In 1991 (I was 11years old then), my aunty’s boyfriend saw me playing on the street close to my house. He then parked his car by our gate and asked me to go in and call my aunt.

My dad got upset when he overheard me informing my aunt about her boyfriend that was waiting outside by the gate. My dad then went straight out to meet him, and the following conversation ensued:

Dad asked the man why he was waiting outside as though he came to a brothel. He then added, “I don’t appreciate this. I have never prevented anyone from coming to visit a lady in my house. So, please come inside”.

That’s how the man apologised and drove in. My dad requested that they offer him a drink and they both sat down, talking and laughing as if they had known themselves for a long time. After a while, my dad excused him. I guess it was to give ‘Mr boyfriend’ some freedom to continue ‘toasting’ my aunt whom he had come to see.

So, I grew up with this attitude that visiting a lady and going straight to her house to meet with her family was a responsible thing to do. In fact, the confidence I used to have when going to a girlfriend’s house did not have part 2.

As the Nigerian proverbial saying goes, “na overconfidence dey make monkey fall from tree”. That’s how at age 22, I went to visit my girlfriend and I boldly walked into her house, greeted her father and sat with her in their living room.

I somehow noticed that the girl was not comfortable as she kept looking at the wall clock. Not sure if it was because she felt I was staying longer than necessary or whether it was getting late. I was kind of confused because I had just spent about 45minutes. So, after chatting for a while, I decided to leave and bade farewell to her father. The dad asked me to come closer to where he was seated. As I approached, he said (with a stern looking face) “I don’t tolerate men coming to my house to look for my daughters. This is the last time”. Accordingly, I took note of his ‘warning’, apologized and left.

The next time I wanted to see my girlfriend (his daughter), I decided to stay by one corner shop close to her house, phoned her and she sneaked out to meet me.

Let’s fast-forward to the present. As you all know, God has blessed me with two beautiful daughters and every time I just keep imagining ‘karma’ strolling and smiling at me. Hence, I want to be prepared. LOL.

In light of the above scenarios, I would really want to know what other parents would do in situations like these. Was my dad’s approach right? Was the girl’s father right? What do you guys think?