Realizing he was rich put an end to our friendship

Everyone craves for wealth and desires to have lots of money so they can get their desired items and live life to the fullest in their various capacities, and realizing one's friends or relatives are rich is something that ought to bring about joy or a bit of surprise, but I once had an experience where I realized a friend of mine was super rich, and realizing in the way I did got me angry and even had a significant impact on how our relationship turned out thereafter. Today, I'll share how it all plays out.

During my undergraduate days, I had a friend, though not too close, and I became used to chatting with him due to the fact that he was also a student at my institution and the fact that he seemed like someone who wasn't well off financially. He usually dresses rough, and one would have mistaken him for a riffraff or thug because of the way he dresses and the group of people he moves with.

The set of people he moves with are unlearned thugs who roam around the street, and I get to know him because each time I pass through where they sit, he usually salutes me and then approaches me with the aim of getting money from me, so I thought he was just a broke guy who wasn't financially fit and just doing his best to make sure he completes his studies. This ideology I've of him in my head pushes me to help him with whatever I've got each time he comes for help.

The moment of truth came during our FYB (final year brethren) party at my school. I wasn't a party guy, but I decided to attend since the event is once in a lifetime, and during the course of the party, they began to give awards to students based on different merits. Surprisingly, my allegedly broke friend was called out to be the richest guy in our entire set of graduating students. The announcement sounds like a joke to me, and I can bet I chuckled at the announcement before reality drew in.

One thing about each award is that they usually analyze what led to giving each awardee the award they're getting, so the Audience can agree that they truly deserve it. For example, those who were awarded for having the longest relationship were said to have been dating since their secondary school days, and for the richest guy, they began to list how he owns about 4 hostels that we deem the most expensive within the school premises, how he owns about 6 big buses like the ones used in conveying passengers to the eastern part of Nigeria, and several other assets, to mention but a few. Believe me, I was dumbfounded.

I felt betrayed, played, and was literally angry, knowing that all his acts during our undergraduate days were just a trick for people not to notice how rich he was and to also not draw the attention of the police to himself. I learned he was into internet fraud, popularly known as Yahoo yahoo in Nigeria, and he was even the one who taught most other students who indulged in such acts, but unlike others who showoff, he, on the contrary, pretends and lives in disguise as though he's broke. No wonder, each time police were on the lookout for internet fraudsters, they usually arrested everyone but him because he doesn't even look like someone who's educated, computer literate, or has money.

The realization that he's rich, and most especially the source of his wealth, was what put an end to our friendship, as I try to distance myself from him as much as possible. Although he apologizes when he realizes I've kept a distance between us, he also states his reasons for living in disguise to the point where, had a police officer approached me to find out who he was, I would have told them he was broke, because that's what I and most people know him to be.

Despite his explanation and pleas, I still kept my distance because I didn't want to identify with a criminal. Prior to my realization that he was rich, a lot of people called us friends to mock me because they felt he was poor and dirty and didn't want to associate with him. But knowing he's rich with a shady source of income is something I don't want to identify with as the religious and easy-going person I am.

https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/vickoly/23t76oRc3zjSnyfgC6F2V79yxUuq7CDvbvCH72sfweFTqZLzbJH6hBHqwKC3TkJ7GPGAs.png

That's all on my experience of realizing a friend is rich and the impact that had on our friendship. It was written in response to the Hive learners community features prompt.

Thanks for your time, stay bless and safe.**