The Salesman

He was one of those guys

Who could sell salt to the sea

Once he met a man driving a blue Benz 200

They had a chat, a short chat

He sold the man a white Benz 200

Funny thing he wasn't a car salesman

He was a teacher

The man paid him upfront

To buy and deliver the car

Once he was walking towards a concert

Fela's concert

A man approached him

'Hello sir, I want a ticket to the concert

Two tickets actually

For me and my girlfriend

Can you assist?'

The show had sold out

He got his magic wand out

Convinced the bouncers the man was a VIP

He was good

He was a teacher barely making ends meet

His Father was a Cocoa seller

Determined his son must wear a shirt and tie

He was miserable at teaching

But he must honour his father

Marketing was his gift

He felt stuck

Living a lie to please his Father

Ignorance cannot dream

He refused to marry

Even when he was of age

His parents found him beautiful damsels

The best their influence could buy

He is an 'AKOWE'

One of the few educated ones

No woman would dare say no to him

What is your problem? Demanded his mother

What is your stress? Barked his Father

It became a riot

His father's friends children were marrying

His Mother's friend's children having babies

He remained alone

It was a marketing strategy

His Father summoned him

He went to the village

All his kith and kin were present

It had gotten to a head

Resolution time

His Father spoke first

He ranted and raved

What else can a Father do?

He was an ingrate

The city has changed him

Blah Blah Blah Blah

His mother cried

Tell us if you are not a man

Is that thing working at all?

I mean your thing

There is a solution, if you let us in

He watched

He greeted the elders

I had a dream, he said

My great grandfather came to me

He gave me a calabash of water

He said 'Drink', I drank

He took my hand

Showed me a lot of goods

Sell, he said, sell!

I woke up, I told my Father

'Akowe', 'Akowe' was his cry

My grandfather is not happy

The gathering fell silent

He was the only educated one among them

The pride of the entire village

Their compound had been renamed Akowe's compound

Because of his enlightened status

What is he saying?

What are you saying? They asked

'I will marry, but not while I am a teacher'

It was unheard of

A son blackmailing the entire community

Giving conditions to his parents

This is Africa

Wisdom and direction belong to the elders

What does a child know?

His father felt insulted

His mother was outraged

He said their mouth is smelling

He shamed them

Shame!!!!

It took seven days

His father called another meeting

So what do you want to do?

I met a man, in the city

He has a deal with a Tyre company

He had been given distributorship license

For Tyres in the South-west

He has asked me to work with him

He will be my partner

I will sell Tyres

So you will not even sell Cocoa?

Your grandfather sold Cocoa

He taught me the cocoa business

If he wanted you to sell something

Wouldn't it make sense that you sell cocoa?

Your grandfather didn't even know what a Tyre is

How can he tell you to leave Akowe (Teaching) job

And sell tyres?

It was a tug of war

Will you marry once I give my go ahead?

He looked at his mother

She nodded

He had told his mother about his woman

She had been making arrangements in the background

I will marry sir

Very well, I release you to do what you desire

He knelt

They prayed for him

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That was the greatest sale of his life

Selling his own dream and vision

To an entire community

In exchange for their own vanity and pride

And they bought it

He sold tyres

Became a multi-millionaire

Had many sons and daughters

He dared to live his dream

Dare to live your dream!