Writers 
I was at a POS shop yesterday when a young man walked in looking very confident.
He gave the POS operator his phone. “Aunty, please, transfer ₦20,000 to this account.”
The woman collected the phone and checked the details carefully.
“Are you sure this is the account number?”
“Yes.”
“The name is showing as Chinedu Okafor.”
“Yes, that's the person.”
She looked at him again. “You're sure?”
He laughed. “Aunty, I know who I'm sending money to. Na my guy.”
She nodded and completed the transfer.
The young man collected his phone and was about to leave when it started ringing.
He answered casually.
“Hello?”
He listened for a few seconds.
His smile disappeared.
He checked the transfer receipt, then opened his banking app.
“Jesus!”
The POS operator looked at him.
“What happened?”
He stared at his phone.
“I sent the money to the wrong person.”
The woman frowned.
“But you just confirmed the account number.”
“I know.”
“You even confirmed the name.”
“I know!”
“So how did you send it to the wrong person?”
He sighed.
“The account number I saved yesterday was for somebody else. I thought it was this person's account.”
The woman shook her head.
“Call the person immediately.”
He dialled the number.
No answer.
He called again.
Still nothing.
He paced around the shop.
“Please, pick this phone.”
He called a third time.
This time, someone answered.
“Hello?”
The young man quickly said, “Good afternoon, sir. Please, I just transferred ₦20,000 to your account by mistake. I need you to send it back.”
The man on the other end was quiet.
“Hello, sir?”
“Yes, I'm here.”
“Please, I made a mistake. The money was meant for somebody else.”
The man replied calmly, “Okay.”
The young man relaxed.
“Thank you, sir. I really appreciate it.”
There was another pause.
Then the man said, “But there's one small problem.”
The young man's smile disappeared again.
“What problem?”
“I've already spent it.”
He froze.
“You've already spent ₦20,000?”
“Yes.”
“In the last five minutes?”
“Yes.”
The young man looked at the POS operator as if he needed someone to confirm that he was not dreaming.
“How did you even spend ₦20,000 that fast?”
The man replied calmly, “I didn't know it was yours. I thought God finally remembered me.”
Everyone inside the POS shop burst out laughing.
The young man wasn't laughing at all.
He put the phone on speaker.
“Sir, please, I'm serious. I need that money back.”
The man sighed.
“Don't worry. I'll send it back.”
The young man relaxed.
“Thank you, sir. Please, when?”
“Once I get the money.”
“When will that be?”
“I don't know yet.”
The young man became frustrated.
“Sir, please, that money is important.”
The man replied, “I understand. But you too should understand that when unexpected money enters somebody's account, you don't expect them to still be holding it five minutes later.”
The POS operator covered her mouth to stop herself from laughing.
The young man asked, “So what exactly did you spend the money on?”
The man replied, “I paid two debts, bought food and sent some money to my younger brother.”
The young man sighed.
“So you distributed my money?”
“Not intentionally.”
“How do I get it back?”
The man thought for a moment.
“Don't worry. I'll sort you out.”
“Okay. When?”
“Once another person mistakenly transfers money to me.”
The call ended.
The young man stood there staring at his phone.
The POS operator looked at him.
Neither of them spoke for a few seconds.
Finally, she asked, “Oga, you still want to make another transfer?”
He slowly put his phone inside his pocket.
“No.”
“Why?”
He shook his head.
“I think I've transferred enough money to strangers for one day.”
He walked out of the shop.
The POS operator watched him leave and quietly said, “At least he has learnt his lesson.”
Then she looked at the next customer who had just walked in.
“Who are you transferring money to?”
The man answered confidently:
“My brother.”
She looked at him.
“Please, show me the account number first.”
And suddenly, everybody in the shop started laughing.
Some mistakes teach you a lesson.
Others teach you to check the account number until you are completely tired of checking it.
