13/07/2025
Olodo, Olodo! — But She Proved Everyone Wrong
During my apprenticeship days, there was a girl in our shop whom everyone loved to mock. Her name was Chioma, but hardly anyone called her that.
They preferred to call her Olodo, slowpoke, or sometimes even dunce. To them, she was nothing but the “slow learner” of the group — the one who always asked the same question twice, the one who kept forgetting what was taught yesterday, the one who always got scolded by the boss.
Whenever our boss demonstrated a new technique or explained a style, Chioma would be the last to grasp it. Sometimes, even after everyone had moved on to the next task, she’d still be standing there, needle in hand, confused and unsure what to do.
The other girls would laugh and say things like,
“Ah, Chioma, are you sure tailoring is for you?”
“This girl will soon turn the fabric into dust before she learns!”
“Olodo tailor!”
They mocked her without mercy. I could see the hurt in her eyes every time those words were thrown at her. At first, she would force a smile and pretend not to care, but I knew it ate her up inside.
Even our boss got frustrated sometimes. She would frown at her and say, “Chioma, how many times will I explain this? Are you even paying attention?” But unlike the others, she never pushed her away.
In fact, over time, she started making sure she didn’t get left behind. She would ask her questions directly, stay a little longer by her side, and even let her practice on her own pieces.
I couldn’t stand seeing how broken she looked each time the others mocked her, so whenever I had free time, I would sit with her quietly and go over what we’d been taught.
Sometimes it took repeating it three or four times before it sank in, but I noticed something — Chioma was paying attention. She might have been slow, but she got it eventually. And once she understood, she hardly ever forgot.
We went on like that — day by day, lesson by lesson — until we all finally completed our apprentices
