A FORGER’S FREEDOM (PART 5: A WEIRD HOBBY — FORGERY)

By RCT Editor
14 hours Ago

During my 400 level, I traveled home for my Industrial Training (internship). I searched for placement in different companies and workshops but found none. I stayed at home for about three months doing nothing, and soon, I became angry with people and desperate. Finally, I resorted to joining a roadside mechanic to begin my internship.

The Desperation And The Plan

The roadside mechanic wasn’t a registered workshop. In fact, it had no name, no letterhead, and no official documents — all of which were required, including a stamp, for the center to be approved by the university as an Industrial Training Centre. I had to do something.

I traveled down to Uyo shortly before the internship submission deadline. I asked friends who had done theirs in registered centers in Uyo, and they told me about a company somewhere in town. I went there with my friend and met the manager. We explained our situation and asked how much it would cost to get the company’s letterhead, stamp, and signature. The man said it would cost ₦7,500 each. By then, I had just three days left to submit my Industrial Training workbook. I told my friend I couldn’t afford the money and instantly knew I had to find another way out.

The Forgery Begins

I made a few calls and found someone who had done his Industrial Training in a registered mechanic workshop. I got his papers and photocopied everything — including the stamp and the manager’s signature. I then went to a shop where stamps were made and produced the exact same one for ₦1,500. I filled my workbook, copied the manager’s comments and signature exactly, and stamped all the required places.

Some of my classmates were worried for me when they heard of my predicament (they didn’t know I had already “sorted” myself). When they asked later, I bragged about it and even offered to help others get their workbooks signed and stamped — though most didn’t believe me.

The Cover-Up

When it was time to submit, I made sure I submitted alongside those who had actually worked in that same workshop. The university supervisor assigned to that workshop looked surprised when he saw me.
He said, “Ah ah, I’ve been coming to the workshop and I haven’t seen you. Where have you been?”

I replied that I had been working — that maybe the times he came, I was either sick or sent on an errand. He told me he couldn’t believe me until he opened my workbook. “Young man, your workbook and signatures are intact, but I cannot put my signature on it because I haven’t been seeing you,” he said.

Because of the whole situation, I slipped a ₦1,000 note across the table, and that was it — the issue was settled. He started lecturing me about being serious, and on and on he went. That was how I successfully submitted a “signed” workbook, spending only ₦2,500 instead of ₦7,500.

The Continuation Of A Wrong Path

On the day of the defense, I had nothing to fear because I was genuinely good at mechanical work. After the defense, the friend who had submitted with me came up to me, praised my boldness, and told me he had a job for me. He gave me four copies of a state government document about a land-related issue and the commencement of a project. I was to replicate a signature on the documents.

I started practicing how to imitate the original signature, and by evening, I had signed all four. Upon submission, the documents were found legitimate and accepted. I continued this “business” until my second semester in 500 level when I rededicated my life to Jesus.