It is chiefly through books that we enjoy intercourse with superior minds. In the best boks, great men talk to us, give us their most precious thoughts, an dpour their souls into ours. God be thankd for boks. They are the voices of the distant and the dead, and make us heirs of the spiritual life or past ages. Books are true levelers,. They give to all who will faithfully use them, the society, the spiritual presence, of the best and greatest of our race. - William Ellery Channing. Quoted from Ben Carson's "Think Big" p. 13
Chapter 3
What Does the Future Hold For Me?
Whatever the details of the circumstances of my birth are immaterial to me now. Such details or circumstances, over which I had no control, have nothing to do with what I eventually become in life, if I am rightly focused. Everything was in the hands of God Almighty then, it remains in His hands as I write and continues to remain in His hands even when I must have long passed away! What is important was that I had been born, and like every other child, I am important in the eyes of my Creator. What did the future hold for me? How would my future positively be shaped? How would I fulfill the purposes of His creation? What legacy might I bequeath in weathering the storms of my life successfully? These and many more were the germane considerations for the rest of my existence. Those were what have ever mattered to me and will drive my actions henceforth.
Early Education
I started my primary education at the then All Saints' Anglican School, Iyin-Ekiti, in 1964. I was adjudged to be quite brilliant as my position in class was invariably between the first and fifth, except on one occasion when I inexplicably descended to the 20th position. I never sank beyond this position till I passed out. I was in primary three when my foster father, Pa Ilugbusi, died.
When Pa Oladimeji (Pa Ilugbusi's cousin) offered to pay my school fees, I did not hesitate at all to relocate to his home in Imesi Ekiti between August and December 1967.
My Initial Ambitions
I was inspired initially to become a teacher, a profession I had admired. To us children, teachers were the most civilized among the professionals. Their neat shorts or starched trousers as well as shirts were most attractive to me. I also looked forward to riding a bicycle, like the shiny Raleigh type that one of our teachers rode. At the time, I was a very perceptive child. Though I informed my mother whenever I was flogged in school, I would also request her not to be bothered by it as I was only being trained to be a good child. Mother would console me and that would be the end of the matter. That was how I fell into Pa Oladimeji's trap in the first place. To whoever offered to sponsor my education I surrendered myself totally - body, soul and spirit!
However, on getting to Imesi, after the expiration of two and a half months in Pa Oladimeji's home working on his rice farm without schooling, I lost confidence in the old man and decided not to remain further under his roof. About that time, fortunately, Ajiboye, my elder brother, came visiting. We planned a coup. We agreed that whenever he was returning to Iyin, he would take me along on the pretext that I was seeing him off to the bus stop. To tighten our case, when the vehicle came, Ajiboye would enter and as it was about moving, I would insist that I wanted to accompany him home. When the vehicle would have started moving, I would run after it, crying. After a short distance, the driver would stop to pick me up. That was the procedure we executed to perfection even in the presence of Pa Oladimeji who, incidentally, had accompanied us to the motor park. He could not believe what he saw. He brushed my wish aside as a child's play and advised the driver to proceed without me. As the driver drove off, I cried louder and ran after it. My guardian could not keep pace with my speed. Eventually, the vehicle stopped and with the assistance of Ajiboye, I clambered aboard. My guardian caught up with us and ordered me to disembark but I held on tightly to Ajiboye. Finally he got frustrated and had to let go. But he countered our coup by asking the driver to collect the full fare from me at destination. The driver gleefully insisted on doing so in the end and it drew a heated debate. In the end, my eldest sister, Fehintola, paid the adult fee of nine pence before I was allowed to disembark!
Let me end this chapter by quoting a very relevant portion of Rev. Dr. Chris E. Kwakpovwe's “Our Daily Manna”, which relates to my state of life as enumerated. The section titled “There's A Rose Within That Thorn 2” is relevant:
“God is still saying to someone that no matter the thorns (faults and defects) in your life, there is a rose within you. Did something good not come out of Nazareth, a despised city?
Let God also use you to show others the good in them. Determine to find the rose within those people around your life and ministry, despite their faults and defects! Help others realize they can overcome their faults…!.”
In response to Rev. Dr. Kwakpovwe's clarion call, this is exactly my message to you in this book:
I have an all-round success virus in me. I would want to infect those who desire to make it in life.
Please let me positively infect your spiritual, secular, business, marital, parental, educational, and, indeed, your total being!
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