The bus to Enugu was filled with the smell of palm oil and sweat and people who wanted to make a life for themselves, There Chukwuemeka had been sitting in the bus for four hours, it was still parked at the Onitsha motor park.
A woman in the back of the bus shouted "When will this bus move?" A lot of people agreed with her.
The driver, a man named Cosmos, stuck his head out of the window and spat on the ground, " Madam the bus will move when God says it is time to move" he said.
Chukwuemeka could not Smile , he was twenty-six years old, he was holding a big envelope on his lap, The envelope had an important letter inside and It was from the University of Nigeria Nsukka, A full scholarship for a master's program in agricultural science, His mother was very happy when she heard the news, she had cried for two days straight ,His father did not say anything, that letter meant a lot in their house.
The man sitting next to Chukwuemeka moved a little, He was a man of maybe fifty years old, he had a face that looked very patient, he was wearing a kaftan and he had a small leather bag with him.
"Are you going to Enugu?" the man asked Chukwuemeka.
"I am going to Nsukka" Chukwuemeka said" The bus has to go through Enugu first".
The man nodded his head slowly. "Are you going to school?" he asked.
"Yes" Chukwuemeka said quietly,"I am going for my masters degree" He did not want to say it loudly because he was afraid it might not happen.
The man said "That is good" Then he held out his hand "My name is Mallam Garba" he said. "I sell cattle, i have been doing this for thirty years".
Chukwuemeka shook the man's hand "My name is Chukwuemeka" he said.
Mallam Garba looked at the envelope in Chukwuemeka's hand, "What will you do with this degree?" he asked.
Chukwuemeka had thought about this a lot, He had told his family and friends that he wanted to help farmers grow food.. when Mallam Garba asked him he felt like he had to tell the truth.
"Honestly" Chukwuemeka said "All my friends are working in banks or oil companies, they make a lot of money, they have nice cars, I kept thinking about my grandfathers farm, he used to grow food on a piece of land and he could feed our whole family, nobody does that anymore, we have to import food from other countries when we should be growing it ourselves".
Mallam Garba did not say anything for a moment, there was a lot of noise outside the bus, someone was arguing with a conductor, A child was crying and Music was playing from someone's phone.
Then Mallam Garba spoke, "People thought I was foolish when I left my town to buy and sell cattle" he said, "My father wanted me to be a teacher, My uncle had a job for me, I saw an opportunity and I took it". He tapped his leather bag, "I have been doing this for thirty years. I have sent four children to university, I have built two houses.. It is all because I did not do what everyone else was doing".
The bus started moving,everyone cheered, the driver was happy as hee revved the engine.
As the bus moved Chukwuemeka felt better, he had been worried about what people would think of his decision to study agriculture, Now he felt like he had made the right choice.
"My father thinks I am wasting my time" Chukwuemeka said, "He thinks agriculture is not a business".
Mallam Garba looked at him, "What do you think?" he asked.
The road was open, the bus was moving fast, there were palm trees on both sides of the road.
"I think Nigeria cannot eat oil" Chukwuemeka said.
Mallam Garba laughed, he was really happy, he clapped Chukwuemeka on the back.
"Remember that" he said. "When things get tough remember what you just said".
Chukwuemeka held the envelope tightly, looked out of the window, he did not know what would happen, he was ready to try.
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