HOW I BOUGHT MY FIRST CAR AND STARTED LIFE FROM SCRATCH- Endurance Keyamo
Included in the pictures is the first car I bought in 2008 in Niger State during my NYSC. Let me quickly honestly say how I managed to raise 450k back then to buy this car (it was very new when I bought it. This picture was taken sometime in 2012 shortly before I sold it to my mechanic). I actually wrote a book (picture attached) during my NYSC and I successfully did the book launch and was able to raise money to buy the car. All my close friends are aware of this. I have even tagged some who served with me and others who know me very well.
Now, what is the point I am making here? Immediately after my NYSC, I had no job, or let me say I had no good job as I was just a teacher in a private secondary school (Himma International College, Minna, Niger State). I actually anticipated that after my NYSC, I may not have a job immediately hence I made efforts to buy a small car to do my personal transport business. So I would do my teaching job in the morning to afternoon, take small rest in the evening, and start my kabu kabu business from around 7 pm to 12 am every day. On weekends, I would run from Minna to Suleja and sometimes to Abuja. I did my kabu kabu business both in Niger State and Bayelsa State. So many people know this. Some of my friends still tease me by calling me a taxi driver till today and I am proud of it.
During this period, many of my coursemates and friends virtually mocked me and wondered why someone who graduated with a first class in economics would stoop so low to do kabu kabu business. I had a rich girlfriend then who even threatened to leave me if I never stopped doing taxi work. Of course, I didn’t listen to her. If she is reading this piece now, she knows herself. The fact is that I humbled myself because hunger does not respect first class or whatever class. Hunger na hunger. Much later, even when I picked up a better job and stopped my taxi business, I switched into being a DJ and MC. To my greatest surprise, as clean and lucrative as a DJ job, some still wondered why I would be doing such. Very funny indeed!
Long story short, many of my friends also had similar opportunities to mine but they felt too big to do them. They preferred to remain hungry and heap all sorts of blame on the government for their situation. I laid the foundation for my personal growth during those years and it helped me a lot. I am not saying that the government should not be responsible for our well-being but we have much role to play too. Some have rich fathers, brothers, sisters, or relatives and they think these persons owe them money. That’s not true. Let us learn to fend for ourselves especially when we are young.
Today, I may be much better but I don’t rest on my oars or depend solely on family. As youths, we should be introspective enough to look inward while we continue to charge the government to do better. If we think the government will come to our houses to put food on our tables, we might just be laying the foundation for poverty.
Youths should jettison pride and learn to do the basics. Except in exceptional cases, you can’t get all the big things immediately after graduation. You must grow from somewhere
Let us learn