THE GRACE OF GOD

The air plane landed at Nnmadi Azikiwe international airport Abuja at exactly 1pm and i alighted alongside with other passengers, Duke my driver was at the airport to welcome me with a beaming smile.

“Duke!, how are you?, how is everyone at home?”

“Sir everyone is fine!”

 We drove away on the airport road enroute Garki; home. I have been away from home for two weeks on a business trip to Dubai. As the founder and Ceo of Baynix services limited i had to be on ground to close a deal with our middle east partners. I couldn’t wait to see Gift my 3 yrs old girl who will probably be running up & down the house with her toys and Bobby our 6 months old baby. I know Katie my beautiful wife will be cooking up something delicious for me in the kitchen right now.

Lying on the car seat was a copy of City peoples magazine, my picture was on the cover of the magazine with the headline “Abuja big boy & enterpreneur Joseph etim set to join politics” they had written a story on me, detailing my investments & properties all over the country, they chipped in that i was one of the richest men in Abuja & concluded that i was rumored to be interested in a senatorial seat in the next election in my state. I tossed the magazine away, these softsell reporters were wrong, i didn’t have the slightest interest in Nigerian politics, they didn’t know that life has not always been this rosy with me, they don’t know how i started & what i passed through to arrive at my present stage in life.

Years ago i grew up in the little village of Ikot ekwoon, my mother and father were both peasant farmers & i was the oldest of their six children. Life was rough as we could barely afford the basic necessities. A sad incidence played out one day as Etima our last born, my father’s favourite daughter fell sick and became bedridden. She had this dry cough that got worse everyday. All herbal treatments administered to her failed. It was at this point that my dad sold his one & only small parcel of land to raise money to take her to the city for treatment in the big hospital.

She was diagnosed with acute tuberculosis & needed N500,000 for an operation & medical bills. There was no where we could afford such amount of money and we didn’t have any borrowing option as our neighbours were in the same poor state like us. We took her home when we ran out of cash to keep her in the hospital.

“oh God pls don’t let her die” i cried as i watched life slipping out of my sister, she was coughing out blood as tears ran down my eyes, her frail body shaking with every coughing motion. The local reverend father came everyday to pray for her. We waited for the inevitable to occur. The day she died was the saddest day of our lives.

My dad was never the same again after that incidence. He was heart broken & struck with grief, he had a sense of guilt that he was somehow responsible for her death as he couldn’t raise the hospital bill. One year later he died.  He died when i was writing my SS3 exams. Before he died i remember his last words to me “my son i am going home, take care of your mother & siblings, may the grace of God be with you.

As the man of the house at 19, the responsibility fell on me to support my mum. I managed to complete my waec exams & suspended all plans of furthering my education. I went into farming & also woked as a hired labourer on building sites to raise money to support the upkeep of my family but deep down inside me i still nurtured the dream of furthering my education & thus decided to put away some money as savings over the months.

God’s mill grind slowly but surely, fours yrs later i was able to raise up money from my little savings to finance my university education.

I got admission into ABU Zaria to read business administration. Before departing i made a solemn vow to mom and my two brothers & 3 sisters that i’ll be back after 4yrs. Going to a strange land where you don’t know anyone could be quite scary but i was determined & resolved to come out successful.

The University years was a struggle; skipping meals to save money for textbooks, surviving on snacks, wearing same clothes everyday, squatting with few friends cos of inability to pay for accommodation, sometimes sleeping in corridors and hallways, being referred to as antisocial & bookworm, doing odd jobs to have pocketmoney etc were all parts of what i had to go through/endure in my quest for survival.

During this period i miraculously escaped a religious riot, i was cornered in a section of the street and as one of the rioters who had chased me raised up his matchete to strike me, he suddenly changed his mind and walked away muttering some words. After getting over the shock, i knew that it was a divine intervention, God’s grace was working for me.

 At the end of four yrs i was out with my degree certificate. I travelled home and we had a heartwarming celebration with my mum & siblings.

At the end of youth service year, i gave my mom half of what i saved from my monthly allowance to enable her start up a petty business and went back to Zaria for job search.

The job search was a harrowing experience as there were few job openings and the ones available were only open to people who had connections. I got invites to tests and interviews but never got an employment offer. After 9 months of walking the streets with nothing to show for it, Sarah a sister in church offered to help me get a job in her uncle’s firm. Two weeks later she gave me the joyous news that Chief Jaja her uncle had an opening in his company Jaja nig ltd and after a long talk with her had agreed to employ me as a graduate trainee. All i needed to do was to show up for the interview with him on September 20, 2012 by 12pm at douglas road, Zaria! This was like music to my ears.

On the eve of the D-day i got prepared everything i needed for the interview & ironed my borrowed suit. On the D-day to my dismay a heavy rain started in the early hours of the day & continued throughout the day. At 11am, i got tired of waiting for the rain to subside, i borrowed an umbrella from a neighbor and rushed out. The weather was so stormy and in no time the umbrella snapped in my hand as the strong wind blew it away. Without the protection of the flimsy umbrella the rain descended on me, i moved on hoping to go there on time as Douglas road was a distance of 20 mins from sarkafi crescent where i was. However in my rush i didn’t notice that the ditch by the side of the road was filled up with water, immediately i put my foot in there i fell in and was totally soaked with the muddy water. I had to get back home to change my clothes as i didn’t want to run the risk of appearing like a mad man in the posh office of chief Jaja. Before i could rummage through my bag to find a clean cloth and change up i had wasted 40 mins. Luckily for me by the time i came out from home a cab was passing by, i flagged down the driver and hopped in. We saw a massive traffic jam as we got to douglas junction. A trailer was lying on its side at the junction blocking traffic in all directions. The holdup lasted for one hr, drivers blaring their horns, while the rain kept pouring down in sheets. I was in a hopeless situation.

The time was 2.15pm as i rushed inside Jaja Nig ltd andsaw chief Jaja as he was about driving out of the gates. “Excuse me sir!” i am Joseph Etim, i was scheduled to have an interview with you by 12pm”.

“oh Joseph why didn’t you come as scheduled”?

“ Sorry sir, the rain disrupted my movement”. I quickly narrated the sad tale of the morning to him.

“Sorry, i wish i can help but since you didn’t come at the time, i had to find a replacement for you. I’ve just employed Monique here”, he pointed to a lady on mini skirt seating on the front seat with painted lips smiling seductively at him.

“Monique will only be with us for one year. By this time next yr she’ll be leaving for her masters degree program. So the post will be vacant then. I’ll employ you by october next year. Pls tell Sarah that i am sorry”, Chief said this as he drove away with monique.

My world came crashing down!

Today, 10yrs after that incidence, i am on top of the world, the Ceo of my Baynix services ltd an ICT company that i started from scratch. My mom lives in a mansion that i built for her, i have educated all my siblings and they are all gainfully employed. I am married to a beautiful woman with two lovely kids, it has all been made possible through the grace of God. As we drove inside my gates i saw Gift and Katie sitting on the porch with lovely smiles on their faces waiting for me.