Hi, Lars here again. As I mentioned in my first biographic story I was brought up in Nigeria until I reached secondary school age. I also mentioned that I was working for the family business in Norway.
It just so happened that the local man employed to run the Lagos operation made a complete mess of things and as I had experience of the culture and language my uncle suggested that I should go out there for 1.5 to 2 years to sort things out before handing over to a suitably trained Nigerian. As encouragement I would get a generous overseas allowance and medical insurance (which of course I didn't need in Norway).
So it was that I found myself house hunting within commuting distance to the docks at Lagos. I decided to go for somewhere quite modest, particularly compared with most ex-pats, and save my money somewhere the Norwegian tax authorities wouldn't find it, i.e. Panama.
I soon found a house in a middle class area and as luck would have it most of the furniture it came with was acceptable. To live comfortably, like my neighbours, I needed to add an "imo iso", a housemaid. I knew that there was a lot of abuse of the system by agents, maids and even people traffickers so rather than going through the normal channels I contacted an old friend of my father's. He knew of a family that were looking to place their eldest daughter in domestic service. Luckily they spoke Yoruba and English, the two Nigerian languages that I spoke. Very unconventionally I arranged to visit the family to interview them and the girl and then if appropriate agree terms.
It turned out that my Yoruba was a bit poor after so long, and a bit childish, but we got by with a mixture of languages. I made it clear that I had heard about the scammers that cruelly abused the system and that we would come to a better arrangement. I wanted to make sure that the young lady was able and willing to go into domestic service and that the parents were also rewarded, as is the custom. Normally the arrangement is that the maid will get paid a certain amount and out of that they send money back home to support the family. One scam is that the maid then gets charged so much for board and lodging that they are unable to send any money back and may even fall into debt.
I discussed with the parents what they wanted of me. Mainly they wanted their daughter to finish her education. As is often the case in Nigeria they had to withdraw her from school due to not being able to afford it. I also wanted to check her age as it is common to hire girls out any time after puberty. It turns out that I had just missed her 19th birthday, so that was fine. I also checked that they had no qualms about her being employed by a single man. Once I was satisfied with the parents (I insisted on speaking with both of them) I interviewed the girl. Her name was Abimbola. At first I thought I was being shown a boy. In her slightly baggy clothes there was no visible indication of breasts or hips but when she looked up she was a delight to the eyes, with a beautiful feminine face and elegant neck.
After establishing that Abimbola did indeed want to enter service and spoke passable English I double checked her age. I decided to employ her and set out to her parents what I proposed. I would pay a small allowance to them to help support their family. Instead of paying anything more than pocket money to Abimbola I would provide free board, lodging and clothing and find a suitable school and pay for her to attend. By Nigerian standards this was far more than necessary but being used to Norwegian salaries it wasn't much at all.
Abimbola had virtually no possessions to take with her and we travelled back to Lagos together. She seemed well aware of how service worked, having spoken with several women that had done the same in their youth.
When we arrived home I quickly showed Abimbola around and told her that I would give her a proper tour of my home in the morning when she was more rested.
My house was clearly for showing off in, the reception rooms were large and sumptuous and the kitchen was to commercial standard but the sleeping arrangements were much more ordinary. There was a master bedroom, which was spacious enough and had its own bathroom. Off the bathroom was another small bedroom, which at some point might have been a dressing room and was now decorated as a nursery. In it was a small cupboard and a single bed. I decided to make that the maid's room. It meant that the only way into Abimbola's room would be through my bedroom and the bathroom. There were no locks on the doors within the master suite, or indeed any internal doors except the downstairs WC and shower, that guests might use.
The first nights felt a bit strained, particularly for Abimbola as she was in a strange house with strange sleeping arrangements and with a strange man. I was a proper gentleman. I didn't change in front of her and avoided being seen looking at her. Obviously I couldn't help looking when she was distracted. I even wore nightclothes the first few nights to help her settle in.
I had promised to find a school place without any knowledge of the local schools. Fortunately I found a girls school nearby. They had a nice uniform too, something you don't see in Norway. The skirts were a bit long for my taste but many girls seemed to push the rules. I contacted the school and explained the situation. It was one they had encountered before and they even had an adult student entry program, which we had missed for that year, however they agreed to give Abimbola a day of tests and induction to decide whether they could take her and in which grade.
She had obviously been a good pupil because they were happy to take her and in a high grade. I took Abimbola to the recommended shop and bought a couple of (very expensive) uniforms. She really looked good in her school uniform and seemed very pleased to show it off. What I didn't buy her was a maid's outfit. I decided that the uniform would be her normal day wear. She could do her domestic work in it too, minus the blazer and tie. I also bought a number of products that females require, as I would clearly need to provide for her. I got some odd looks, as African men don't buy that sort of thing, whereas in Norway they are just items on the shopping list.