Dan Okwiri
Penning 🖊 my journal. In this world we think that opportunities root from grandiose ideas. We refuse to plough the soil under our feet for that in the yonder, thinking anything foreign is always better. Will jazz you a real life story of a buddy who became wealthy from doing things differently.
Emeke was birthed in rural Cameroon. Life in the village was no sweet candy. His father was alcoholic, dead broke, rambunctious and violent. His favorite pastime after alcohol was breeding. Seeding Emeke’s mother 13 young perky souls.
Emeke’s mum was scraggly & frazzled overwhelmed between spooning her hungry brood and bedraggled satisfying her lusty hubby with her wilted carnal sweets.
Enough is enough, at the age of 16 years Emeke hitched a lorry ride to Doula a scrunching 300 km journey, in search of an uncle Abete who he had never met who operated a bakery in Douala, the capital of Cameroon.
The dazzle and busyness & busywork of city folksy electrified him. Emeke dived in freestyle swim. Uncle Abete was a bald, portly man who was extremely hard working. Unlike his brother, he had sired only 2 children both boys. He operated a bakery in a middle class surburbia of Douala.
Emeke arrival was blessing in disguise to Abete. Bakery business meant excruciatingly long grungy hours. Baking of bread, cake, croissants was done at the dead of night to be ready for morning fresh.
An earth angel, Emeke was a keen learner, he started from the basics. Abete bakery was rudimentarily manual & wood fired. It was a sweaty toil, the heat egregiously octane hot.
For 15 years Emeke slogged in Abete’s bake. The customers endeared to him, and he became the hand that rocked the cradle. Abete’s business flourished and Abete grew with it, but its customers were confined to those who lived in the precincts of the surrounding suburbs.
Abete’s children had little or no interest in the father’s excruciating business. Abete pulled his savings and shipped both his sons to USA for further studies.
Years down the tube, as fate would have it Abete had a stroke, and was forced to take a back seat. His balloon went up, he decided to sell his business to Emeke.
In-baked over the years, Emeke was ambitious and knew the flaws of Abete’s business. With ruthless pragmatism, he now had the window to do things his way.
Emeke took a loan and automated the bakery, and branded his products in snazzy packaging. Up for grabs, he had noticed that there were unsatisfied market niches, the young & affluent upper yuppie crust preferred sweeter croissants. He differentiated his products, added a kick of cinnamon & raisins and created a new product range.
Up a notch, there was one unique thing that Abete would do that would be a game changer, he revolutionize the distribution.
Up and at ‘em, Emeke bought 10 pikis and built branded carriers on them to distribute his bread, French sausage breads and croissants. His riders would go out of the confines of his traditional market and specifically supply the street hawkers who he offered his products on credit.
Peddling all over Doula CBD the street hawkers would sell hot fresh croissants bang at dawn to the motorists and pedestrians. It was a hit. The next day the hawkers would remit the proceeds of their sales as the piki riders replenished their stock.
Emeke’s sales grew exponentially, wheels of fortune, everyday he would sell a whacking USD 20,000 of bakery products.
Sadly in his prosperity Uncle Abete succumb to his illness. Loyally Emeke had tended to him, but fate is our mate in date.
Abete’s children didn’t do great in USA, one them was a cab driver in New York, the other a truck driver.
Now soaking his 50s, vim and vigor with excess cash, Emeke diversified into real estate development to river into his income streams.
Emeke did not leave his siblings behind and schooled them to university. Wake the dead, wheels within wheels Abete’s sons returned home from USA pretty much empty handed, and today work for him. Emeke pays them handsomely, they live great lives.
In a watershed splash, Wuod Baba met Abete in 2007 during my stay in Cameroon repatriating the human remains of the KQ crash. His life story, is an inspiration of simple to great, and tells me there’s hope in Africa.
Eat my hat, this is the continent that we were born to, this is the continent that will star us a future without discrimination. This is the continent with the least barriers to begin a business and be your own boss, & live free. This is the continent that the sky is the limit. Africa is the motherland that milks us joy.
I love Africa and Wuod Baba does love you ❤️ too.
#okwiri 🖊 my journal, my thoughts, my walk…
My book “I cleansed the tears“ is available @ Nuria Bookstore
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