Life itself has a lot of shades. The shade it gives to Jude is not the same shade it throws to Mark. People struggle now and then just to make ends meet, just to provide for their families and give them the best. People engage in different choices of careers like being a doctor, an entrepreneur, a lawyer, content creators, and many more. But this is not just the only choice or way of making money or becoming someone in life. Did you forget to mention the bus drivers, bean cake sellers, the keke napep drivers, or even the okada riders and a lot of others? Do you know they work to make ends meet? Do you know they make money too? Have you ever looked down on them as being poor?
Put a stop to it if you always look down on this set of people. They are human beings and they make money. This is their own shade of life to make it and they are doing it with joy. On my way to work one day so elated and high in the spirit. I guess I was hyperactive and so was the keke driver conveying me to the bus stop.
PC: Shutterstock
A discussion started between the driver and a passenger about the high cost of keke napep (tricycle) and hire purchase now compared to 2 – 3 years ago. I got so interested in the conversation that I became a good listener. The driver continued speaking highly about the business and how some people are not relentless even with the high cost of sale or high purchase of keke napep. He buttressed that with focus and consistency you would make the money even if the keke napep is on hire purchase.
Wow! I listened further. He told his story of how he started the business when the keke napep was at the cost of N250, 000 then he got the tricycle on hire purchase and he was focused on making it. During his early process of starting the business, he made a lot of wrong moves that the touts on the road and policemen kept charging at him and he always paid to get freed. Some days he got angry and frustrated that he would go home to rest and resume later while some other days he grumbled and cursed them but continued with his work. After completing his payment on hire purchase, the keke napep became his and he added more zeal and became more focused. Along the line, he bought another keke napep and gave it to someone to expand his business.
I saw a zealous man who is willing to make a living for himself and his family. The keke driver spoke about how he has used his business to keep paying rent in Lagos for his family, and how he has built a house in his village. Yes, you heard right, a house in his village. I know what you are thinking now 🤔. Let me confirm your thoughts for you, he is from the Igbo tribe. He also spoke about the hitches they face with the touts and their collections on the road.
The story did not end here because he served a well-balanced diet while driving us to the bus stop that morning but I had to go to work and not drive around. If he was conveying us to a farther distance, the story would have continued because he seemed to have a lot to give out.
I was so happy and delighted to hear his story. It is a source of inspiration to me and everyone out there struggling or/and trying to make ends meet. It pays to be focused and have zeal in life. Let’s encourage each other and not look down on anyone.
Šoul Momentš 