Jide lazied in dreamland, enjoying the bliss of a man in affluent wealth. He was dreaming about all the things life had offered him, his dream house, dream cars…and been able to take his wife to exotic holidays across the world. He had a customized wall clock that sang beautiful melodies every hour. And has he sauntered round his house, he heard a melody he had not heard before, “Monday Morning!!! Wake up! Wake up! Monday Morning!!! Wake up! Wake up!

He turn round in alarm, and in an instant, he found himself in a vaguely familiar place, a far cry from where he was coming from…and he heard a popular Chief Commander Ebenezer Obey’s song been played just outside his window, “Eni ro wo e loju alaa to n dunu…eni ko te pa mo se nitori ebi…” And he realized he was in his one room apartment in Ajegunle, and it was 6am and would be late for work if he does not bolt out of the house in another 10mins…

He angrily turned off his alarm, his albatross and cursed under his breath his landlord whose favorite musician was Ebenezer Obey and would play all his songs all day as he sat in his reclining chair chatting with his friends and neighbors.

As he trudged out of his room and made to rush to the bus stop, the skies darkened suddenly, lightening streaked across the sky, and next thing, torrents of rain came pouring down. He had nowhere to run, he was midway between his house and the bus stop, and a bus was just getting there. He sprang after the bus like other commuters gunning for the same bus to avoid the rain and fought his way in, thoroughly soaked and disheveled.

He sat gloomily in the bus as it made its way to Lekki where his office is. The inevitable traffic, which was the norm, now compounded by the rain. he was going to be late, on a Monday morning and his heartbeat raced at the dressing down he was going to get for getting late to the office and missing the 7am meeting. What a way for the week to start he thought to himself.

Uche woke up with a start at 5:30am, he dragged himself out of bed and sleepwalked to the bathroom to have his bath and dress up for work. Monday morning for him, was always a prayer point that it should pass him over…wishing for there to be public holiday or just an excuse not to go to work. He hastily dressed up and hurried to board a bike to his bus-stop at Berger so he could catch a BRT Bus to the Island en-route Lekki, his office. He was already in the bus when the early morning downpour began and thanked his stars that he was already in the bus but cursed the rain for the traffic that was bound to follow suit due to heavily flooded road.

Jide and Uche were friends from childhood.

Later in the day, both sat down to reflect as was their custom over the last 2 years since they started working. And they both lamented on their current state and their apparent inability to do anything. They had contemplated changing jobs, but the experience had been the same. Both had changed jobs twice in the last two-year for a higher paying one, but the pay never takes care of their day-to-day bills. They both had family members looking up to them for support and there was pressure from their respective girlfriends as regards marriage. They concluded they were in a rat race, and they need to find a way out fast.

For a month they deliberated on business ideas, drew up business plans, sought out investors, but always met a brick wall…No starting capital from either of them. Both had spent their salary and no hope any income coming in from anywhere. They concluded they need spiritual help.

They both met with their respective Pastors, who counsel them to go on a three-day fasting and prayer for breakthrough and encouraged them to give more to the church, that God would bless them. And for seven months, both were at it, prayed, fasted back-to-back, attended crusades, joined the church work force, and at a point they both gave 90% of their salary to the church during a particular crusade for breakthrough when a guest minister was invited to speak from America. Needless to say, they starved that month, trekked, and they were thoroughly broke.

To crown their misery, it was announced in their company, there will be salary cuts due to the economy meltdown and cost of operating business. At this juncture, they were totally downcast as their fortunes had not turned around and they were thoroughly dejected, broken, poor and desperate.

The moment Wale walked into the venue; he was the cynosure for all eyes. Everyone was shaking hands with him, high fives, back slapping, and hugs all around the venue for the party. He walked up to Uche and Jide and they all hugged each other heartily, laughing, and cracking jokes. They were the three musketeers back then in school. They were inseparable. Jolly good fellows who were always planning events, going out together, and reading together.

Of the three, Uche and Jide where the most brilliant, Wale to was a brilliant fellow but more apt in doing business ventures.

While the party was going on, the three came together to catch up on old times and talk of the future. Both Jide and Uche were quite surprised that Wale seems to be doing remarkable well. “I work in a company and i run my business by the lines as well” He informed them. Told them he had more than a source of income and was still getting more. They were flabbergasted at his claim and wondered, “na we dey teach this guy tutorials for school nau, how he come do am?”

They were also shocked to learn he was married already, and they wondered, what was he doing that they are not doing? They told him their challenges and pressed him to show them the way. He smiled and asked them, “Are you willing to follow the route i took?”

Wale narrated to them, how his journey began when they left school. “For two years, i was hunting for a job.” “Tried my hands at different business and failed until i got a job in a small company.” I couldn’t pay my bills, he continued, and it was difficult. “I was merely getting by until i ran into one of my customers who spoke to me about a way out. For two weeks i was hunting him with phone calls asking to get an appointment with him. He was simply terribly busy.

“This was a well accomplished person and relatively young, telling me he can help me out of my predicament… Wale thought to himself. He felt hope stirring in his heart that at last, a silver lining in the horizon. Is it money he wants to give me? Or get me a contract or another job? The questions were popping up in his mind one after the other like pop corns in the making. All night he tossed in bed wondering, what is the way he wants to show him.

Eventually they met two weeks later, and he told him the most mind-boggling thing he ever heard in his life. He said, “You are poor because you are POOR. To make any headway out, you will need to meet with the Wizard of Iyanfoworogi”.

To be Continued.