fact, at the end of the
confession, she confirmed to him that she was actually three months
pregnant courtesy of Kulungu.
No holds barred
In
an exclusive interview with Saturday Sun, Salamatu confirmed her
husband’s story and hinged her reason for going into the secret love
affair with her husband’s friend on her impassioned desire to have a
baby after marriage. She regretted her husband’s inability to bring that
about more than three years after their wedding.
Her
account: “A year after our marriage, we went to Dalhatu Specialist
Hospital, Lafia, to carry out some tests to know why I have not
conceived. The tests showed that my husband has low and watery sperm
count and as a result might not be able to impregnate a woman except
something was done about it.
“The
hospital treated and certified him fit after six months. Yet, there was
no pregnancy. We went back to the hospital and the result certified
both of us fit and fertile, yet nothing happened. In March 2017, our
marriage was exactly three years old without a child. All my mates in
marriage have two children each. I was tired of answering questions from
colleagues and friends
“Kulungu,
my husband’s friend, is a regular caller at the house and we became
friends. When I narrated this problem to him, he showed much concern
about it and suggested fertility test for both of us. We did it last
year, around May, at the specialist hospital and the result showed that
both of us are okay. Since we are very close, I decided to ask him for
help by soliciting for sex with him, to ascertain where the problem is
since they said my husband and I are okay. At first, he entertained
fears but I assured him that it was going to be something confidential
and nobody would know about it. After much pressure, he accepted.
“Our
first meeting was on April 8, 2017 at Dunami Hotels, Lafia. I footed
the hotel bill. We had a marathon session that lasted the better part of
the night. I didn’t use any protection because I was ovulating. In the
morning before we departed, we had a quickie. It was a parting gift for
me and he kissed me goodbye. That month’s end, I missed my period. After
that month, I conducted a pregnancy test and it was confirmed positive.
I broke the news to Kulungu, he was delighted about it, though he
wanted me to abort it. I refused and vowed that I will keep the child.”
Fight back
That
has put her husband, Funtuwa, in a state of confusion as he vowed not
to keep someone else’s blood in his house. “I told her parents about
this development and they simply asked me to send her packing to go meet
the said Kulungu, and that she should never come to them for anything,”
he said. “They sympathised with me. I have already asked her to leave
my house within 30 days, though the chief has asked me to seek divorce
through a court but that is a long process. Moreover, I don’t have money
to hire a lawyer.”
He
is hopeful of remarring someday but not any moment soon immediately as
he does not keep girlfriends outside marriage. He, however, promised to
commence the search for another wife after Salamatu might have left his
house within the 30 days ultimatum.
No shaking
The
wife, hardly moved by all the hoopla, said she is prepared for
anything. She told our correspondent that her husband has a serious
problem with low sperm count and may likely run into the same problem if
he gets married without having the problem permanently solved. “Staying
with him will amount to a waste of time,” she said. “I’m ready to leave
his house within the specified time. I have a handwork (tailoring) with
which I can take care of the baby.”
On the run
And
where is Kulungu the father of the baby, in all of this, you finally
found the voice to ask Salamatu. “He is not ready for the child, he has
run away,” she sighed. “The last time I spoke with him, he told me he
was in Lagos looking for a job and that he will not return to Lafia any
time soon. But for me, I will keep the child and train him/her to any
level. I have moved on with my life. If the child is a baby boy, I may
not remarry but if it is a baby girl, I will definitely remarry
someday.”
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