Diary Of A Lagos Dad – Rainy Season
I got to the office very early. During rainy season I made it a point of duty to leave a bit earlier so that I could get to work on time irrespective of what the roads may be like. It was unfortunate that after several decades, the roads were still in a deplorable state and that we had to maneuver through the slush and pot holes to get to our destinations. I sighed loudly. It was very early and I had got a little rain on my jacket while walking into the building. I talked to myself about using the hand dryer to get rid of the moisture before it sipped in.
As I dropped my brief case on the table a weird feeling came over me. I felt another presence in the room. I had not switched the lights on because I was so accustomed to the room, I could move around in the dark. I stood silent for a moment and listened. There was certainly someone else in the room. I could hear breathing. I switch on the lights, and saw, at the far corner, a young lad dressed for school. He was asleep. A quick glance around the office, none of my colleagues was in yet, whose child was this? Surely, this chap could not have spent the night in the office.
As I made to take a closer look at the lad, he woke up. He seemed to have been sleeping a while. Before I could speak, one of the security personnel came into the room. “Good morning Sir”; he said to me; and then addressed the lad; “Shina, wake up, the rain has stopped; you have to be on your way”.
The lad got up, greeted me in the Yoruba traditional manner and straightened out his uniform. His father apologized for leaving the boy in the office, but explained that they had left home quite early and my office was the only one that had been cleaned at their arrival. His school was a few blocks away from the office and with the rainy season weather it was better for the lad to be early rather than late. I nodded my approval and looked at the young chap. He seemed well mannered. Quite amazed that a security guard could afford to that sort of education, the father informed me that his son had won a scholarship. He was quite a brilliant young man. The lad spoke and carried himself very well. His father smiled with pride.
I was quite impressed. I thought about my children; I wondered if they knew how much their education cost and appreciated it. I wondered if they might work hard enough to earn a scholarship to show their parents that they did take their education seriously. Here was a young lad, who had obviously got it right. From a humble background, he definitely was not going to let that stop him. I walked over to my desk and brought out my check book. I wrote an amount that I thought was sufficient and handed it over to the lad. I encouraged him to continue to work hard and asked that he accept my gift as a contribution to his university education. The boy fell prostrate to the floor and proceeded to thank me in the Yoruba language. He got up and handed the check to his father who also thanked me.
As I settled in, I promptly went on the internet to find out what scholarship programs were out there. It wouldn’t hurt to challenge my kids. Just to see if they would go the extra mile to get an even better education. Who would have thought? Sometimes when rain falls it brings with it a different kind of blessing.
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