™ When I called Baba to ask about his clothes and how much he sells them. I discovered he sold each of the clothes for less than 500 naira. He was a very old man. One who was probably in his late 70s. We got talking in Hausa language and I asked him how long he has been into clothe business. He chuckled, raised his head, and began to think. "57 years now. I don't know my real age, but I was still a very young boy when I started selling clothes in the market in bags." I asked him why he never opened a boutique or if he didn't have plans to. He smiled. "I had a boutique, my son. I had a boutique. I was a very wealthy man back then. Go to Tasha. Ask anyone of Alhaji Mai Kudi. The one that sells clothes. I was the one. I started my boutique business when I was 50 years old." "So you hustled from when you were small?" "Yes. From when I was small I was gathering these clothes small small and I started the boutique. I had children. My children didn't lack clothes to wear, food, or even money. I had 4 wives as my religion permits." "What happened? The boutique. What happened?" "It caught fire. One night they said the building was on fire. The whole complex burnt down and so did my goods. Everything I had saved. Just when I thought I had come to that place of rest and had finally made it after many years of labor. It burnt down. In one day." I heaved a sigh. He continued. "My wife left me. I was struggling to pay back loans I borrowed to stock the shop and add to my goods. I sold properties to pay back. Life just happened to me." "All your wife left you?" "Yes." "So you stay alone?" "Yes. But my last daughter of my 4th wife, Zara comes to visit me." "So you bought these clothes to start afresh?" He paused and looked at me. Then at the clothes. And then raised his gaze to me. "They are my children's clothes. Since they have long outgrown them, and they've been in the bag at home, I decided to pick them and sell them. These days surviving and getting what to eat is not easy." I felt Baba's pain. In less than 10 minutes, he told me a summary of his struggle as a teenager, his rise to wealth, and his unfortunate fall. I asked him if he believed he would rise again. He smiled and said to me. "It took me nearly 40 years of hard work to get to where I was before I eventually lost it. My life is used up already. I see my grave in my dream and it is not far from me now. I am just struggling for the little I will eat so I can survive, until the time Allah calls me home to be with him." I gave Baba some money. A drop of tears rolled out of his eyes. He quickly wiped it. He thanked me and said a prayer for me before he left. Life is unpredictable. Today you are up, and tomorrow you are down. Live every day imparting and affecting lives while you can. You never can tell where you will be tomorrow. My name is Jane 💋
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