(A chronicle of mysterious setbacks, disappointments and frustrations)
The journey was short and it did not take long before they arrived. Along the way, Johnbull felt relieved that he had taken the right
decision to come along. It was like a huge burden had been lifted off his shoulders. Now, very relaxed, he allowed his mind to drift back to the early days when he first arrived the city of Lagos, as a young graduate, full of hope. He remembered his first encounter with a young man named Fidelis Ander who used American slangs to dazzle friends. Fidelis was so eloquent, he could convince a bird to come down from the tree, if he had the opportunity. Johnbull, fresh from his Youth Service met Fidelis who suggested they go into the business of buying and selling.
The idea struck a chord in his ears.
‘We will make it big’, was the way Fidelis had put it.
‘You know we can’t fail once we get the right buyers’ he had told Johnbull.
‘All we need is to get the capital to buy or we link up buyers and sellers’, he explained.
Johnbull agreed and together they launched out.
In those days, the late eighties and nineties to be precise, the fad in Lagos was to make huge commission out of merely linking buyers and sellers most especially in the warehousing business. Someone would put the word out that a consignment of bags of Rice, Tin Tomatoes, Sugar, or Vegetable oil, worth millions of naira. had just arrived Nigeria through the Apapa Wharf or Tin Can Island. The young men who heard would swing into action and try to market the consignments to interested buyers. They would hope for a hefty commission probably running into some millions. A lot of successful deals would actually be concluded and the lucky ones immediately displayed their new found wealth by purchasing grade one fairly used cars mostly BMW or Mercedes ‘straight engine’ cars.
They would then storm night clubs with the ‘happening babes’ in town usually from the Polytechnics or Universities. Because they were the source of envy to other aspiring youths, that would spur the rest into a frenzy and sure enough increase the tempo of ‘hustling’ in other to join the party. At other times, you would hear some people had made a big hit by securing what was then called ‘L.P.O’, to supply either motorcycles, air conditioners or something. It was often big business. That’s how Kingsway stores, Leventis, Bhojsons prospered. These companies owned by Indians and some shadowy Lebanese nationals thrived because they were in the ‘fast lane’ which offered young men bright prospects. It was in this manner that Lagos bubbled and commission agents thrived, allowing young men to make profits, rent and own flats which enhanced their social status.
That was what propelled Johnbull to link up with Fidelis and the dream to make it big. Soon, the car veered into a dirty street and bumped into some potholes which jerked Johnbull back from his deep reflections. The trip had lasted few minutes only because not many cars were on the road at that time and the day’s activities were just beginning. It had rained heavily the previous day which made the roads cloggy and dangerous. The dirty street they entered was just a stone throw from the Pastors house and when John bull’s mother announced that they were almost there, a surge of excitement ran through him.
But his fertile brain was still clouded with thoughts, as in a flash, he remembered vividly how the Commission business he had with Fidelis crashed. They had scoured the streets of Lagos from Ikeja, through Oshodi to Yaba; they entered Orile-Iganmu, Abule-Egba, Ijesha-Tedo, Surulere and Iyana-Kpaja. There was nowhere they did not search for buyers of Derrica Tomatoes, Stock fish, Sugar, Kings Vegetable oil, etc. After two years on the trade, they gave up—not out of exhaustion but lack of cash! Typical of the veteran hustler in Lagos, they trudged on despite feeding becoming harder. It wasn’t a good story for the duo who had to bow out after enduring strings of frustrations. They would toil from morning till night and at the end retire penniless. It was that bad. Something always knocked out any deal they put together in the last minute. Either the buyer would argue about the price or suddenly the sellers would refuse to sell anymore. But there was always something!
In no time, the idea dropped for them to divert into another trade; this time it was the LPO business otherwise known as Local Purchase Order. Lagosians used this method to become extremely rich. They would go to big companies in Apapa and other places such as Marina, Victoria Island, Ijora, in the heart of Lagos; eventually, they got one LPO from the Folawiyo flour Mill, through a third party to supply a trailer load of sugar; the deal was at the time worth five million naira. Phew! This would have been a kill for them but for the fact that they were eventually duped! The LPO turned out to be fake, but the agents had already collected what is called ‘upfront’ payment in the business parlance! They were to rue that opportunity for many days. The fraudsters who swindled them simply vanished into thin air and were never seem again. But Johnbull and Fidelis learnt a lot from that sad experience. They were not to be bitten a second time. Just then, the vehicle stopped and Johnbull’s mother stepped out. It was only when she closed the door that Johnbull came alive and followed suit.
