Gentleman’s Agreement

The model was not sustainable
He realized that too late
He graduated from the university and
found himself in the labour market
The monthly allowance from NYSC
had been his only source of real
income after graduation
He had high hopes he would get a
job right after serving but
things didn’t pan out that way
After two years of roaming the street
in search of a good job, he decided to
settle for anything he could get
What he got was a job as a security guard
The salary was 18000 naira per month
It was an insult of a job and the
conditions were inhumane
He and another guard would be sharing
a small security room in an office day
and night for six days a week
He got only a day off
He wouldn’t have taken the job under
any circumstances but his older sister
whom he was living with won the
American visa lottery and left the country
He was homeless and desperate
The job offered him a roof over his head
and meals for his tummy
He was also able to beg off work to
attend interviews because his partner
was a very considerate guy
Seven months after he started the job,
his reasonable partner was summoned
to the village
His partner was supposed to spend a
week in the village
His partner never came back
They gave him a new partner after a
month
The new partner was not as considerate
as the first
His prospect of getting another job began
to go dim
He despaired for life
One evening, his new partner told him s
omebody was asking for him
The person was his former partner
His former partner told him that by the
time he got to the village his father had
died and he inherited his father’s
tomato farm
That was why he stayed back in the
village, it was almost harvest season
He asked his friend what he came to
do in Lagos
His friend said he came to negotiate
a deal with a tomato paste manufacturing
company to supply his harvest to them
but the deal he was being offered by
the tomato paste manufacturer was
not a good deal
The manufacturer knew he was
desperate because the harvest was
delayed by his father’s death and he
was trying to take undue advantage
of his desperation.
As he listened to his partner, he saw
an opportunity
He called his older sister’s husband
and told him what was going on
His older sister’s husband was a
banker
He spoke with some friends and they
bought the harvest at a good price
They also committed the harvest to
his partner’s care to dry the tomatoes
and prepare them for export
The solution helped both parties
He was also compensated by both
his partner & his sister’s husband
The money he made was over
200,000 naira
He asked his partner if he could
join him in tomato farming
His friend agreed and they began to
cultivate tomatoes together
After every season, his sister’s
husband and his partners would
buy the harvest and export them
The relationship was symbiotic
They planted and supplied the
harvest to his sister’s husband
and his associates
They were both young and spent
their gains sparingly
He saved most of his income and
continued to prospect for a better
opportunity in life
Eventually, he met a lady in the course of
his work
The lady was the human resources
manager for a tomato paste
manufacturing company
She also happened to be the daughter
of the industrialist who owned the
company she was working with
They got talking and fell in love
The lady told him her father would
never allow her to
get married to a poor tomato farmer
They both went to meet the lady’s
mother
The lady’s mother told them she will
support their wedding provided he
was willing to get a better job
He told the lady’s mother he was
willing to do anything better if he
got the chance
Two weeks later,
the chance came
He was offered a job as a procurement
officer in another tomato paste
manufacturing company owned by
some Lebanese investors
He was offered the job due to the
good word put in for him by the lady’s
mother but he can only keep the job
based on performance
He was
determined to keep the job and marry
his wife within a year
The job entails traveling from farm to
farm inspecting tomatoes and purchasing
them for his company from the farm at
a cheaper rate rather than the one
transported to the factory by the
farmers which is usually more
expensive and usually rotten
When the harvest season came, he
convinced his partner to sell their
tomatoes to his company
They made more money and he
was able to surpass his target
He was able to rent a comfortable
apartment and buy a car
He proposed to his babe and she
said yes
Things finally fell into place for him
He took his babe home to meet
his parents
When he got there he met his
sister’s husband
His sister’s husband was very angry
He was counting on the tomato
harvest for his export venture and
was shocked that the harvest had
been diverted to another source
His sister’s husband said he had a
shortfall of supply and as a result
found himself in a huge debt
He didn’t know what he was expected
to do or why his sister’s husband was
all up in arms against him
His parents tried as much as possible
to diffuse the tension but
the relationship between him and his
sister’s husband had been irreparably
damaged
In his defense, he had not promised
the harvest to his sister’s husband
and he didn’t also collect a penny
from him
It was like a gentleman’s agreement
but he couldn’t afford to miss the
opportunity
to right the course of his own life
The standoff lasted five years
They eventually made up during the
naming ceremony of his second son
His parents insisted he had to
apologize and he did
His Sister’s husband forgave her
and they were restored to talking
terms but he didn’t regret his actions
He said if he was given that option
again, he would still do the same thing
if one is on fire and one’s child is on
fire, the logical thing was to do was
quench the fire on self before
venturing to help others

PS: Something happened to me today.
A sister in Christ saw me at the bank
and went on her knees to greet me.
I was so embarrassed by it.
I almost ran away.
When we got out of the bank I called
her aside and said “Please don’t do
that again”
She said “I didn’t do it for you sir.
I have been bleeding for 42 days.
When I saw you the Holy Spirit
said “Kneel and it shall stop”
I knelt down sir in obedience and
sir, it has stopped!”
My lips started quaking and my
teeth hitting each other up and
down.
The anointing that hit me was
different. Goosebumps everywhere.
I had to hold the door of my car tight!
I blessed her and she left.
I am home now and I still don’t get
what happened at that bank

-GSW-