Sometimes, you think that some of the events we see in Nigerian movies are just scripted outcomes until you come across a shocking real-life scenario that leaves you feeling you are living in a society mirrored perfectly in these movies.
The other day, a colleague of mine narrated her sister’s story, and I thought to share it because I believe there are many lessons to learn from it, just like I did.
My colleague’s sister, whom for the sake of this narration I would refer to as ‘Ihuoma’, and her husband, as ‘Bayo’, had been married for eleven years and had built a happy family for themselves with three beautiful kids, ages nine, six, and three.
Financially, they were doing good. Based on social stratifications, one could refer to them as belonging to the upper-middle-class or the nouveau riche. The husband – Bayo, was a successful salesperson recently promoted to General Manager. His wife owned a thriving textile business at Oshodi, one of the biggest textile markets in Lagos. Overall, they were a young, happy, and thriving family with a lot going well. Oh, lest I forget, Bayo was in his late thirties, and his wife, Ihuoma, was three years younger.
This typically young, healthy, and happy family was dealt a hard blow when Bayo suffered severe physical injuries in a car accident and was hospitalised for over three weeks. Things worsened when Bayo went into a coma after surgery and unfortunately passed away some days later. It had been nearly a month since his car accident, and as expected, his demise was a great shock to everyone, especially his young wife and children.
At this point, Ihuoma must have imagined that the worst had happened to her. Alas, her in-laws had more scary tricks up their sleeves. Just two days after Bayo died, while Ihuoma and her children dealt with the grief of their loss, Bayo’s extended family members, a rogue group consisting of three uncles and two aunties, whom Ihuoma claimed to have seen for the first and the last at her wedding with Bayo, suddenly reappeared with tall demands with an extra dose of family drama.
First, they wanted to see Bayo’s property papers, account details, and the keys to his three cars. Ihuoma’s first reaction was an extreme shock. She was astounded! According to my colleague, upon hearing about their unprecedented demands, her stress level skyrocketed, and she passed out.
When she came to, she found her house turned upside down. Her so-called in-laws had been frantically searching all the nooks and crannies for whatever valuables like documents, money, or car keys, anything tangible they could find. She started calling people for help- Bayo’s friends, co-workers, and her family members, including her sister, who was out of town at the time. She kept mumbling, ‘This is 2022, and these things still happen?’.
To cut a long story short, Ihuoma reached out to everyone she probably could ask for help, and no one was able to do anything. The situation was getting out of control, and although her sister had headed back into town to be with her, she could only provide her with moral support.
A breakthrough event occurred at the climax of it all, and it was nothing short of a miracle. Ihuoma received a phone call from an unknown caller, and it turned out that Bayo, her otherwise healthy and relatively young husband, who seemingly had no use for asset management, and who would have naturally deemed will-writing a story for his latter days, actually wrote a Will before his demise.
Ihuoma was nothing short of amazed. She broke down into uncontrollable tears and sobbed loudly for several minutes. When she stopped, she called the company again and heard the full story. Bayo’s company had a great financial planning culture for their staff, and aside from the HMO and Pension packages, they had encouraged all staff members to write wills. Thankfully, Bayo heeded this advice and, indeed, wrote a Will. At last, there was an assured hope that no one would lay their hands on Bayo’s hard-earned properties and assets, They have been adequately preserved through legally documented wealth transfer tools, and her greedy in-laws were done away with for good.
For my colleague, that was the end of the story. To her, it was a case that involved a mixture of what seemed like divine intervention and an epic plot in a Nollywood movie. For me, however, it was an awakening. I could not help but think, what if Bayo did not have a Will? What if the organisation he worked for did not have an excellent financial planning culture? What would have become of Ihuoma, and how many more “Ihuoma’s are in the world today, still experiencing immense financial losses coupled with unbearable grieving of their loved ones? How many children’s dreams would never be fulfilled just because a parent did not make a financial decision or saved it for later?
The Will saved her! Otherwise, Bayo’s children’s education would have been disrupted, and they could have been robbed of their house, jeopardising their financial sustainability.
Amazingly, because Bayo leveraged wills and trust, his wife and children were saved, and I believe that so can you and all the other women at risk of being in her shoes.
So, this is a testimonial of the fundamental but often overlooked need for proactive wealth management, risk mitigations and loss management financial tools. It came through for the “Ihuomas” and the “Bayos” of this world. Like them, I trust that more than anything, the sustenance of your loved ones, with or without your physical presence, should be a matter of prioritised concern.
So, I implore you to take a cue from Bayo, a young man who leveraged will and trusteeship and wrote a Will, which ended up saving his family. So, write a Will today because you never can tell whose household would be saved by a Will.
Speaking of Will writing, I dare say that there is no better partner to trust with this all-too-important task than Leadway Capital and Trust, an associate company of Leadway Assurance Company Limited. Leadway Capital and Trust provides packages that cover assets management and trusteeship from as low as N10,750. They also provide the needed support in estate planning, Will writing and serve as Trustees.
So, like Bayo, develop an understanding that leaving a legacy for your loved ones through Will writing is a fundamental tool to ensure the financial sustainability of their future.
For more information, please visit https://www.leadwaycapital.com/iwill/ or scan the QR Code at the top right or call the Leadway Financial Management Experts on 01-2801-420 or email [email protected] for professional advice and guidance on steps to take.
We are also within your reach on WhatsApp via our virtual assistant support on 08129997044 or any of our social media outlets – @LeadwayCapital on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. You can also send a DM, and we will revert with all the information you require.
