12/06/2025
Yesterday, I saw a few posts about wheelbarrow issues on social media.
When I was still residing in Minna Niger state as a newly married Lady and just rounded up my postgraduate diploma in computer science.
I can relate to the struggles of job hunting. I started applying Before, during, and even after my NYSC; I have lost count of the number of places I applied to for jobs which were not forthcoming.
As a woman who just got married for a few months and didn't want to depend on anyone, I was always indoors cooking, reading, and probably sleeping. Not until one day did I remember that before going for my NYSC, I paid for a 3-week physical class and bought a manual on how to make buns, doughnuts, chinchin, meat pies, bread, cakes, and event decorations, as well as taking free violin lessons at church in the evenings.
We hadn't gotten to 2 weeks in the trainings when my call-up letter came, and I was only equipped with the ones that I learned earlier.
That day I sat down and brooded over it, thinking about how I could start something with what I had learned. That was how I majored in making doughnuts. I will wake up in the morning to prepare the dough, fry it, put it in a covered transparent bucket, and then put the bucket in a big, black, bag to conceal what I am carrying.
I will dress up, looking presentable, apply light makeup, wear a gold necklace, and earrings, pick up the bag and my umbrella and walk up to all the mallam kiosks and small shops around me to show them my wares. I will even drop a sample on my first appointment. Before you knew it, there was more demand, and I extended it to schools around me.
It got to a point where the initial shame I had vanished when I started making profits, and I decided to take it to shops and schools that weren't close to me during their break hours, to sell to the staff alone. They would commend my dress and sometimes wondered why a graduate like me would sell doughnuts.
Fast forward to a few years after when we got to Abuja still not working, we hired a lady who always came to help tidy the house. During the time we were in the kitchen, she mentioned to me about making herself and Mum peanuts to sell, and I told he to teach me how to do it.
I started packaging the peanuts, together with chin-chin, plantain, and potato chips, this time around in sealed-in nylon with Labels. I will go around supermarkets with the car to supply it until I move to another business.
As a graduate, there's dignity in labour, but you must maintain your dignity while seeking your choice of labour.
There's a way you can differentiate yourself with packaging. While you do something below your standard, it must not be about putting food on your table alone. It must go beyond it.
While I did all that then, I did not have a limiting belief to only seek my daily bread. It's for support and independence. I always remember that "man shall not live by bread alone." Matt:4-4
Dear woman, This post is not about agreeing or disagreeing to see graduates pushing wheelbarrows but striving not to remain at the lowest for long to avoid a limiting mindset. Fulfilment of purpose is what matters.
