Many years ago when I was just a 200
Level student of English at the University of Abuja, I arrived home during one
of those short breaks we have after exams and noticed an empty 40ft container
had been dumped by the side of our house. Because I was curious about
this I went there from time to time to see what was happening in the container
because I saw men get in there to do some work to make it habitable perhaps,
for some purpose. After a few days the container looked different, maybe a
place I would have loved to hire for a study and rehearsal area but Oga Aliyu;
custom officer and owner would not rent to me. A week later, I noticed work had
commenced in the container; there were young boys whom I found out were brought
in from Kano to be useful to themselves I guess. They opened a local laundry
place where people brought clothes, some to be washed, some to be washed and
ironed. I liked the company of the boys whom I now visited frequently because
they hardly could speak even one word of English; maybe they only knew “Good
morning” and “fine”, the popular response to “How are you” only but for me I
saw them as that avenue to sustain the little Hausa
I acquired growing up, perhaps to also improve it. Of all these my
Kano friends, Ibrahim and I got really close. He was 14 years old at the time
and youngest amongst them. A day hardly went by that we did not see or speak
even when school eventually resumed.
Time passed and there was
another holiday this time a longer one because I was done with 2nd
Semester 200 level and came home to family and my Kano brothers. On my return,
I noticed some little changes in Ibrahim the moment I stepped into Maitama
again, this time he did not want to converse in Hausa, he tried mixing this
Hausa and English that did not make sense to me at all, I mean Hausa and Pidgin
and our conversing just never worked so we ended up getting back
to Hausa full time. One morning while I got ready to go see one of my
old Mentors, Barr. Austel Elumelu, Ibrahim cornered me and said, 'Chuka, please teach me English. I want to
go to school'. Honest, within me I laughed and I asked him, 'haba Ibrahim, ya
ya za mu yi wanan abu wanda kana tambe ni yenzu?' (Forgive my Written
Hausa) but it means 'Ha Ibrahim, how are we going to achieve this that you
have asked of me?' He said, he did not know but was willing to wash my clothes
and everyone's clothes in my house and iron them for free if I was willing to
help him learn. I was moved by his commitment to the point that same
evening, I went to some stacks of old books we managed to save from our burnt
book stores and got some old books for nursery one - Primary 2, queen Primer
and few others then we kicked off studies next day. In a week, Ibrahim had
grabbed a-z, 1 - 1000, A-Z, could combine 2 and 3 letter words. Gradually, we
spoke more of English than Hausa but I did not let him wash my clothes all the
time for free sha but I did enjoy the free perks sometimes.
A month into our programme, I wished
I was a teacher because Ibrahim, a mature Hausa guy who had never been to
school and I mean never, had improved so much to the extent that during one of
our lessons, he reminded me again, 'Chuka,
I want to go to school, I want to be like you.' I was not sure what to say,
I knew school was right because I loved education but I wasn't sure what this guy
could ever make of it since all I have been able to teach him were in
their preliminaries. But guys, you cannot tell what any seed could become
because this guy shocked me oh. Before school resumed for the next session,
Ibrahim told me he was going back to Kano, leaving the trade that made him dash
me money sometimes to go to school. I thought he was joking but he left before
I knew it; I woke up one morning with some clothes, I wanted him to wash for
free and all I got in response was a note; 'Thank you Uncle Chuka 4 evritin'
Well he tried to write something even though 'for was spelt as 4' and the
spelling of 'evritin' I did understand and with tears in my eyes, I
prayed that his dreams came true and then I went back to washing clothes
myself.
Years passed and I moved from
Maitama as a full-fledged bachelor but never forgot Ibrahim because I always
asked from the Custom's man how he was doing. All I heard was fine and nothing
else. One day, Ibrahim called me from the blues, he did not lose my number and
he said, 'Uncle Chuka, am getting into J. S1' and I asked how it
happened and he said he took exams and started from Primary 2 or so and other
gist and we left it there. Some years later, Ibrahim called me again and said
he was getting into the polytechnic, I was flabbergasted and wondered more
what God was doing in the life of this guy and what he was also doing with
himself but I wished him well. Now see the shocker that inspired this.
Few days ago, I was sitting in one
of our businesses; RAPID EXPRESS LOGISTICS LIMITED working on some
manuals with a friend when I received an SOS (important text) and it read 'Dear
Uncle Chuka, good afternoon. I hope you are fine, Ebele, Emeka, Mummy and
Everyone. I am sorry to bother you now because I am aware of the condition of
things in the country but please I need even as much as 2,000N (N means Naira I
guess) to manage for some days because I am broke. I will be grateful for your
assistance. Ibrahim. Hmmmm, I read this message over 10 times and
immediately made a call to the number and it was my friend and brother;
Ibrahim. Nothing made my feeling better that evening, nothing made work
simpler, I was impressed, happy, proud and anything you can think of reading
from that guy and speaking with him who still had Hausa accents but
good spoken and written English. I sent him 5,000 Naira and asked him to keep
in touch because I know this man inspires me to also reach for dreams I have
pushed somewhere down the drain. Just check this out; from not even a single word in
English (Hausa only) to OND holder because he saw beauty in Education from a 200
level student of English. CHOI - I marvel.
My former MD, used to have a saying "When
a Child lifts his hands up, he will be carried or lifted higher". My
message for you today and for us as a nation; Nigeria that gets older is, Inspire
someone today! Be among those who can lift people up, they may never be able to
give you anything tangible in return but you will know fulfilment and you, our
families, our nation and world will be a better place.
SO, WHO WILL YOU INSPIRE
TODAY?
From me and the team at Jewel
Publishers, we wish fellow Nigerians, Happy Independence day, all men and women
a lovely October 2017.
Remember the place for your Graphics
Design, Printing and Publishing Service is Jewel Publishers - 08033615992,
jewelswriting@gmail.com
