GOATS, PERIWINKLE AND FRUITS BASKET

 

I was thinking this morning.... I was at Lagos Business School (LBS) this past week for training. The resource person, while talking to us about business models, highlighted the challenges faced by small businesses and what many poor Nigerians do to survive. He talked about some persons who now go to butchery to collect bare bones, saw them, and use them for cooking just to have the taste and flavour of cow meat in their soup.

We were still reflecting soberly and 'jejely' when one of the participants jumped in to tell us of his experience. He said he once observed a man washing the beards of a goat. He was curious and asked the man why he was doing so, and the response by the man was that he wanted to use the water to cook okro soup. That since he can't afford to buy goat meat, at least he can smell goat in the okro soup.

While the class erupted in laughter and some said it was a classic cock and bull story, the message was not lost on us. Having mentally taken us to the shanties of society's poorest and humblest, it was time for a site visit to the playground of the rich and famous, Lekki.

We got a first glimpse of money as we drove in our bus towards Lekki. As we slowed down at an intersection, we observed some area boys run to this luxury vehicle ahead of us. The person inside brought down the side glass and threw out a bunch of crisp dollar notes to area boys. Omo. See levels!

We were still discussing the contradiction as we got into Lekki. We drove through Periwinkle Empire, touted to be the destination of billionaires, and finally entered through a gate and another till we got to a waterfront piece of real estate. From that location, we were shown 5-Cowries island, Banana island, Orange Island and if you wish, throw in Coconut Island. All locations being limited pieces of real estate with plots selling from one billion naira. The cool breeze swaying the royal palm trees in different direction gave the estate a luxury steez that reminded me of Beverly Hills in California.

Chai! I imagined the difference between the man washing the beards of a goat to cook okro soup and the man eating periwinkle and fruits on an island, and recalled a wise man said that life is not a result of circumstances, but a product of decisions. Your circumstances don't make you. Your decisions make you. Proverbs 13:15.

Stay hopeful. God's got our back.

Happy Sunday!

......Just the thoughts of a certain Wey Mey