Selling a Bad Product

My car got stolen in May 2011, someone then called me and offered me a BMW 5 series to manage until I could save enough money to buy another car. I was overwhelmed by the offer; I prostrated so many times thanking this kind man who saw my pain and decided to offer me some succor. Little did I know that the man parked that car in his compound for a reason, I had never seen him drive it. He always took public transportation and he had no other car. I should have asked deep questions but I was desperate and I fell for the Greek gift.

This BMW 5 series was a nightmare from day one. It was consuming fuel the way a crocodile consumes fish, it was always having mechanical and electrical issues. I ended up spending all my salary on keeping this car on the road. My salary at the time was about 30,000 Naira a month and the car consumed 1,000 Naira fuel a day as I drove it to Anthony village from Ketu Ikosi, this means I spend 30,000 Naira a month on fuel. Apart from the fuel consumption issue, the gear was bad and I had to get a mechanic to look at it at least once a week. This is apart from other faults.

By the time I had driven this car for three months, I was flat broke and indebted to all the good people around me. A liability does not only cripple you, it cripples those who are emotionally invested in you too. They will pitch in to help you in your time of trouble and as a result, their hard-earned money will go down the drain too.

The wise thing to do was to park the car or sell it off. A friend suddenly called me and said he had found a BMW specialist mechanic who would take away all my pains and solve all my troubles. Against my better judgment, I decided to give the car one more shot at redemption.

The mechanic came and took it away, he worked on the engine and the wiring. His work took about one month. When he was done he gave me a bill of 100,000 Naira, I rallied around and paid. Then I went to his workshop to pick up the car, the workshop was at a mechanic village in Ikeja. I drove it home. The journey took thirty minutes, as soon as I parked it and started walking towards my flat, I heard the car engine starting itself I mean “Taaaayum, yum, yum, yum” over and over again and the car was jerking forward by itself without a driver in it. The key was in my hand I was shocked what was going on? Then I saw the smoke, white smoke coming out of the bonnet, the engine was on fire! Now the bonnet of the car opens awkwardly backward.

Neighbours and other drivers in the community saw what was going on and rallied around to get fire extinguishers, sand and soapy water from all over. They did what they could and extinguished the fire. I just stood transfixed and watched the show. At a point, I started laughing hysterically, It was quite a sight to see, of course that was the last straw for me.

I decided I was done with the car; I called the mechanic and told him what had happened he sent a tow truck and the car was taken away. I was done! I was so done that I made up my mind that the mechanic could keep the car, I didn’t ever want to see it again.

A week later, the mechanic called me that he was done with the car and this time he said my bill was 30,000 Naira. I was so broke and indebted that I couldn’t even imagine where I would get that kind of money from. I told him I would come around soon to pick the car up.

Two days later, a man I didn’t know from Adam came to my office to ask of me. After we had greeted each other, he said he wanted to find out about my BMW car, I asked why. He said he wanted to buy it, he had seen me drive it to work and admired me in it. He wanted to know if I would be willing to part with the car for 100,000 Naira.

It was a tempting offer but I knew the man would curse me all the days of his life if I took the offer.
I told him he could have the car for free, he started thanking me I told him not to. I said all he had to do was pay the mechanic what I owed him and the car was his. He still thanked me, I called the mechanic and told him this man would come to pick up the car. The mechanic took his number, they met and he got the car. I saw the car on the street of my office the next day, the man had bought a lot of car accessories and decorated it to a T. I chuckled to myself as I pitied him in my heart. He should have saved the money for the storm that I was so sure would overtake him soon.

One month later, I met him on the road as I was walking to the office I jokingly asked him where the car was. He looked at me, shook his head and said “That car almost took my life, I have left it with the mechanic. “Enough is enough”

PS: A bad product is difficult to sell. A good person does not try to sell a bad product to others. When a good person or good people try to sell a bad product willingly, they betray the fact that they are evil on the inside. Kamala was a bad product, those who tried to sell her too. American people are all bad people and we should be wary of them. She dodged all the difficult questions, avoided interviews, flip-flopped through all the issues and policies, relied heavily on the testimony and endorsements of others. She couldn’t defend her candidacy, she couldn’t protect her legacy, she couldn’t talk without a teleprompter. She was not democratically chosen through a primary election which would ensure only the best her party had to offer was placed on the ticket. She refused to talk to the press for almost 50 days after she was crowned as the nominee. She ran a campaign based on emotion and vibes while avoiding the issues that stemmed from the policies of the administration she was a part of. She ran a campaign and the people still didn’t know her. No one should desire to rule others with the slogan, "He is a bad person, so choose me" while the "Me" is unknown. Her opponent was known, people knew what they got with him at the helm of affairs and they remembered what their wallets looked like. She was unknown, 78% of the people said the country was going in the wrong direction under the government she was a part of. The least she could have done is explain to the people what she would have done better. This has nothing to do with sexism, misogyny or racism. Obama was a good product, from the moment people heard him speak they knew he would be the president of the United States.
Meritocracy should have a say in who leads a nation, she did not merit it.
-GSW-