On a more serious note, whenever this thought pops up on my mind, I am always mindful of the fact that there were other vocations wherein people excelled at the time. After all, we had drummers, singers, blacksmiths, dancers, to mention but a few. Maybe I would/could have ventured into singing, after all I'm from a lineage of hunters and drummers, maternally.
Growing up, partly in the village, I had good friends who occasionally engaged in some side hustles just to put some change in the pocket. Great guys!
Despite the fact that we didn't have the luxury of working in retail stores or factories in the village at the time, the young boys worked on the farms as farmhands and earned legitimate bucks. I also wanted to earn few bucks legitimately and a very good friend sold the idea of working on a farm to me and I jumped at the offer.
How I looked forward to that moment. I didn't have the courage to tell my mum, a widow who did everything within her power to make me comfortable that I wanted to go and work as a farmhand on the farm of another so I lied to her that I was going to study in that particular friend's house and she didn't have any issue with that because she knew that we were both focused.
The D-day came and we trekked all the way. The task was not a friendly one at all. We were to make ridges for the man who hired us.
Omo!
I almost passed out. I think I managed to make less than fifty ridges and I just could not kill myself. There and then, I realised that I was not cut out for farming or even agriculture despite the fact that my dad ate and drank agriculture.
'Shebi' Baba Agric's father was a farmer now, mine was not. Out of magnanimity, my dear friend who is now an Archdeacon shared the fees earned with me equally, despite the fact that he did nine-tenths of the task. Poor guy, little wonder he ended up as a Man of God.
The interesting part of my story is that most of the guys who earned such legitimate bucks through the afore-stated means are doing very well in different sectors of the economy and nations of the world today. At the material time, Yahoo-yahoo was not an option. The question on my lips today is, "at what point did we miss it as a people and as a nation?"
On a serious note now, maybe I could have been a 'griot' (not like the one portrayed in that movie sha oh) or a drummer, hunter, or even an Ifa priest. After all, I am a product of all of these.
The interesting part of my story is that most of the guys who earned such legitimate bucks through the afore-stated means are doing very well in different sectors of the economy and nations of the world today. At the material time, Yahoo-yahoo was not an option. The question on my lips today is, "at what point did we miss it as a people and as a nation?"
On a serious note now, maybe I could have been a 'griot' (not like the one portrayed in that movie sha oh) or a drummer, hunter, or even an Ifa priest. After all, I am a product of all of these.
We missed it when people started focusing more on money money money and didn't care about having a good name.
ReplyDeleteEvery member of my family has one farm or the other but we do 5% of the job,it's usually contracted out.
DeleteI learnt as a kid that farming sustains a family and the harvest maketh one rich.
Pursue your career, earn the moola,invest in agriculture.
My mum never bought garri,tuwo shinkafa,palm oil, many vegetables and some stuff from the market till date.
Before 22years I had a farm in Emene - Enugu for crops,later expanded into poultry and bush meat farming. There are still diligent farmers but few. In Ogun state, I have too basically for cash crops.
It gives you criminal money mehn but first you get some electrified perimeter fence then still pay heavily on local vigilante services. They are good,if not the enemies of the night will show you shege.
Nigeria missed it when families started forming posh and retail outlets for grocery shopping became the new market.
Many felt it was needless growing their gardens and tilling their own soil instead of booking farm crops from commercialized suppliers.
Today Expenses is more than income in many families even when they have empty plots of land in their possession or as inheritance. They rather queue to buy a wrap of ugu leaves at N4,000 for vegetable soup than have it creep up the walls at their backyard. One soursop is N800 and avocado pear is also sold at N700, these people have empty lands but well?
🤷
Watch how many people online will rather beg for data or cash than sow seedlings in the bush next to their father's house. I got tired pleading and I gave up,their resources,their wastage. It's a failed system thing, the National Orientation Agency is doing nothing about it. Ministry of Agriculture has no awareness campaign ongoing.
Many agric seedlings blossom in a space of 6 to 10months but no,they prefer handouts.
It's a terrible situation.
Very insightful Xhlrted P.
DeleteI can sing. So I would have done well and made money as a singer and a dancer. LMAO
ReplyDeleteNice one again. A glimpse of the past. We need to go back to our core values as a people. The moment get rich quick by any means became the order of the day, our youths jumped on the train. They are only copying what they see their elders doing.
ReplyDeleteStarted when people choose being WOKE (stupid) to common sense..
ReplyDeleteWhen people thought that they're wiser than their forefathers..
When girls begin to argue about submission, 'equality' and feminism..
When men became lazy, being comfortable with a girl feeding them..
When we chose to copy the 'wrongs' of the western world (homosexualities,going naked, saying 'hey' in the morning instead of 'good morning' etc etc) but refusing to copy their good system (good education, hospital and road, the paying of your bills in dates, technological advancements and inventions etc etc)..
When being an hook up girl and yahoo boy is encouraged with the saying that no one should be judged or that we don't know their situation..
Later hook up babe and yahoo boy would give birth and pass on to them wack mentality..
The boys would become criminals, the girls big hoes and baby mama.. we all know how children from baby mamas turn out now (argue with your key pads), a woman can't teach a man how to be a man, a baby girl needs a father figure to put her in check..
SIMPing and weak men became encouraged too.. let a man cry, a real man cries, a real man buys iPhone for his girlfriend, a real man forgives cheating🙄🙄..
Then the ogapatapata of them all is our politicians.. they destroyed everything for selfish reasons, even up till now they still sponsor ethnic and religious division,. They steal and rub it on the youth faces by taking their girlfriends and all, these young boys seeing how nothing is done to these thieves too decide that stealing is the way to becoming a great man in this country..
Please name our billionaires that made their billions without stealing and corruption unlike abroad billionaires who can show you proves of how they made their monies
The truth is that at this point we are in, it would take hard work and a miracle for this country to be great again..
Blessings Sir K
Lol. You just shattered the table completely.
DeleteMy mom wasn't the farming type, she mostly didn't go with my father, but my father loved farming and the hard way sef, he enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteBut thanks to mom we escaped and considering we were mostly females my dad didn't push it
Some people naturally love farming. I had a girlfriend who farmed very well. Owns a big farm sef. Ain't just for me sha. I do admire them though.
DeleteWe missed it when we started shooting money rituals movies.
ReplyDeleteNice one sir
ReplyDeleteDante has scattered the table o but with lots of truth in it
ReplyDeleteMaybe Stella can do a post on how Nigeria missed it. Lots of interesting views from interesting beevees. We would all learn a lot. Many experienced and knowledgeable beevees visit this blog.
ReplyDelete