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🎖️CorporalThe day my garden taught me about patience
K
4 months ago
Last year during the dry season, I planted some bitter leaf in my backyard. I watered it every morning at 5am, just like I used to do when I was in the civil service and had to be at the ministry by 7. My neighbour, a young man who just built his house, laughed at me. He said, "Baba, why you dey waste your time? That thing no go grow for this soil." I just smiled. The Yoruba say, the river that forgets its source will dry up in the sun. I knew that soil. I had been in Ibadan since 1961. That soil had given us yam, cassava, even okro when I was a boy. So I continued. After three weeks, nothing. My wife said, "Kunle, maybe the boy is right." I said, "My dear, patience is the father of wisdom." On the fourth week, small green shoots appeared. By the second month, the bitter leaf was tall enough to harvest. My neighbour came to my fence and said, "Baba, you be wizard o." I told him, "My son, what is happening today is not new. The same sun that melts butter hardens clay. You just need to know your season." That day, I made efo riro with fresh bitter leaf from my garden. It tasted like victory.
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