One-chance is a type of robbery that usually occurs in public taxis in big cities like Lagos and Abuja. A man on Twitter has shared how he was almost caught up in a one-chance. Luckily for him, he was at alert.
I just remembered an incident from last Sunday, when I traveled to Lagos and had a near-one-chance experience. I had this strong feeling that the person I encountered was a scammer.
On Sunday, I visited someone around Cele and was on my way back around 7:30 pm when I realized I didn’t have enough cash to get home. I prayed to come across an ATM and was fortunate to find a POS guy by the roadside.
He even shared a story with me about a m*dman who called out to a guy standing nearby, claiming that they’re friends and that the m*d man visits him every day to check on him.
I was surprised because the guy responded to the m*d guy as if he understood him. I withdrew my money and left. Barely 2 minutes later, I felt someone tap me. I didn’t respond, and the person tapped me again, asking, “Shey Cele leleyi?”( Is this Cele?)
I simply walked away. Later, it occurred to me that I had almost been scammed because I’d heard similar stories of people being asked such questions and then losing their memory immediately after responding. There were bus drivers, Keke people, people selling stuff who.. .he could have asked instead. Then I remembered a prayer point that kept coming to mind on Sunday as I traveled “God, please don’t let me enter one chance.” I prayed repeatedly until I reached my destination.
You don’t have to take public transport to fall victim to one-chance scammers. A friend of mine was similarly scammed in Oyo two years ago, losing over 60k and her phone.
The man who tapped me wasn’t young; he sounded like an elderly man in his late 30s or early 40s. I’m sharing this experience to urge everyone to be careful out there. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t help people but please, be careful.
I knew that God tied my tongue at that moment because I would have stopped to help the man under normal circumstances. I didn’t even turn around to look at him. I’m grateful to God for saving me from a possible scam. God really saved me!
Be safe out there.
