By SHIRLEY GENGA
Nowadays, every young girl’s dream is to get married to a very rich man. No average Joe will do.
The ‘Nairobi dream’ for most young women is to capture the heart or eyes of a rich man. They all dream of an extremely fabulous and outrageous wedding that will culminate in a humongous house on a hilltop in the leafy suburbs of Nairobi.
Despite majority of women being well educated and having well paying jobs, bagging a rich man is still not negotiable (blame it all on Cinderella!).
The idea of meeting a man who has no money and slowly building a life together and growing the family wealth is preposterous, outrageous and inconceivable for today’s modern woman.
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Well, there is nothing wrong with the I-need-a-rich-husband-philosophy because I understand no woman wants to marry into poverty. My problem is that a lot of times, women are so blind to money and all its perks that they lock their brains in a box and throw away the key.
How many times have we heard of women considered the crème de la crème in matters beauty, and eminently educated women in top jobs, who end up marrying very wealthy men, only to find out later — when its too little too late — that they were duped? The story has been told so many times that it has become an embarrassing cliché.
Women need to wake up, smell the coffee and realise that Nairobi men have chanukad (seen the light). Men realised — long ago — that all they need in order to attract a woman, particularly in Nairobi these days, is not looks, height, six pack, broad shoulders, or even good manners, but money — piles of it.
There is a new crop of men around town who have mastered the art of creating the illusion of wealth. And they are very dedicated to their craft so much so that they ooze sophistication. They will steal, borrow and do just about anything to look rich.
Such men talk sleek, look rich, drive fancy cars and supposedly live in the high-end areas of Nairobi. But they have an average bank account or worse, nothing.
Often, women get so caught up in the riches fantasy and never bother to ask themselves how, for instance, a banker can afford a wedding worth Sh2 million, and a one-month honeymoon in Paris.
In such cases, when investigated, it is always found out that they took a loan to pay for the largess. The unfortunate ones only realise later that they married a con man — or a criminal.
Research
So for all those ladies who will not stop until they get a rich man, at least have the common sense to be proactive and do some research. It is not okay for someone to tell you that they are wealthy because they chapa madeals hapa na pale (they are brokers in this or that). What does that even mean?
Take time to visit your man at work, meet his colleagues, note their standards of living and compare it with your man’s.
Visit his business and check his pay slips before getting duped that you are marrying the Sultan of Nairobi!