1. “Have you been left behind by Your Peers?”

Dear Son,
Sometimes you may feel your peers have all left you behind leaving you worrying if you will ever meet up. As a child most children in our community back then attended primary school from where they naturally proceeded to secondary school. I couldn’t continue with school because papa was very ill as a result couldn’t afford the fees. I took up menial Jobs until I left the quiet town of Emevor for Benin city where I did anything to survive until I moved to Lagos where I picked up roofing. Few years later I enrolled for the GCE and started studying with the then “Exam Success”.

It wasn’t easy joggling school and work, yet I pressed on because I noticed the advantage education gave even at my workplace where I was just a motor boy loading roofing sheet. The results were eventually published and in flying colours I failed. I was not surprised because I hadn’t enough time to study but at my next attempt, I passed all papers. After a short while I was promoted to assistant store man and eventually head of store. By this time, I was married to your mother and had you. I was young and doing really well for a 28-year-old.

At this position I noticed a few of my peers who had completed secondary school earlier were applying for Jobs at my place of work and I was responsible for interviewing and recommending them to management. The gaps between us at that time had been closed. Despite my frustrating feelings of starting late I was even ahead at least at the time. Its never too late to start Son. If you do not succeed, attempt to build again for nature has a peculiar way at compensating.

Dad.