Do dry lands exist? Are there territories that are unconquerable? Is it safe to say that there are cities with zero potential?
Personally, I believe that every soil has the potential to grow crops. In agriculture, soils with poor nutrients can be made fertile artificially in many ways. On the same note, every territory has the potential to unlock economic growth and opportunities, whether in urban or rural areas.
I did my NYSC in Dutse, the capital of Jigawa State, Nigeria. Jigawa was created from Kano State. Back then, in 2004, it was a rural area that was far behind the national innovation landscape.
Like every Corp member, I came prepared to work and save money. I was posted to teach in a secondary school. Unfortunately, the majority of my students couldn’t comprehend my lessons in English. So, the school principal was explaining each of my lessons to them in Hausa. I felt it was needless to have two classes (English and Hausa) in each lesson. I suggested to the principal to reduce my class to once a week, just to give and mark weekly assessments, and he obliged.
With four free working days, I had to look for another job. I studied the town and discovered that most of the people living well are non-indigenes, mainly Igbos. I located one big phone shop, applied and was hired. The shop (Ranglers Communication) opened my eyes to many opportunities in the town.
The owner, an Igbo man ( may his soul rest in peace), strategically dominated the communication world of the town by selling mobile phones/accessories, sim cards, recharge cards, Internet service, and making calls and text messages. In his shop, he had a male phone engineer who repaired phones and also many marketers and sales reps of different tribes. He was operating beyond rural limits, travelling to Kano and other cities to make supplies and do bulk purchases for his shop. Next to his shop was a popular food canteen where Alhajis and officials of the Government House usually gathered to eat and drink, so they became his customers from there. He was the surest plug for the bourgeoisie in the town, and he explored that to its greatest limit.
Working there, I realized that inventions aren’t limited to big cities and that there are potentials to harness in every environment. I noticed that the youths, especially the non-indigenes, travel out of the town to keep up with fashion. Hats, beads, and hair accessories were fast-selling markets, so I paid someone to teach me. I grew up making hair nets, which made it so easy for me to learn hats and beads. I used my weekends to make hats, beads, and hair nets and supply them to local shops. I was marketing my small business to some customers at the phone shop and having steady demands. It was the busiest 11 months of my life, but I was so enjoying it.
Therefore, I was earning income from the secondary school where I taught once a week, from the phone shop, from the crafts and then my government ‘alawi’. The savings I made from these streams of income sustained me until I got a job after service. It was hard to believe that the state I cried and almost worked my redeployment suddenly became a land flowing with milk and honey for me. Evidently, no land is sterile, and with that realisation, I was determined to harness and explore the opportunities in any city where I find myself, rural or urban.
My NYSC experience is a testament to the fact that no matter how dry a city seems, there are invincible opportunities that can drive significant growth if well tapped. Some rural areas are full of creativity and potential that remain massively underused. It only requires the interest to identify them, the commitment to discover the right tools to harness them, and the talents and initiatives to utilize them. Sadly, human beings naturally are magnetically attracted to already-made things, only a few have the zeal to explore.
For the urban cities that have the resources, the population, the market, and accessible information, it only requires planned measures to partake fully in the reservoir of opportunities around it.
Therefore, to every child and young adult, your survival is on you. There are no excuses for finding your path and excelling in it. Green and fertile lands are nurtured. The same city you are complaining from is where someone else is testifying from. The difference is your determination and hard work. Set your table, start from scratch, already-made tables don’t exist everywhere. Your survival is on you.
Dare your world!
Conquer your fears!!
Make exploits!!!
The world belongs to those who take it!!!!
✍️ Amara Ann Unachukwu
