03/08/2023
I was at the Wuse market yesterday and decided to buy banana.
The boy I called to buy from had just two left.
He was with another boy who had like five left. We concluded on price and I asked him to put it in a waterproof for me.
He told me his own just finished but let him collect from his friend.
This boy turned to his friend to give him nylon but his friend refused. This boy even promised to give his friend two nylons in return, as soon as he restocks.
His friend still refused.
The young banana hawker reminded his friend how he used to help him every time he'd been in such situations and his friend's response to this was that he's never forced him to.
I watched these boys go back and forth.
The small boy pleaded with me to please wait so he could run and get a nylon bag for me.
As he wanted to go, I told him not to worry that I'll take the banana like that.
His 'friend' who refused to give him nylon turned to another boy standing close to him and said in a dialect I clearly understood, "I thought he would refuse to buy from him if he didn't have a nylon, so that he can buy from me instead."
I turned to the boy I bought a banana from who had only one left and told him to bring the second one as well.
I carried the two without nylon and put them inside the car.
See eeh, the success of a friend will not and cannot stop your own success.
A small boy who's supposedly a friend refused vehemently to help his friend out in a time he needed him most because he felt his friends failure would bring about his own success.
There's a way you'll get jealous of someone and you'll push them into more good luck.
The success of the person next to you might be all you need to blow.
Little help here and there go a long way in registering you in the hearts of people for good.
I saw the look of disappointment, jealousy and anger on the boy's face when his friend walked away with his empty tray and I couldn't help but wonder where he leant this much bad emotional displays from at this tender age.
If not that his mom might not understand, what's a tray that I can't buy from him?
I wanted to buy off everything and pepper the other small boy.
Credit: Dauda Ibrahim
