Lovers Story: Brother Samson and Sister Debbie 4
Having been jolted back to reality he checked the wall clock and saw it is about 09:30 hours local time. “Oh! I am late for work. He took his towel where he used to hang it on the door, wrapped it around his waist, removed his sorts, take his toothbrush and pressed the toothpaste on it, took the sponge box and pour some water from his 25 Liters keg into a plastic bucket, opened the door to go into the bathroom, as he was going there, he was thinking, today. I will have to buy food from the food vendors.
Growing in The Art: Business
About 6 years ago, Samson started his business from the lowest level according to the estimate given him by his mentor, Mr. Bintinlaiye. Starting a business from the scratch as he has done has not been easy it takes a courageous man like him to bell the cart like that. Having peeped into the future through the telescopes of his business mentor and some of the experiences he has had in the past he knows that it is not on the immediate that one starts business that one would start making profits, that was what prompted him to set aside a little money out of the remaining 35% on him for his up keep and other local running.
Although he later dipped his hand into some of the money he sets aside for local running and other miscellaneous spending but by and large he has been able to keep himself without asking for assistance from anyone and if need be that he will ask for assistance from people, perhaps from his family members and close prayer partners, it was limited. This kind of soliciting usually occurs when he heard that a new album has been released by a popular artist or actor, which he knows, having been in regular tune with his mentor until now that he has diminished it because he is growing and mastering the art of the business, that their fans cannot but demand for their released albums during the first four weeks of the release. After this the demand for such albums may be low, but people will still be demanding for it because it is not everyone of their fans who will have money at that time and some will hear about the release very late, most especially those living in the rural areas.
When he thus asks for support to get such albums into his shop, he will give them a date when he will pay them back and he hardly fail the time he promised those he took money from to pay them back. In case he would not meet the target of the set date, he would have gotten about 80% of the money ready and would implore the person to give him some days more, explaining to him why he could not meet with the set date. Most of the people who lend him money are understanding people.
He is yet to be given his parents the care his heart plans to give them because his business is yet growing, despite this, he is still trying his best to buy little things for them, things like half a dozen of tin milk and other provisions.
His brother and sister do bump on him occasionally to ask for little help from him and he has not been a failure in this aspect of supporting them in the little ways he could.
The more the investments (or startup capital) the more the gain, this brother Samson has known in his limited time in the business. He is however grateful unto God that the business is moving accordingly.
Deep Thought
About three years after he started the business, he started thinking of what he needs to do to give the business a boost, he seems not to be contented with the business growth which is directly proportional to the investment so far. “This business needs business fertilizer to rapidly grow”, he said to himself. The business fertilizer that the business needs is nothing but additional influx of money into the business. But this he cannot get now, he thence started thinking of how he could transform the business where he could go to for loans that will give the business a fillip rise.
The thought of how to get loan has been bothering his mind, he made attempt at talking to some bank officials, but he discovered that the criteria laid down for him to fill will not only paralyze the business, but it will snuff life out of the business. He therefore left the thought of that.
One day, one of the business men in the area where his shop was located, Mr. Moneya, came to his shop to ask for an old album, but he did not have the album, albeit the man asked him if he can help him get the album to which Samson replied that he can help him get the album, the man therefore deposited a token to commit himself as well as to avoid Samson saying he did not go to the place to get the album for him.
After doing this, their discussion changed they started talking about the state of their island and republic and that small capital cannot start a worthwhile business in the island again. As they were on this Samson told the man that he even approached the bank to see the possibility of him taken a loan from the bank. Mr. Moneya replied that what pushed him there? With the small business of his? That it is not advisable that he takes a loan from the bank.
Samson told him that he discovered that he could not take the loan from the bank after he studied the laid down rules and the requirements to getting a loan from the bank, he discovered that any attempt for him to doing such with this meager investment of his would lead to a failed end. “I therefore jettisoned the idea”, he told Mr. Moneya. Despite dropping the idea, the thought of expanding this business have not left my heart, and I discovered that I need to do something about it. I have been having sleepless nights on this thought.
Mr. Moneya said has he heard about something called cooperative?
He replied that he has heard about it, but that people scare the hell out of him because they said many of those cooperatives after a while do run bankruptcy with members’ capitals going down the drain.
Mr. Moneya told him that he has only been told a partial truth about cooperative, because it is not all of it that is not viable. There are some that are viable and infact in the next decade some would still be viable. What matters is that one should get one of such groups and belong there, it will help. Samson keeps looking at Moneya as he continues to talk.
It is such cooperative that I will advise you to belong to at this stage, do not go and take loan from the bank for now, but maybe when your business grows such that you will need hundreds of millions of naira for her growth, you may approach banks then, but at this moment, banks loans are not meant for fledgling businesses likes ours’, he said.
“How do I get to know such viable cooperative? Or do you have anyone in mind that you can introduce me to?” brother Samson asked from Mr. Moneya.
I have once been at a fix like you, so disturbed of how to move my business forward, having known that the more the investment into one’s business, the more the returns. I was in this position for months. I did not think of approaching banks for anything though, because I have known that it will not pay for me. I was at this position until I met Pa. Sahola who told me about cooperative.
I do not know much about cooperative then the only means outside banks that I knew then was local contribution and taken loans from the person one is contributing loans to. But having studied the situation, I discovered that it will not work for me, because the loans taken from such people would be repaid within a month which may sometimes not be possible because business is not a straight-line graph. So, having taken loan twice from the woman I was contributing money to daily, I discovered that I won’t serve the purpose, so I dropped the idea of taken loans from her.
When Pa. Sahola introduced cooperative to me, I cannot but asked him to tell me more. What he first did was citing the example of a cooperative body that was popular in the island to me, asking me if I still remember SaiZai cooperative building along the Zai road, and I told him that I remembered the building, but I do not know much about them. He told me that what they used to do there is lend money to members.
I now said but the body is no longer operating, he replied that he knows, but that he wants to take me from the known to the unknown that is why he started with SaiZai cooperative building.
“I am all ears”, I told Pa. Sahola.
He thence told me that this is how cooperative works; one would have to become a member before one can receive loans from the body. This is because the collaterals that banks do require would be asked from members of the groups. Members would stand as sureties for other members who want to take loan from the groups. But one cannot just become a member like that except such a one is invited in. “You cannot just join a cooperative group because they are dealing with money and you know people are dangerous, some would join the group with the fraudulent mind. Such people after knowing the secrets of the group would invite their members to attack the group or attack individuals after taken loans from the group. That is why they do not just allow anyone into the group. Anyone who wishes to join any of the cooperative group would be invited in by one of the members of the group who knows the person and can vouch for the person’s characters as well as his jobs. If such a person does any fraudulent means, the person who invited him to the group would be called and would lead them and the security personnel in investigating the person. It is a cautious means of protecting themselves that cooperative societies have devised over the years and that is why it is still viable, but as for the Saizai that collapsed, that happened basically because of mismanagement from their leaderships.” Pa. Sahola said about the group’s formation that day.
How do I get the one whose leaders would be upright? I asked him.
Pa. Sahola told me that he is a member of one, that if I don’t mind, I can follow him to become a member of the group and I will sure enjoy the place.
“What are the things I will need to become a member?” I asked from him
Pa. Sahola replied that I will need two copies of passport, registration fee, because I will be given a form to fill as well as money to buy shares and money to save that day. It is the money I saved that I will be using to borrow the money from the group.
I asked him when can I start borrowing money?
Pa. Sahola replied that first loan is called trial loan and I must have been a member for 6 months before I will be eligible to take the first loan from the group. After paying back the loan to time, I will be able to take subsequent loans, which would not be on trial again. What however matters to cooperative members is that each member must always attend their meeting. This is because you as well as others would be monitoring the money saved together and if anything is going wrong you will be able to point to it as a regular member. Apart from that, the money to be borrowed you will need to be present to sign the necessary documents which no one can sign on one’s behalf.
Having been looking for means to improve my business, I cannot but agree to following the man to his group, Faithful God cooperative society, “the earlier I start the better”, I told myself that days. It was after I followed him to the place that I know that the person talking to me is the chairman of the group. And ever since I joined the group, I have no regrets because I have been able to take loans without fear or favor to improve my business. So, it is cooperative society that will help a small business man like you for now. The interest is within the limits of a small-scale business person and the collateral required would be gotten from other members in as much as you are prompt at the meetings. “If you will also not mind, I will want you to come and join this cooperative group”, Mr. Moneya said.
“Thanks for this clarification. I will give it a thought” Brother Samson replied Mr. Moneya.
“You are welcome. This is why we are at each other’s service. When we see something that will move our business forward, a good business man should always share it with his colleagues he said as he steps out of Samson’s shop, with Samson following him, then paused and say, please give this a serious thought, I want to tell you that you won’t regret taken the action”.
Samson Joins Cooperative
Samson’s mind could not leave what was shared with him by Mr. Moneya, of a truth the business of Moneya is wearing a new look in the neighborhood and he said those new looks is due to the supports he has been receiving from the cooperative group to which he belongs. He calls to his mind that when he first started his business in the area, Moneya’s shop was not as it is now and this is his thirty sixth month in the business environment now, he can say for sure that Moneya’s business has changed from the position it has been before to a new level. Recently, Moneya has gotten a new Hiace for the business this he uses to go and carry loads from the Riverine island as well as use to supply goods to some customers in the island and those in rural settlements all these changes have been through the supports of the loans he takes from the cooperative. Through the cooperative he can boast like others, could make promises to some people in times of emergencies and crises which he will fulfill. “This is the secret about me that some people do not know that make them call me millionaire”, Samson remember him saying this. When he said this, I said to myself, how can someone be taken loans to expand and grow his business and still looks unruffled, peaceful as he is? He looks peaceful. No one is disturbing him unlike those who took bank loans and other loans whose possessions would be auctioned. People are saying he is a millionaire on looking at his assets but he will not agree to that, claiming he is just a struggler like we all are. “I am a clean business man who works with his hands and eats from the sweat of his face”, Mr. Moneya will say. Many young entrepreneurs are looking up to him in the neigbourhood with some saying they just want their business to be like his’ and if they could attain such status that would be okay for them, for achieving that would mean they have set a milestone for others coming behind.
I hardly agree with such because I know humans would always aspire for more, after attaining a status, they will yet aspire to move further to another level, they will take a step from whence they are. Someone, I mean my father, said that is the beauty of the world, the beauty of living in the world is to keep making progress, anything that prevents progress would make the world boring to the person and would make one wish for death than being alive, the person would be stinking, the person would hate him or herself.
I think I will have to give what Mr. Moneya said a trial, as an advert says, “a trial will convince you”. I will join the group, I cannot possibly allow my business to keep crawling like this, for how long does would it continue to crawl like this that I would become someone in life? I will join the group, he concluded.
After reaching a personal consensus he went to Mr. Moneya about four days after to give him the album he asked him to get for him as well as tell him that he is interested in joining the group.
Mr. Moneya was glad that he came, and he balance him off, for he has been looking for the album for a while, but to spare time to go to other shops where they used to sell albums has been his albatross. He thanked him and told him that he will take him to the venue of the meeting the following month because the meeting is usually once a month and the meeting for the month has been held. They agreed to where they will meet on the day of the meeting.
On the day of the meeting brother Samson got off his room very early so that he will not miss the time, he cannot avoid entering traffic if he gets off his house some minutes to the time, therefore he left early.
As he was alighting from the cab at the filling station where Mr. Moneya said they should meet, he saw Mr. Moneya getting off his Hiace bus. They greeted each other and walked for about two minutes took the next turning to their right as they walk towards the east, walked for another two minutes and got to a fenced building walked in as Mr. Moneya started greeting members of the group who have arrived. They walked into the hall in the compound, which is where they used to hold the cooperative meeting.
Mr. Moneya asked to see the committee and was invited in, he told the committee members that he has brought a business friend to join the group. The committee was happy, and they invited brother Samson in for short interview.
In the interview room with the executives of the cooperative he was told the rules and regulations governing their cooperative meeting and the chief of all is making it a point of duty to be attending the meeting every month. Brother Samson to all the rules and promised to be of good conduct. The secretary of the cooperative was told to give him the entrance form to fill.
Reason For Taking The Second Loan
This was how brother Samson joined the cooperative group. He took his first loan in the seventh month of joining the group which he must pay back within six months. This loan is called a trial loan and he was able to pay back within four months.
He did not have intention of taking another loan when he took it, but his parents called him that they need his financial assistance.
His parents want to buy a decoder to be using to watch different stations from the ongoing promo, but they do not have the money and would not want to miss the promo. Brother Samson applied for the loan at the cooperative and fortunate for him he was the only one who applied for loan that month, he has no obstacle to getting the loan. He just removes 20% from the total money he collected and gave the rest money to his parents.
They were enormously grateful to him, because they did not know he could get the money for them within a short space of time, seeing that his business is still metamorphosizing. They prayed and prayed for him because he did give them above the amount, they requested from him because he said they may need money for other things and who know how long they will leave on earth for their mind not to get what they wanted and desire to have in time is not good. “Whatever I have now I would be giving them so that their heart would be blessing me”, he said to himself after collecting the money and that was why he decided to give them above what was asked from him.
When Lizzy heard what his brother has done, she was glad appreciating God for changing her brother’s life. A week after this, she went to her brother to tell him that she is in need of blouse and skirt.
Lizzy’s brother gave her a time to come back telling her that she needs to have gone and price the goods and come with the price of it to him on the said day.
Lizzy went to a boutique store to look for the ones she likes and perfectly fitting on her. After closely examining the cloths she got down the prices of the cloths. On getting to her brother’s shop on the appointed day, she told him what the cost of the cloths were.
“Buy a very good cloths, cloths that will be smart on you, cloths that will make you more beautiful”, Samson said as he gives Lizzy the money for the cloths.
“Trust me big bro.’, I will buy what you will like”, she said thanking his brother as she takes the money from him. She plays with him a while in the shop before taking her leave to go and buy the cloths.
The need of the family makes brother Samson to take the second loan.
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