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Chapter Thirteen Little Beginnings – Preparing for a graduation ceremony in Nigeria is sometimes likened to a wedding ceremony, especially if the child happens to be the first graduate in the family. At times, news need not be announced before being heard. With the howling of the wing and the breeze blowing, one can interpret the moment.
Spending years at any Nigerian university prepares you for more challenges in life. These days’ graduates wished for days when education was at its peak and when jobs were readily available upon the completion of one’s study.
But now it involves the survival of the fittest, where one has to struggle against thousands in the workforce. In those days, you did not need to tell anyone that you were a graduate before realizing that you were.
But these days, it is quite difficult to distinguish between the educated and the uneducated, as they both do the same job, think alike, achieve the same result, and depend on the same thing—the government.
The day finally arrived, and indeed, it was a memorable and wonderful day to forever remember. Temidun invited two other friends upon her sister’s request and coordinated the success of the event. She ensured that everything Taiye and Kehinde needed was readily available. Aside from being the first graduate in one’s family, there are other things a child can do to make the family proud, and that includes performing excellently well.
Taiye and Kehinde had made their parents proud by graduating with first-class honors from the University of Lagos. The twins had commonly been referred to as ‘’twins with brains’’ on campus.
They all comported themselves well so as not to feel the absence of their father, whose term got extended due to the fight that broke out in the cell, which apparently led to the death of one of the prisoners. Baba Ibeji had made it clear that he had been victimized. Since there wasn’t much evidence to disprove his words, he got an extension of three months.
The twins’ performance was captured in the newspapers, and they were also given the privilege of either going overseas for a master’s program or resuming immediately as managers in one of the leading organizations in Nigeria.
Also Read CHAPTER TWELVE LITTLE BEGINNINGS
Temidun advised them to take their time and choose the most reasonable option.
“Opportunities are not common because they are not meant for everyone. With deep conviction in her heart, she explained to them that when you realize that an opportunity is meant for you, grab it.”
‘’I want you to know that before I left the village, it took me a while. I would have left for Lagos before Aunty Mi, but I hesitated. A woman had come to the village to take some girls to the city, promising that they would get a good education and also be well taken care of. She promised to help convince Baami and Maami, but I was not persuaded by her words, and at that moment I realized that the opportunity was not meant for me, and so I told her no.’’ After gulping the cold water Iya Ibeji brought to her, she continued, ‘There was a girl who left with other girls for the city. She was my friend, Olajumoke. For two years, no one heard from Olajumoke, not even her parents.
“There was no means of communicating with her after she left for Lagos. The address she left for the people in the village was counterfeit. Not until the third year was Olajumoke’s body found in another village. The information had been passed that the woman popularly called Aunty Oyinbo was a fraudster and was also wanted for child trafficking.”
With tears in her eyes, Temidun continued her story to the twins, who sat with solemn attention. ‘’One thing I remember vividly was that Olajumoke told me that Aunty Oyinbo was the only opportunity for her to travel to the city. She was unaware that another opportunity would present itself to her. ” ‘’Only if she had waited,’’ Temidun sighed. ‘’She could have been the one in Lagos today instead of me,’’ she said.
‘’ Jide, my husband was a friend to Olajumoke’s fiancé, who had left the village years before Aunty Oyinbo came seeking girls. He had promised to come for Olajumoke when things worked out. He had contacted her through a mutual friend, who updated Olajumoke on his progress. But for some time, Olajumoke didn’t hear from him.
She waited for a while and later concluded that her fiancé had forgotten about her. Upon her departure to Lagos, she had promised to find her fiancé. A few months after she left for Lagos, her fiancé arrived, but Olajumoke was not around to welcome him’’.
‘’He arrived late for her but early for me because he came with a friend who developed an interest in me and promised to take good care of me.’’ She said she was smiling. ‘’He married me,’’ Temidun attested to the twins. ‘’Ejire, when Jide came to me, I realized it was an opportunity designed specifically for me and not everyone, and so I went for it.’’ ‘Today,’ Temidun continued, ‘’I am glad I accepted the opportunity.’’
‘’Be patient and see if this opportunity is for you or not. If it is for you, don’t hesitate. And if it is not for you, let it go, knowing that a better one will come.’’ She concluded with a pat on their backs.
