[b][/b]

I was invited to Victor's farm. My curiosity about what inspired the poultry business took him down memory lane. He said, "My boss at the office was a menace. He was the kind of boss that would make one unwilling to get ready in the morning and show up at the office. That he made life excruciating for people like me would be the greatest understatement of the year. I told someone while speaking about him one day that it was either that he lacked empathy or that he was born without a conscience. His apathy towards me was grossly underscored by his reaction the day I reported late to work owing to an unavoidable family issue. I got home the previous day and met my pregnant wife unconscious. Honestly, I didn't know how we got to the hospital. The doctor recommended that they hospitalize her. I slept in the hospital but got back to prepare for work relatively late the following morning. Despite the fact that I explained everything to my boss, he went ahead and issued a query to me. I can't recall any incident in my life that caused me the level of sadness that I felt that day- it definitely got to my bones."

Victor picked up the intercom and instructed his manager to prepare four fresh chickens(layers) for me. Then he went on. "When my wife finally put to bed, I explained to my boss that my wife had no helper and pleaded that I should be granted a week's vacation until I could get someone to assist her. He refused and rather threatened to have me transferred to a unit that would keep me longer in the office. I was so angry, to the extent that my reasoning faculty malfunctioned at that moment. Right there that morning, I walked out of the office and left for the hospital to be with my wife- I didn't care about his approval anymore because my wife and my baby were of paramount importance to me. I knew a query would be waiting for me on my return and my boss didn't disappoint. He queried me and had my case reported to the management of the firm. Consequently, I was sent on a 2-week suspension without pay. You can imagine not having your complete take-home pay because someone was trying to play God in your life. I began to sense that the handshake between my boss and I was beginning to get towards the elbow- it was an uncomfortable revelation. As a matter of fact,
I got home that day and wept like a woman whose heart was pummelled by a hammer-wielding lover boy."

He lifted the receiver once more and instructed the manager to add two crates of egg to the five chickens. I tried to express my gratitude but he waved it aside and continued. "The relationship between my boss and I was in a fast decline. It got to a point that my boss was recommending new staff for pay raise ahead of me. If this was as a result of performance, I wouldn't have bothered. But it was glaring that he did all those out of hatred towards me. I was actually threatened and had to be walked out of his office the day I went there to have a formal discussion on my issue. That was the last straw that fractured the camel's back. I walked in the next day and tossed my resignation letter across his desk. I will never forget the awe on his face. He didn't believe I was ever going to make a decision like that. He thought my life depended so much on the job that I would prefer suicide to quitting."

He concluded, "At the point of resignation, there was no plan whatsoever on what to do next. It was spontaneous and anger-driven more than it was purpose-driven. For the first week, I was actually worried if I made the right decision. For the next three months, I was on the streets searching for a new job. When I realized that the result I had desired was not forthcoming, I decided to make desperate changes for desperate times. I went online and read everything I could find about running a poultry farm. When I was sure that I had learned the basic things, I used a small corner in the village to make a poultry house. I started off with 200 chicks- this would increase to 300 and a little bit later, I was doing 500 capacity poultry. I was in a bar drinking with a friend about two years after starting the business when someone drinking with us in the bar mentioned the AGRIC LOAN SCHEME advanced by the central bank of Nigeria to small farmers. For those that think that the bar offers nothing meaningful, good things can actually come from 'Nazareth'. I made further inquiries thereafter and applied for the loan. Five years down the line, I became the owner of the biggest poultry farm in my local government. Presently, we have over 20,000 layers in my poultry. I thought my former boss had frustrated me into a mess but I realized he forced me into a pot of gold. I learnt that he lost his job 4 years after I left. But this is no longer my cup of tea. I resigned and moved on leaving him and the past behind."


REFLECTION
Difficult situations in our lives, much like difficult people, can drive us to something beneficial. It is a widely accepted fact that places of comfort don't offer fresh opportunities. Unfortunately, they are the places most coveted because of the comfort they offer. We live in them and forget the world that exists outside. However, when trouble looms, we are forced to dash out of it like a little mouse holed up comfortably in a dark hole. In every hard time we face, we must endeavour to seek the inherent benefits and grab them by the reins.

You could be going through some hard times in your office or workplace. I don't know how bad it could be. But I know there exist inherent benefits if you look hard enough.

For more:
https://anekearinzeblog.com