March 29 2023 * Haiti Observateur

BOOKS

The Scammer of Anna Pierre: Telling it like it is

By Raymond A. Joseph

Thanks to the internet which has led to a worldwide explosion in the field of communications, the good and the bad manage to exploit the situation to their advantage. Thus scammers, thousands of miles away, can zero in on their unwary victims, especially those looking for love. The narrative of this book makes this clear, as a victorious scam victim has mustered the courage to blare her experience in the pages of this book. There are indeed great advice and a warning for those searching for true love!

Who says you can’t fall in love through long-distance courting via the Internet? You’ll find otherwise as the fervent, God-fearing, Anna Pierre tells you about how God answered her prayers in an unusual way. In January 2020, her heavenly Father made it possible for her to meet her soulmate through the Internet. It was more than she expected.

She began a love affair with a top movie star in Nigeria through conversations on the net which show that they were fit for each other. Within two months, the relationship quickly evolved from that of boyfriend /girlfriend to lovers who were contemplating life as husband and wife, in effect addressing themselves as such, even though there was no religious or civil ceremony to confirm their union.

Imagine that, without physical contact, our Anna Pierre, singer par excellence, better known for her epic Creole love song “Vin Mete Suk Sou Bonbon m” (Come put sugar on my bun), managed to lull her beau to sleep thousands of miles away through the mellow renditions of various lullabies. By the way, thousands of miles away in Nigeria, our scammer, whose name was never discovered, knew the tune “Vin Mete Suk Sou Bonbon m,” which he hummed for his newfound love.

Caught in a web of deception, while looking toward a Bright Future

The future appeared enchanting for Anna, whatnot with close camaraderie that was to be developed with her newfound love, in performing alongside each other as members of the prestigious Nollywood, the Nigerian counterpart to Hollywood. With residences in Florida and in Nigeria, who could have asked for more from a dotting husband who knows what to say and when.

Anna immersed herself in Nigerian culture and learned the cuisine, especially the delicacies that make the mouth of one’s mate salivate. She also introduces him to the delightful Haitian cuisine. Indeed, she finds similarities between her Haitian culture and that of Nigeria, including corruption at high levels, which permeates both cultures and inhibits true development and progress, causing a life of poverty for the majority of their citizens.

Unknown to her, she was caught in a web of deception. Her heartthrob is not the IK Ogbonna, of international fame, about whom she’s read so much. Upon meeting him virtually, she went into full research mode to satisfy her curiosity, at first not believing she was that lucky. However, her online charmer had fooled her by imitating the real Ogbonna, having mimicked the actor to the point of stealing his identity. In reading this narrative you’ll be surprised about the expertise of this scammer at presenting himself as the man he’s not.

Anyway, being under the spell of a “soft-spoken, real charmer,” our author got hooked to the point of disbursing as much as $10,380.00 over the course of five months, having begun with a first installment of only $250.00

Her daughter, Imani, of the new generation, began first to doubt the bona fide of the copycat IK Ogbonna. Her intuition will be confirmed one evening while her mother was singing softly a lullaby to put her beau to sleep, while at the same time, the real IK Ogbonna was performing in a show on Instagram. Her mother couldn’t believe her eyes. The cat was out of the bag.

Getting even with the Scammer

The resourceful Anna didn’t let herself go into depression by her finding that she was being fooled all along with fake love. With persistence, she finally reached the real Ik Ogbonna, who became “Father of the Year” of the Miami-based “International Fathers’ Association” which Anna founded thirty-one years ago, to recognize fathers who are often taken for granted.

With support from the community and the State, which recognizes the organization, The Father of The Year receives a check of $ 500.00 with the official trophy, sash, plaque, and Proclamation from The State.   Anna has remained the Executive Director and Event Administrator of the local organization, which now reaches far beyond the borders of the United States.

The advent of COVID-19 made it impossible for “Father of the Year” IK Ogbonna to travel to Florida to be crowned at the 29^th event, on June 28, 2020, and The Fathers’ organization opted for a virtual event.  But in 2021, he was there in person to participate in the 30^th event, when Jude Deronceray was crowned.

Nurse Anna Pierre, whose first book, “You Know You’re Haitian If …” was published in 2014, also publishes the quarterly magazine “Royal Connection Lifestyle Magazine, — Le Magazine des Who’s Who,” in print and digitally. Also, every Friday, at 7 pm, she’s live on television with her Royal Connection Magazine show on Ayiti TV, Facebook, RPTV network, and Instagram, discussing important health, fashion, business, politics, entertainment, and more. The program is rebroadcast on Ayiti TV on Monday at 10 pm, Tuesday at 3 pm, and Wednesday at 9 am. Moreover, Anna Pierre is known for her designer handbags of the Zotobre line. (By the way, a Zotobre is a Big Shot in Creole)

When I began reading The Scammer, I could not put it down. I believe you’ll also be hooked while going through the 251 pages of script, attractive photos, and illustrations that adorn this book. And I repeat that there’s great advice in it for those hungry for love in this age of long-distance romance.

Other than at Amazon, where you can find the book, those who want an autographed copy from the author may contact her through her website: www.annapierre.com, or through the Fathers’ Association at www.internationalfathersassociation.org

RAJ, March 29, 2023 * at raljo31@yahoo.com