Thread by @greaterbayo

When Things Don’t Work Out The Way We Planned

My first love was music. Growing up in the early 80s, I was heavily influenced by Dizzy K. Falola. To me then, he was a god- the god of music.

His 'Baby Kilode' song boomed everywhere then. I recall watching the Michael Jackson wannabe on TSOS (Television Service of Oyo State- as BCOS TV was then known) and I just wanted to be like him. I loved the jerry curls, the way he danced, the jacket, the klieg lights.

I practiced his dance steps. Baby Kilode was a hit. Those were the days when music artistes sang love songs and still kept the lyrics so clean even children could sing them. Not the pangolo suggestive music of this era.

Music became my best subject even in school. Then we got into the era of break dance and that became a fad too. There was a Nigerian who won a world break dance contest then. I think his first name is Peter.

During the first social night I attended in secondary school, I approached a girl and told her, "Excuse me, dance". That was the line then.

She obliged and both of us, dressed in white, stepped on the dance floor- albeit she reluctantly (she passed on this year- may God rest her soul). I started break dancing in front of her. The girl just stared at me- I guess in shock. I must have been horrible to watch 😂😂

I also loved a popular song then 'Silifa, Ba Mi Jo'. So, I really wanted to be a music artiste. But somehow, I was good in the sciences and so my inclinations changed.

Later on, I found out that I hated injustice with a passion. It was in the heady days of military dictatorship. I wanted to change things. So I opted to join the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA). I wanted to be a soldier.

My dad got me the forms at Oyo State Secretariat then. I also got past questions and I prepared. A day before the exam, I ironed my clothes, prepared my writing materials and slept early.

I woke up the next day and I was blank. I went about my normal routine. I didn't remember I had an exam to write. Exactly 4pm, I came back to myself. It was unbelievable and unexplainable.

But I believe God had a better plan. Maybe I would have been dead now because my zeal without knowledge might have pushed me to do something silly.

My dad wanted me to be an engineer but my mum preferred me to be a doctor. I wanted to satisfy both of them without lying. So, the first JAMB (as it was then called) I did was a joke. My first choice was Mechanical Engineering and my second choice was Medicine.

When my dad asked what I chose, I told him Mechanical Engineering. When my mum asked me, I told her Medicine. I didn't lie 😂😂😂

The Lord had mercy and that year 1992, JAMB was written twice- February and October. So I sat again for the October JAMB and got my admission to study Mechanical Engineering.

While waiting, I started reading newspapers where the names of people like Big Sam of Ife featured prominently. Gradually, I was drawn to activism. So I became a Students Union President later in my undergraduate days.

But I've never worked one day as an engineer (apart from when I did my NYSC). For 20 years now, I've been a banker.

I loved music but never did it professionally. Nevertheless, I was able to use my talents to lead the largest choir on campus (NIFES) during my undergraduate days. I wanted to be a soldier but forgot to write my exam.

Nevertheless, my hatred for injustice was transferred to my students activism. I studied engineering but never worked one day in that field. Nevertheless, I have used my engineering training so many times when evaluating manufacturing projects.

So I guess no experience is really lost or useless at the end of the day.

If anyone had told me I would be a banker in school, I would have yinmu 😁😁. We don't know why certain things don't work out. Life doesn't go according to our plans always.

Nevertheless, it's best to just let God have His way.

Proverbs 19:21 New Century Version- "People can make all kinds of plans, but only the Lord’s plan will happen".

Selah

Happy Sunday

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