By,
Hashim Muhammad Suleiman, PhD
mshashim@abu.edu.ng
Almost all of us that grew up in areas and lungus have lots of stories to tell about the negativities we had to endure simply because faith had it on us that we had to further our education. Many of us were from very modest background with no any sponsor for our educational pursuits. What more, we grew up in the mist of hundreds of people that saw no value in Western education. To negate us, we were given names for differentiation and possible excommunication.
At a very young age, I was named “Hashimu Chinedu” by my peers and even those that were above me. We also had to endure many cynic looks and choruses of “ƴan makarantar bokoko; ba karatu, ba sallah; sai yawan zagin malam.” Another differentiation was also to see your peers spending money to buy hanjin ligidi, bilkodi, gullisuwa, halakakobo, garin-biɗiɗis and other childhood fantasies that you weren’t able to afford because while you went to school, your peers went to market for menial jobs that made them to afford those luxuries.
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Even while you sprouted through junior and senior secondary schools, the trend continued. Then your peers have graduated from menial jobs to ownership of trading shops, taking perishable foodstuffs to Kudu and other money making businesses. Yet, you couldn’t afford even as simple as baggie jeans because you were still a student. You cannot even dare follow your peers to go to taɗi in the night because you had nothing to give to those girls. Kuma ba a zuwa taɗi a banza.
Indeed, by the time you are able to secure admission into tertiary institutions, your peers, one after the other were settling into raising families. One once told me: “Kai kake neman ABU, mu ABU (aure bautan Ubangiji) muke yi.” Indeed, the challenges and negation were much even though you’ve earned nothing other than books, worn-out clothes and overused shoes. Yet, we trudged on, failure would have been catastrophic; after spending the best part of your life going to school and knowing that many people from your lungus were waiting for you to fail so that you’ll be used as an example of boko ba abun yi ba ce.
Congratulations, you’ve graduated, awaiting to be mobilized for the mandatory one year NYSC scheme. Then gradually, contempt and negation began to shift gear into jealousy. “Kai ku rabu da shi, ai shi nan sai yaci da biro. So yake ya zama ɓarawon gwamnati. Baya ganin kowa da mutumci idan ba wanda yayi boko ba. Mu da muka ga ƙarshen biro, a gaya mana boko?” In fact, immediately after my NYSC, while juncating with files and photocopies to look for job, a neighbour, just two houses away from our family house, said it to my face: “ai wahalar banza kake yi, indai boko ce, kayi wahala kurun, ba abun da zata tsinana maka. Kuma muna nan muna jiran ka.” And, he is still waiting.
Then your first job with slavish salary comes. That’s when Hell would be let loose on your head. All of a sudden, the lungu elders realized nasu ya samu aiki, bari su zo su samu rabon su.” Your monthly pay wasn’t up to a weekly pay. Yet, that’s when you become more hated. The pay can’t feed you well without careful planning but the elders want you to cut soap for them. Soap that they swore you won’t see.
As time went by, the God you serve and your 20+ years of education began to manifest in better jobs and better pay. You settle down with a new family and possibly a Tokunbo car. Oh la la, you’ve opened the gates of torrents. Your childhood peers with 2 to 3 wives and 10+ children begin to see you as a friend they need. “Kudin makarantar yara, iyali ba lafiya, gida babu abinci.” You obliged to one and 5 rush in. You now realize you have to put a break to their request on your single source of livelihood.
Then another chapter. “Ai ɗan boko ne; daga shi sai matar shi; baya taimako.” How can one with a salary of N100, 000 a month be able to satisfy the wants of ten peers, lungu elders and even his relatives? Since you are ɗan boko, no one wants to reason with you. It is either you kowtow to their demands or you get labelled: either way is not a way.
But then, as ɗan boko, it is not in you to fight your childhood peers. You have to find ways of managing their demands and small talks. As for those from a far, you let go of their small talks and concentrate in making your tomorrow better than your yesterday. Knowing fully well that you’ve come a far that the talks of lungu elders are a necessity steps you climb to move higher. You have to thank your peers and the lungu elders because their cynical talks forced you to work your ass up into success.
Indeed, if you’re economically stable enough, this sallah period you should surprise some of those lungu elders with kayan sallah. If you’re not stable enough like university lecturers whom this government has withheld their salaries for two months now, get some of your kaftans that look like new, wash them, iron them and surprise those lungu elders with them. Chances are that, throughout this sallah period, they may be positively praying for you before they relapse back into their old selves. Do that and thank me later.
Better still, continue to see reasons to appreciate your history, even if there were bitter anecdotes in it. That’s the way of the learned who have endured zaman aji.
Allah ya karɓi ibadun mu.
