Hey! Come here! Why do you clean the pond that way? I shouted from a distance.
Ade shrugged and continued with what he was doing.
While I turned my back I heard the sound of the fish in the ponds splashing water with their anal fin as usual when water is drained from their pond.
I got into the office and changed my brown top and jean trousers to short old jeans, looking ragged and then I put on a black short-sleeved shirt. These are my clothes whenever I am ready to work on the farm.
I started by supervising the hatchery section. There are plastic ponds and tarpaulin ponds too. The ponds have their outlets connected to a central outlet where all the water is channeled back into a reservoir.
Water from the reservoir would be tested with a PH meter and not get to be above or below 7. Then this water passes through a sieve with micro holes. Then a pressure pump is placed at the top of the tank with a pipe running through the tank’s sieve.
The pump takes water back to a secondary reservoir, and there is where the water gets treated with formaldehyde and activated charcoal. Then the water is released back into the pond for the fries.
This system made the farm work easier, but I would need to make sure there was a stable source of electricity in the hatching room. If not, a slight mistake might cost the lives of all the fish in the hatchery.
Immediately I noticed there wasn’t a running water flow through the tanks. I summoned all the workers in the hatchery section and reminded them of the risk from it. They all nodded in response to my words and promised they would be more careful onward.
Okay! That's good guys. You can all get back to work.
I left the hatchery section and headed straight to the rearing section where Ade was working. By the time I got there, I realized he was done with washing all of the ponds and also started changing their water.
Ade! Ade! Where are the remaining workers!? I asked with a frown face.
I don’t have any reason to smile at lazy workers when I will still have to pay their wages.
As they heard my voice they all rushed out from beneath the mango tree where they all relaxed, three of them were deep asleep and one of them was so concentrated on the movie he was watching.
Do you guys want to ruin this company? I asked furiously.
As they all made a lineup in front of me, their hands folded toward their back. Then they called Ade out of the pond and took him as a good example to others.
Only if you guys could work well and be as loyal as Ade, then we would even experience rapid growth in the company.
I expressed my speech as they all paid listening ears to their employer.
Together we can make this fish farm remain the best in the state and even make it to international standards. I said this so energetically, trying to boost their morale to work and have their loyalty. After which i got them dismissed to their various sections.
Ooh. My manager is there!
Good day sir!! Manager Sulaiman shouted from a distance.
I waved to him and gave him a thumbs up from a distance to keep up with his workers in the smoking section.
The 50,000 capacity fish farm produces about 200 tons of catfish over the year. With oven-dried catfish ready to be imported to neighboring countries like Ghana, Chad, Egypt, and others.
In the evening after all of the supervision, I had some online meetings to attend which I quickly did in my office for about three hours. Then it happened that the Catfish Association of Nigeria, A Nigerian-based association of catfish farmers decided to nominate someone to be elected as the chairman and also as an ambassador to other countries.
Three names were submitted, which I also picked a fellow I felt could perform the duty better. But to my surprise, when the voting was concluded, I realized my name took over 60% of the votes and the other candidates shared 40%. The gap was just too much.
I was happy on one end, and also concerned about how to cope with the additional stress. I have wanted to become a multi-billionaire through fish farming. But I wasn’t so prepared for the restless lifestyle I would encounter along the line.
I came outside from my office and then rang the bell to call the attention of all workers. They knew when the bell sounded there was either good or bad news. I was about to make the announcement when from a distance i heard someone shouting my name.
Alfa Qudus! Alfa Qudus! It's time for morning prayers. Oooh! That’s Abdul Hamid.
I wondered how he was forced to know about my farm. Not until he tapped me Leo hard till I woke up. And then I realized I was just daydreaming from the YouTube video I habe been watching on various large scale catfish farms in Nigeria.
