there are things that happen in the course of life that if you had been told before they happened that such a thing could happen in the future you would have said "impossible" and "never"
there are things that happen
in the course of life
that
if
you had been told before they happened
that
such a thing could happen in the future
you would have said
"impossible"
and
"never"
|
| BUTTERSCOTCH UG aka NAMUTEBI HADIJA MIRANDA |
i remember a day
back in the day
1977 A.D
i.e
[ 2025 - 1977 = ] 48 years ago
when a group of some Form 3 secondary school boys
in a school in Africa
were discussing
what model of car
they would like to
own and drive
when they grew up.
the cars that were mentioned
... if my memory serves correctly ...
included
among others
the
VOLVO 244 DL
VOLVO 240 ?
MERCEDES BENZ 200
MERCEDES BENZ 230 ?
MERCEDES BENZ 280
PEUGEOT 504 SALOON
PEUGEOT 504 STATION WAGON
LAND ROVER JEEP
RANGE ROVER JEEP
TOYOTA CROWN
CADILLAC
CHEVROLET
JAGUAR
ROLLS ROYCE
ROLLS ROYCE SILVER SHADOW
ROLLS ROYCE SILVER SPIRIT
there was
a mention or two
of
the
HONDA CIVIC MINI
and
the
SUZUKI JEEP
then in
a
Removable FoldableTarpaulin Roof Open Sides Mini Edition
although they were mentioned as
likeable add-on cars to be owned
in addition to
the ownership
by the individual
of
other cars
e,g
the MERCEDES BENZ 2B0 SE AUTOMATIC
and
perhaps
because of
the normal natural happenstance of
the fading of memory with the passage / passing of time
i don't remember anyone
in that group
that day
mentioning
the
CITROEN
or
the
RENAULT
or
the
FIAT
FIAT CLIMATTIZATTA
or
the
LADA
or
the
OPEL
but
i do remember
that
a fellow or two
mentioned
the
AUDI
and
that
it did seem to me
at the time
that
the boys were mentioning
cars that
their own parents owned
specifically
( .. or had owned in the past
to the knowledge of the boys .. )
or
cars that
their relatives and neighbours owned
specifically.
one stuff
that struck me that day
was
a part of the conversation
when
one of those boys told another boy
that
that other boy
would drive a BEETLE
when he grows up
and
the other boy
negated that pronouncement
via
a highly spirited response.
the conversation
had gone
something like this :
BOY TTT : BOY AAA, you will drive a BEETLE when you grow up.
BOY AAA : me ? Never !
my dad drives a MERCEDES BENZ 280S AUTOMATIC
and
my mother drives a VOLVO 244 DL.
me ?
drive a VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE ?
Never !
OTHER BOYS : [ Some looking surprised at this outburst ]
[ Some laughing ] [ Some smiling ]
why ?
what is wrong with a BEETLE ?
BOY AAA : [ Standing his ground ]
Nothing.
Beetle is a good car.
i like it
but
i will not drive a Beetle when i grow up.
BOY TTT's parents have a BEETLE car in their house.
i saw it when i went to his house.
BOY TTT's father is a Medical Doctor and drives a VOLVO 244 DL.
BOY TTT's mother is a Teacher a drives a DATSUN 180 K.
they have 4 cars in their house.
they have a MAZDA.
i saw it.
they have a BEETLE.
i saw it.
let BOY TTT drive a BEETLE when he grows up.
me i will not drive it.
i will drive BENZ like my father
and
i will buy it BRAND NEW like my father bought his own BRAND NEW
i will also have a VOLVO
and
i will buy it BRAND NEW like my mother bought her own BRAND NEW
because my mother drives VOLVO and i like it
but
i will not drive BEETLE.
if BOY TTT likes let him drive BEETLE
but
me i will not drive it.
OTHER BOYS : [ Laughing ]
BOY TTT : [ Laughing ]
at this time
.. circa 1977 A D ..
the Nigeria Naira was a STRONG CURRENCY
and
was exchanging at
about NAIRA 0:75 = US DOLLAR 1:00
at this time
.. if my memory serves correctly ..
PEUGEOT
and
VOLKSWAGEN?
had
car assembly plants in Nigeria
where
PEUGEOT cars
and
VOLKSWAGEN cars
were
put together
i.e
manufactured
in the sense of
putting the imported COMPLETELY KNOCKED DOWN components together
to
produce brand new cars.
at this time,
the general notion
was
that
if
one wanted to buy a car
one bought
brand new vehicles imported from abroad
( .. usually somewhere in Europe
- - mostly West[ern] Europe .. )
and
the general view
of
used cars
called
SECOND HAND CARS
at the time
was that
they were cars owned and used by students at the University.
by way of explanation of the paragraph immediately above :
(i) some parents at the time
used to
give their old cars to
their children who were students in the Universities at the time.
(ii) some parents
who had old cars
didn't give them to the children studying at the Universities
and
did not allow them to drive their old cars either.
(iii) some parents didn't have any car at all.
(iv) some parents had cars
but
didn't have any old cars
they could give to their children studying at the Universities
if they so wished.
(v) however,
the Nigeria Economy was VIBRANT and ROBUST
at the time
and
it was possible for
University students
who so wished
to
EARN A HONEST INCOME
by
working part-time
as
LESSON TEACHERS
i.e
by taking / teaching Primary School Pupils and / or Secondary School Pupils
in after school hours teaching classes
and / or
doing
VACATION JOBS
which were generally available
in many organisations in Nigeria
at the time.
(vi) so what some University students did then
was to
work
and
use the money
( or part of the money )
to
buy off an old car from someone who had one.
(vii) at a guess,
it may have been
from
that sort of reality of that era
that
the notion arose
that
parents and / or folks who are doing well ( financially )
drive
CARS BOUGHT BRAND NEW
while
University students
drive
SECOND HAND CARS
being
the OLD CARS they bought off some folks
although
it was also acknowledged
that
parents and / or other folks who were not doing so well ( financially )
did
drive
SECOND HAND CARS
i.e
CARS PREVIOUSLY OWNED BY SOME ONE ELSE.
FAST TRACK TO 2025 A D :
(I) by 1990 A.D
it was no longer the assumption
that
the first car
a Nigeria University graduate would own
after completing
the NATIONAL YOUTH SERVICE CORPS (NYSC) PROGRAMME
and
getting immediate employment
in an organisation in Nigeria
would be
a BRAND NEW PEUGEOT CAR.
(II) owing a car
.. which had been taken for granted in the past ..
had become
A SORT OF FEAT
and
NIGERIANS HAD STARTED
CELEBRATING
OWNING
SECOND HAND CARS
AND
CELEBRATING
OWNING
USED CARS
IMPORTED FROM ABROAD
( e.g EUROPE, THE AMERICAS )
AND
WHICH
IMPORTED USED SECOND HAND CARS
NIGERIANS
PERHAPS
IN A BID
TO
RATIONALIZE
THE DOWNFALL IN
THE QUALITY OF THEIR LIFE
i.e
THE DOWNFALL IN
THE QUALITY OF THEIR LIVING
AND
THE DOWNFALL IN
THE STANDARD OF THEIR LIFE
i.e
THE DOWNFALL IN
THE STANDARD OF THEIR LIVING
EUPHEMISTICALLY DUBBED
"THAT WHICH CAME FROM ACROSS THE SEAS"
i.e TOKUNBO CARS ►►▼▼
( .. that TOKUNBO there is pronounced TO-KOON-BOR
and
is sometimes
adopted / given at birth
as
a personal name
to
a Nigeria child born in Europe or USA
i.e
born abroad
among i.e by
folks of one of the largest population tribes in Nigeria )
►►▼▼ IN A SORT OF
PSYCHOLOGICAL SELF DECEPTION
THAT
EVEN IF THE CARS
ARE NOT BRAND NEW
THEY WERE IMPORTED FROM ABROAD
AND SO
THEIR SOCIO-ECONOMIC DOWNFALL
HAS NOT BEEN SO BAD
THAT
THEY HAVE TO RELY ON ONLY
OLD CARS USED BY FOLKS IN NIGERIA
WHO WISH TO DISPOSE OF SUCH CARS
WHENEVER THEY
( i.e
the intending car buyers )
WISH TO BUY A CAR.
so,
really
there are things that happen
in the course of life
that
if
you had been told before they happened
that
such a thing could happen in the future
you would have said
"impossible"
and
"never"
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