この手紙は、ナイジェリアの銀行員、M.U.Nkpanaと名乗る人物からのものです。無論、私とは何の関係もありません。未知の人物です。
手紙は、おおよそ次のような内容。
「M.U.Nkpana氏の顧客でアメリカ人の大富豪、金（Gold）商人が、昨年の11月、突
然、奥様とともに交通事故で亡くなられた。ところが、お二人には遺産を相続する人
が居ないため、莫大な遺産の行き所がなく、もし、あなたに、遺産相続の意志がある
なら、あなたを遺産相続人として手続きしましょう。一週間以内に連絡を下さい」と
いうもの。
あなたなら、どうしますか？
Dear Sir,
I would like to invite you to be part of a very important business transaction, which will be of mutual interest to us.
It might look strange to you why you have been invited to be part of this transaction. You have nothing to worry about as you have no risk whatsoever to bear.
Providence and pure instinct, coupled with your business activities has helped me to consider why I am choosing you. I am quite sure that you will have nothing to regret at the end of this transaction.
Briefly, my name is Dr.Mohammed Usman Nkpana.I am a bank manager with one of the highly rated local banks in Nigeria. The issue is that one of my foreign customer, an American citizen who was A Rich Gold Merchant had maintained a multi-million dollars personal domiciliary account until he and his wife was killed in a ghastly motor accident sometime in November last year. Until their death, his wife was his next of kin, as they had no child. They have since been buried.
To avoid loosing this fund to the bank. I and the deceased lawyer have decided to contact you to come forward and claim the funds as the next of kin. With my position as the manager of the bank, I can have the fund transferred to your nominated bank account with necessary documents available to us to back you up as the next of kin.
You know this could be likened to the Jewish Holocaust era where no claims to funds deposited by customers was claimed. If we do not take this chance to remove the fund now, it is quite certain that the bank will claim the fund later.
This transaction is only known to myself, the deceased lawyer and now to you. So please keep it secret.
When the fund is wire transfered to your account, all paper works used to perfect the transfer shall be withdrawn to ensure that there are no tracks of the fund to you in future. Upon receipt of the fund, it will be shared between two of us.
Finally, it will take 7 working days to execute this transaction. Therefore, please indicate your interest urgently and do not discuss this matter with anybody irrespective of the relationship.
As soon as I hear from you I shall furnish you with the modalities of the transaction and other information you may need.
Thank you very much for your co-operation.
この手紙は、実に上手に楽しく書けています。もちろん男は、手紙を信じた訳では
ありません。でも、この手紙をもらったとき、男は三つの道を選ぶことができまし
た。一つは手紙の指示どおりに遺産相続の手続きをすることです。「そんなうまい話
はない」けど。本当だったらどうします。本当に大富豪の遺産が相続できたかも知れ
ません。二つ目は、遺産目当てに返事を書いて、相手の上手な誘惑にのって手続きを
するうち、いくばくかのお金をだまし取られてしまうこと。あり得る話ですね。三つ
目は、手紙を無視してしまうことです。
五十路半ばの男は、身に付けた分別からか、三つ目の道を選びました。ということ
は、これまでどおりの、なんの変化も無い人生を選んだことになります。第一の道を
選べば、第二の道となる危険性をもっていますが、本当なら、一気に大富豪となっ
て、優雅で、夢みるような人生が送れたことでしょう。
人生って、岐路の連続ですね。子供の頃からそうでした。進学、就職、結婚、みん
な人生の大きな岐路です。机の上に積み重なった教科書で何を勉強するか、どんな友
だちに巡り合うか、手もとのお菓子のどれを食べるか。
大きいこと、小さいこと、いつも岐路に立って選択を繰り返しながら今日に至って
いるようです。自分で歩いた道は、自分で選んだ道、今の自分はその結果。岐路でど
ちらに進むか、それが人生なのでしょうか。
エピローグ
男はその後も貧しい生活を続けている。
