This is a typical story of an African male child who although trying his best not only for himself but for his family, seems never to get it right.
Is it a curse or is the world just against his kind?

Emeka was just an African male child like any other from a poor background in society. Seeing that his parents could not really afford to give him a good proper education and take care of his other siblings, he decided to go work for his uncle. In this part of the world, leaving your parent’s house to go work for a relative is a form of an apprenticeship program in which one will be settled as agreed upon by the relative (usually an uncle or aunty) upon the completion of his apprenticeship. Settlements can come in various forms. The Superior can choose to give the apprentice money to open a shop or the superior himself establish another shop for his apprentice. This program is usually a thing of pride that comes with many expectations.

Emeka like any other considerate and hardworking young man hoping to make a way for himself and his family in an unfavorable society left Lagos after high school in search of greener pastures in the east. He was to tend his uncle’s automobile spare parts shop.
But it is said, “the only place where a man is truly king is his home. When he steps out in search of daily bread, he automatically becomes a commoner who begs, weeps, is insulted, and sometimes humiliated and humbled”. This was Emeka’s situation the minute he stepped out of his parent’s house in search of a greener pasture. He knelt down before lesser men and was demeaned by clients. All these he took in undignified but internally proud knowing that it is by his submission that bread is guaranteed for his family in the future. For him, submission was a matter of survival.

His submission did not go unrewarded. In a short period of time, his uncle’s shop experienced success like never before. With Emeka’s submission tactics, customer satisfaction increased, and usually in any line of business, a happy customer is a returning customer. 3 years down the line, his uncle’s shop became one of the top shops in town that deal with automobile spare parts. His uncle became more influential and benevolent as he was invited to almost every gathering or get-together in town.

It was time for Emeka to be settled after working for his uncle for 5 years, his uncle started finding faults and reasons not to settle him claiming he has been incompetent. This is a common phenomenon. Superiors in order to avoid settling the apprentice usually come up with allegations against him or her. These allegations are usually based on accusations of theft and shop mismanagement. But this was not the case of Emeka because he was as diligent and honest as one could be.

Disappointed and powerless, Emeka left his uncle’s shop back to his parents in Lagos with nothing but his tail between his legs. This was the kind of heartbreak that could send any mother to her grave early. Her son’s effort wasn’t only wasted, he was also known as a thief in town. A title one doesn’t recover from in a lifetime.

But every man has the right to chase his dreams and his mother understood this when she asked him what he wanted to do with his life going forward. Emeka realizing that education will only be a burden to the family opted to do business. He told her he rather start a small business in order to support the family from time to time rather than go to school and be relying on the family for fees. His mother, understanding that his decision was thought through and the best for the family, gathered all the money she had saved and collected from friends and gave it to Emeka to start a business. Emeka knowing the gravity of the mother’s gesture relocated back to the east determined to make it on his own this time around.


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https://beheardd.com/2021/07/05/the-african-male-child/

More like the sacrifices of a child born into a poor home.

If his parents had the means, his life would not be like that.

I am sure millions of African boys cannot relate to Emeka.

If you do not properly diagnose a situation, you can't resolve it.

bukatyne:
More like the sacrifices of a child born into a poor home.

If his parents had the means, his life would not be like that.

I am sure millions of African boys cannot relate to Emeka.

If you do not properly diagnose a situation, you can't resolve it.

What do you about being a boy?

bukatyne:
More like the sacrifices of a child born into a poor home.

If his parents had the means, his life would not be like that.

I am sure millions of African boys cannot relate to Emeka.

If you do not properly diagnose a situation, you can't resolve it.

If talk about "child" then why are most young ladies from poor background involved in prostitution "runsgirls" especially in universities??