₦airaland Forum

My name is Chibuzor, Buzor for short, I'm once one of the numerous frustrated Nigerian graduates as the society would call us. But destiny has it way of re-writing my misguided and hopeless pathway, nevertheless sharing my story with you might help re-ignite the dying passion of a young person out there.

Immediately after my youth service corp, I traveled down to Abuja, as a young man full of dreams and aspirations I arrived Abuja in a high spirit, thinking my well polished phonee and my strong 2 1 would fetch me a nice job from big multinational company. Anayo ( Nayo for short )accommodated me in his one room self contain apartment, Nayo is a single man in His mid 30's, he is my village town's man. I was amazed that he accepted to accommodate me, a man that is not even my relative but he treated like his own very brother. Nayo is a very good man, he is a humble and a diligent Taxi driver. Any lady who is no materialism would be very fortunate to have him for a husband. Each I come back home lamenting about a failed job application, he comforts me, what a man he is ! So humble and full of wisdom. Walaai Nayo missed his calling, he will make a very teacher .

Hmmm now enough of Nayo the "Mr Nice guy", it is my story and not Nayo's. I sent my CV to virtually almost all the multinational companies and big establishments in Abuja but I got no positive response from them all. This left me devastated, I even applied for some mushroom companies (if you know what I mean) but it was the same report

" Thank you sir, we will call you soon"
" Sorry no vacancy"

Nayo has been responsible for all my expenses, my feeding, toiletries, pocket money and even my transportation. Most times i ask myself how much is Nayo even earning that he has to share his income with me. I really started getting so uncomfortable with the idea of depending on Nayo for my daily need,

"how can a graduate like me be a pest to a hustling man trying to survive"

Then i swallowed all forms of pride in me and I started doing menial jobs, at least to fed for myself and to take care of my daily needs. I got so much entangled into the menial jobs that most times forget that I'm a graduate, wow this reminds me of this saying that

" The environment most time goes a long way in framing up a man's ideology and lifestyle"

To cut the long story short, after living a stereotyped life for two years, working so hard and coming back home crashing like "Sosoliso airline" I choose to do something different. Something totally different from my everyday hustling, then I voluntarily joined a political party. O boy no time abeg, I automatically became a grass root politician, I started attending the political party I joined meetings.

In a matter of weeks i became very loyal and dedicated to the party, thank God they discovered my efforts early enough and immediately became their errand boy ( a graduate for that matter) . They started giving hand bills and posters of their presidential candidate to go past on every nuke and cranny of the capital city. The presidential candidate of the party happens to be the incumbent president at that point in time, to my surprise I became passionate about the service I'm rendering to the party. With the little stipends they give me each day for transport and a plate of food from "mama cash" restaurant, "Mama cash" who also happens to be a party of the same party, with that very little I was given to cover much areas around the capital city, baptizing each area I enter with the our political party campaign posters.

Nayo started looking at me as if I'm a freak, my obsession for this political issue was disgusting him. So one day he couldn't bear his rate of anger challenged me, speaking with the Nigerian pigeon English

" Oh boy come here, wetin dey worry you self ? You just dey mumu yourself up and down for this people wey no care say you dey exist self. You leave time wey you suppose to take dey make money to go dey mumu yourself for them say na work you dey work, Nonsense !"

( Young man come here, what is wrong with you, you kept fooling around with this people that doesn't even care whether you exist. You sacrificed the time you are supposed to be making money for them)

I smiled and pondered to myself a little, then I replied him with a popular American quote

" Don't look for what Nigeria will do for you, instead look for what you will for Nigeria"

Just before I finished my statement Nayo laughed out so loud, he sarcastically made another statement

" Oh ! a very good citizen but dying slowly in penury, wake up man !

He said that and left, I pretended as though the words were nothing to me, because there is no way I can escape thinking about those words sitting all alone at home. I decided to pick some of the posters I had and left, I continued my daily routine pasting the posters . This time around I decided to concentrate on the walls just in front of major roads, I was pasting the campaign posters with so much excitement and at the same time trying not to remember what Nayo said earlier in the day. As I was pasting the campaign poster, I suddenly heard horn repeatedly pressed to attract my attention. I was first exasperated at the disturbing car horn, so I turned back to look at the car disturbing my work flow. Wow I couldn't believe what I saw and I said to myself

" Who do I know in this area with such a magnificent and classy car like this"

So i moved closer to the car standing right behind the door with my head bent trying to get a glance at who the person is but it was a tinted car. The person in the car wind down the tinted glass window of the car, then the identity of the car owner was revealed

" Oh I can't believe it !
I have to clear my eyes twice to be sure if he really is the one I'm seeing
My people lo and behold it is the incumbent president of the federal republic of Nigeria. The very person i was pasting his campaign posters, President Olusegun Obasanjo ! Omg I was highly overwhelmed and shaky that day, meeting the president of the federal republic wow ! I tell you that event marked the turn around of my life.

In the services we render to the public lies the keys to unlock our hidden treasures. Start being passionate about that very thing (either big or small) you are presently doing that is beneficial to the public because you never will tell when the sun will smile at you.

Written by HerexG

www.herexg.