I can remember the moment that changed my life for good.
Mine happened when I went for a trip to my village years back. I went for my grandma's burial. And while I was there, I saw kids around my age. They were trekking down to the stream to fetch water. No electricity. Not even a good road.
Everyone was just struggling to survive. So one evening, while I stepped outside, I overheard my cousin calling a boy, a Chika out. That he dropped out of school because his parents were poor to afford his school fees. And chika was a very smart boy, but life had really dealt with him.
I can remember a boy called Isaac. I don't know what to say. He had big dreams, but it seems it was a spiritual attack, which we are serious to find out. So this might hit you hard, but I'm not trying to discourage you, but I thought, what if you don't make it? What if you could end up stuck in your life?
Or what if your situation ended up like Isaac's own? Or Chika's own?
That was my, I must make it in life. These people motivated me. So I've decided to work harder on myself. While I was growing up in Port Harcourt, I was taking things like school for granted. But seeing my cousin in reality at the village, I woke up. I decided I wasn't just going to hustle for myself but for my family entirely.
I decided to lock in and study very hard which led me to become an engineer. I want to build, I want to change the system. I want to invest in things that will change the world and people around me.
It's been a good journey although my first JAMB wasn't kind to me Yeah. But I kept on pushing. Now I'm almost in my final year trying to round up the university and about to sign up. I think when I finish, I will volunteer myself to a group teaching people in rural areas about some technical skills I've learnt while in school.
Every time I see their eyes light up, I remember Chika that was suffering and could not pay school fees. I remember Isaac that was battling with life and I said to myself, I cannot suffer like this and I will never have a poor in my life.
This moment gave me hope and purpose.
I would say entirely a life in Nigeria can feel like a daily struggle and battle. But remember this moment like this reminds us that we must keep fighting.