By G9ija
Please i put up this post basically because of my elder brother. I sincerely want to know if i was wrong talking to him, or I could have just let him be. I wasn’t myself ever since i talked to him, and i was somewhat having guilty conscience since then.
I have an elder brother, he’s 38 years old and also the first son. I am the fourth child in the family of five. The second child is a female and she’s married. We lost our third child, that’s my immediate elder brother some years back, while i have a younger brother. I came from a humble background. Lost my dad while i was in JS 3, even before his death we had been hustling on a daily basis for survival, and we live happily as one big family. My mother, siblings and i do hawk daily before we could eat. All thanks to public school in Lagos, my family wouldn’t have had the opportunity to basic education. We hawk daily after school, weekdays and weekend. My family was bred and brought up in Ajegunle.
Few years after the demise of my father, we struggled to pay house rent. We had to leave Ajegunle to a local and developing area. I didn’t allow my family conditions deter or weigh me down. Never! I believe I’d make it in life legitimately without venturing into crime, fraud, theft etc. After my secondary school, i was into all sorts of labour work. I worked in factory, building site, cleared bushes, laundry man , just to save up and further my education. I worked for 6 years after my secondary school, bought a bike from the little savings i had and proceed to school through jamb. I gave the bike to someone who often deliver #6,000 weekly for the upkeep of my family. I was in year 2 when i let go of the bike, it was on a higher purchase and the agreement we have had elapsed. I hustled my way through school and graduated. I’m done with service last year but couldn’t land a job, probably due to my age. I’d be 29 this year and most graduate trainee often request for age below 28. Although, i had a 2.1. I’m only managing in a pure water factory to make ends meet, keep soul and body together and support my family
I sat my elder brother down and talked to him. He has been hustling like every other person in the family but i don’t understand what’s happening. He didn’t futher his education nor learn a handwork. He’s 38 but still live under his parents roof. He has been doing conductor work for many years. The family had talked to him several times to look for something else. It’s fine you are hustling as a man for survival but doing conductor for many years without thinking of what else to do is wrong. A family friend of ours who later got to know what he does for a living had advice him also.
The bus he was following, the driver had misunderstanding with the owner and he collected his bus back. My elder brother had been idle for months, doing nothing. He claimed he has gone virtually everywhere in search of bus he could be working with but couldn’t get any. This is a family that we all had to bring something no matter how little to survive. I was talking to him as a younger brother. I asked him why didn’t he heed to people’s advice when they were advising him then to stop the conductor work and look for something to learn, if perhaps he doesn’t want to further his education? He doesn’t believe in Nigeria education, because he could count graduates without job or those with petty job. My elder brother wear almost rag as clothes. I had to give him some of my little wears I’m managing. He has just one slippers. We don’t wear same size of shoe or sandals, we could have been sharing that also. He sold his phone to feed sometime ago and had been without phone. I was initially saving to get my mum a small phone but i had to give him the phone instead.
He was crying when i was talking to him. I understand the situation of things in the country, which i myself is going through. I was just trying to know what other things he could come up with. I am not happy seeing him sitting idle doing nothing. The fact that he’s the first son and found himself in this condition at that age breaks my heart daily. My mum had been so worried about his condition. I had to convince her that things will be better. I don’t want her to develop high Blood Pressure that could lead to her untimely death