MY AWAKENING

                                     MY AWAKENING

© 2018                          CHIBU NDUBUISI                   WEEK 37    13/9/2018

                        “We live life forward but we understand it backwards”

Peace be upon you.

It was Rev Fr. Tom Tracy who decided to set up a library section at Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church Kano State to help develop a culture of reading and make the people informed greatly. I will forever remain grateful to him because while in secondary school at Zaria, Kaduna State, the school had a very good library but my interest in reading never soared until I failed my SSCE and had to re sit the examination at Kano. I had no option than to bend down and study hard. 

While visiting the library to study another event sparked up my interest. It was the discussion of unemployed graduates who always came to the library to study and look out for job vacancies that they are qualified to apply. This was in 2001.

They always had a break time and during this time, they discussed many issues ranging from politics, economy and other trending topic of that period. I was so much interested in their discussions but had no intellectual carrying capacity to engage with them on what they always discussed and as a result of this gap, I sought to upgrade and update myself hence, the passion and interest to read voraciously was developed. 

The fallout and unintended consequence of this process was that I became distracted from actually studying for my exams which in the first place was the reason for coming to the library.

 I started observing what the unemployed graduates read in the library and I became obsessed with the various subject of interest they were reading. 

I was introduced to opinions in Newspapers; I got to know various columnists in various papers like Edwin Madunagu, Dare Babarinsa, Ray Ekpu, Dan Agbese, Reuben Abati, Dele Sobowale, Kunle Ajibade and so many others.

I negotiated with the librarian and started making photocopies of so many articles to study. I went as far as negotiating with my Mother to always give the librarian free meal anytime he comes to her restaurant to eat. My mother obliged my request and this gesture cemented the bond between me and the librarian. 

The librarian further went in to the library archive to sort out more articles for me to consume based on the subject of my preference. I made photocopies of articles from these newspapers and magazines and consumed them voraciously and from these gourmets of ideas that I served myself, I went on to sit for SSCE and made my papers without any qualms. The quote from Jonathan Sacks vividly captures my experience that “Our dreams give us directions it is other people’s dreams that gives us opportunities”.

My Mother gave me the sum of 200 Naira stipends daily as allowance. From this money, I always saved to buy TELL Magazine and Sunday Vanguard Newspapers to read many insightful articles especially by Dare Babarinsa, Dele Sobowale, Douglas Anele and others. My sisters enjoyed reading Aunty Bunmi’s column in Vanguard and other love stories. I learnt how to write love letters and have a better understanding of the opposite sex from this exposure.

It was from these experiences and exposures, that I will later proceed to the University to study Political Science and the rest as they say is history. 

Many great minds have influenced me both locally and internationally, I appreciate Achebe, Chinweizu, David Brooks, Jonathan Sacks, and Lance Morrow. I have travelled through great empires of ideas and I am grateful for such experiences and exposures that contributed greatly to my Awakening.

From the Ashes of failure, a rebirth was made possible. I was introduced to something higher and I grew. The route to this very critical awakening was through the failure of my SSCE exams.

  I have since been exposed to so many ideas that have shaped me and kept me moving. In the Classic book “The Greatest Salesman in the World” OG Mandino notes that “The prizes of life are at the end of each journey not near the beginning. It is not given to me to know how many steps are necessary in order to reach my goal”. “Each misfortune I encounter will carry in it the seed of tomorrow’s good luck”.  

If your story resonates with mine, keep trying and realize that we don’t always get to choose how we die but we get a choice to choose how we live. I will live responsibly.

Hence, I will continue to try. I know I will succeed one day. 

Peace be with you.

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