WHAT CAN 50 NAIRA DO?

 The Value of a Consistent Character

Musa was from a poor family in northern Nigeria. He was the first child and was in his final year in secondary school. He had big dreams, despite his background. He wanted to study accounting and work for a big national bank, maybe even an international bank. He had even begun to prepare for his exams and life in the university. He was a bright student and he was sure he would do well enough to get accepted to study accounting in the university.

There was just one challenge though; he had not gotten the money he needed to register for the exams yet. The deadline was in a month, and the last time he checked, his father told him that they were still ₦15,000 off the mark.

Musa was used to this; the family was never prompt in paying his school fees and that of his siblings. Their fees were either paid at the death, or paid the following term. This however, was an external exam, and as much as he knew the money was needed, he had the feeling that it would turn up. His father did contract jobs as a manual labourer on construction sites, but jobs had been few and far between for years. His mother had lost her shop in a market fire and was yet to be compensated by the government.

Musa and his two sisters were known to run some errands for people around and also help out with jobs acceptable for children, just to pull some of the family weight. The payment they got was hardly enough, but our future accountant, Musa, had already begun to practice his trade. He made enough to save ₦50 daily from his earnings and pocket money. This was going to be used to buy some of the things he would need when he got his admission.

Well, back to the present, it was now three weeks to the deadline for his exams registration, and only Musa and five others had not paid their fees. His father was still ₦12,000 off the target and Musa was getting worried. His fears increased when four of the five other students got their own money and paid their fees. Only Musa and the last boy were left. By this time, he had only ₦4,000 remaining and he was pretty sure that the money would be completed. This was what he thought, until disaster struck!

His younger sister, Hannah, was hit by a car on her way home from an errand. The driver sped off and few people were around when it happened. She was taken to the hospital, and treatment started. All everyone could think of was her life and the impact the accident would have on her. Everyone that is, except her father, who was already dreading the bill this would bring on him. His fears were confirmed that night when the doctor told them that after careful treatment and evaluation, Hannah was stable and was going to be fine. Her situation was delicate but they had handled it well. He just had to pay for her treatment as well as get the drugs she would take.

Grateful, he proceeded to pay the bill, his son Musa, by his side. He didn’t know where the mild tremor that caught his hands came from when he got the bill. ₦32,000, where would he get that money from when he still had to balance up Musa’s exam fees?!

Musa couldn’t help but look at his father, who was crestfallen, cursing the unfortunate driver and the ill-fated events of the day. It got worse for him when he was told that if he didn’t get his daughter out of the hospital that night, their bed space bill would increase. A solution had to come, and fast. There was only one way out; Musa’s exams would have to wait another year, the hospital couldn’t.

He didn’t tell his son yet, he couldn’t. He went home, got the amount he needed to make up for what he already had, and got his daughter home. It was at midnight, when everyone had gone to sleep, that he woke his son, and with a dry throat, managed to tell him what had happened: the ₦4,000 deficit was now ₦19,000. Musa’s tears flowed freely; his dreams were shattering before his eyes, all because of an unfortunate driver who had just decided to change his destiny even without knowing him. He told his father he understood, and rose to go back to bed when it hit him! His savings!

Musa dashed off to where he had been stashing his daily ₦50 for over two years, and brought everything to his father. The poor man was stunned to see so many ₦50 notes, and almost immediately, father and son set to work, counting the ₦50 and ₦100 notes sprawled before them. It took them over 20 minutes, but finally, they got a figure. They had just counted ₦41,250! A flood of relief washed over Musa’s dad, while Musa was filled with a bittersweet feeling. Seeing his expression, his father told him to be calm. He knew how his son felt and explained that they could not have planned for the events that unfolded that day, but that presently, his exam fees had to be paid. He promised to repay the money, thanked him and commended his impressive discipline at saving consistently for so long.

He had just saved the family, and his future.