The story of the sugercane seller whose destiny changed after encountering Governor Yahaya Bello has dominated the social media for the past 24 hours. It sounded so sweet. But also looked so simple.
Far from it. It is not simple to sail in the waves of economic uncertainty and unglamorous weather of unceasing drizzle. Those who confront hunger and uncertainty with gusto determination always find a story to tell at the end of their struggles.
It was drizzling. She was hungry. There was no one to leave her baby with. Those factors were enough to water a spirit of indolence and sleep in the wrappers of hopelessness.
But the sugarcane seller never allowed the conditions she couldn’t control to determine the condition she could control. She refused to submit her destiny to laziness and hunger. She hit the streets to sell her sugarcane.
Luck smiled on her and she met a man who wouldn’t watch others suffer. She was blessed beyond her dreams.
To GYB, he didn’t do it to impress anyone, but to fulfil his calling and make someone smile in a tearful joy. He is a Prophet of benevolence.
But beyond all of this, we must hail the spirit of the Sugercane seller. Many wanted her experience, her luck, her destiny-changing moment, her divine encounter; but they are not ready to confront the drizzle to work. They want manner to fall in a basket kept under the bed.
The Holy Bible in Deuteronomy 28:12 spoke about “blessing the works of your hand”. God blesses efforts, not indolence. The logic here is that effort is an indicator of faith and hope. A hopeless person doesn’t make efforts. A faithless person doesn’t believe an effort could be rewarded.
She wouldn’t have met a Yahaya Bello in her room, sleeping. She confronted the street. She felt she could earn something from her sweat. That the sweat is sweet is beyond chemistry. She worked. And that work was blessed by a God who created a Yahaya Bello to fulfil destinies.
To the youth and young mothers, this is a loud speaker to the need for all of us to go out there and sell our own Sugarcane.
May the streets you toil on be filled with many Yahaya Bellos.
– Kingsley Femi Fanwo writes from Lokoja, Kogi State.
