😂Chapter One: The Boy Who Liked Numbers
Tunde Ajayi was just like every other small boy in Mushin, Lagos. His house was a one-room face-me-I-face-you. Rain used to enter from the zinc roof, and they used bucket to collect the water when it leaked. There was no generator, only candle and lantern. But still, Tunde was always happy.
His mummy sold akara in front of their house. Every morning, as early as 5:00am, the smell of hot oil and beans would fill the air. People would line up to buy. His mummy used to shout, “Tunde, go bring water!” “Tunde, turn the fire down!” “Tunde, help me calculate their change!”
Tunde was fast with change. If a customer brought ₦1,000 and bought akara worth ₦220, he would quickly say, “Take ₦780 change,” before anybody else even counted. Sometimes, older people would stop and look at him.
“You sabi quick count money o,” they’d say.
But it wasn’t just about money. Tunde liked numbers real ones, big ones, even the ones that didn’t make sense to other people. When children were outside playing ball or running around, Tunde would sit with chalk and a small wooden board. He would write:
2 x 4 = 8
50% of ₦500 = ₦250
₦100 + ₦300 = ₦400
People started calling him “Calculator Boy.” Even his mummy laughed and said, “Maybe you go be bank manager one day.”
But deep in Tunde’s heart, he didn’t just want to work in a bank. He didn’t even understand what he truly wanted yet. He just knew he loved numbers and somehow, those numbers were calling him to something big.
The Man in the Suit
One hot afternoon, something happened that changed everything.
Tunde was sweeping in front of the akara stand when a black car stopped. A tall man wearing suit and glasses came down. His skin was fresh, his shoe was shining, and he wore a wristwatch that looked like it could buy a whole street.
He came closer and said, “Good afternoon, madam. Let me buy akara and pap.”
While Tunde’s mummy was packing the food, the man looked at Tunde’s small chalkboard. He saw all the numbers written neatly on it.
He bent down and asked, “Who wrote this?”
Tunde looked up and said, “I did, sir.”
“You like numbers?” the man asked.
“Yes, sir.”
“Have you heard of Wall Street?”
Tunde shook his head. “No, sir.”
The man smiled. “It’s a place in America where people work with numbers every day. They buy and sell companies, money, and stocks. Maybe one day, you will work there.”
Tunde laughed, but that name Wall Street entered his head like a dream.
After the man left, Tunde kept whispering to himself, “Wall Street... Wall Street... Wall Street.”
That night, he couldn’t sleep. He kept thinking, "What is Wall Street? Why did that man say I might work there? Is it because I love numbers?"
He didn’t have a phone, so the next day, he asked his friend who used to go to the cyber café, “Please help me search ‘Wall Street’ on Google.”
The Dream Begins
From that day, something inside Tunde woke up. He started going to the café himself. He would carry ₦100 - ₦50 for browsing and ₦50 for transport. He used it to read online articles, watch videos, and look at pictures of men and women on Wall Street.
He saw pictures of people wearing suits, standing in big buildings with many computer screens. Some were shouting “Buy!” and “Sell!” while others were smiling after making plenty money. Tunde didn’t understand everything yet, but he could feel it this was what he was born for.
He didn’t know how or when, but one thing was sure one day, he too would wear a suit and stand on Wall Street.
Not to take a photo.
But to trade.
WAIT FOR CHAPTER 2 😂
