It is better to be late than to be the late by @obasuyi-stephen

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Hello Steemians,

I hope you are all doing great! You are welcome to my blog. I give special thanks to @simonnwigwe for creating this contest, I also appreciate the community for supporting this contest. I am glad to take part in it. I do hope you enjoy reading my story.

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INTRODUCTION

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We all have aspirations, we all aspire to be great, then comes the mission to achieve this vision, how we go about it determines the rest, to some, it's easy and to others, it's tough. To the feeble minded, there is a shorter cut but to the strong willed, perseverance is the key. Journey with me as I take a look at a story which buttresses a fact " it's better to be late than to be the late".

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MUYIWA AS A CHILD

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Long time ago, in the western part of Nigeria, there lived a boy, his name was Muyiwa. Muyiwa hailed from Ikene, Ogun State, he was born to the family of Mr and Mrs Makinde, his father and mother were teachers. He was the first son among four boys. He was highly intelligent, a strong, energetic and promising child. He was also lively and fun to be around.

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UNTIMELY EXIT OF MR MAKINDE

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Muyiwa's father passed on when Muyiwa was twelve years old, leaving his mother the responsibility of the children. The hardship was so much that Uncle Lekan, Muyiwa's father's younger brother decided to relieve Muyiwa's mother. Uncle Lekan is a medical practitioner at the teaching hospital Lagos, he is based in Lagos.
Uncle Lekan had gone to Ikene to request permission to take Muyiwa with him to Lagos, to give him sound education and parental guidance. Muyiwa's mother was delighted, prayed for Uncle Lekan and handed Muyiwa over to him.

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MUYIWA'S ARRIVAL IN LAGOS

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On arrival in Lagos, Muyiwa immediately blended with his environment, he made friends in the community he lived, he was hardworking and loved by all of Uncle Lekan's children. Uncle Lekan had four children, namely; Nike, Tayo, Ola and Bolu. Nike and Muyiwa were age mates, they were all fund of Muyiwa.

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THE ARRIVAL OF TUNJI

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Uncle Lekan was the second child of his father, his father married many wives and Tunji is the child of the last of his father's wife. Tunji was twelve years old, same age as Muyiwa. On a certain day, a request came from Tunji's mother to Uncle Lekan, she wanted him to allow her son Tunji to stay with him in Lagos, as magnanimous as Uncle Lekan, he accepted and took Tunji along with him to Lagos.

Tunji had a lot to learn in his new environment, there was the communication gap as he was poor in English speaking, he wasn't also sound in his academic, he hadn't been to any standard school in Ikene.

Nike and Tayo would make jest of him for not understanding the white man's language, but they accommodated and showed him love. Their love for him was same as they had for Muyiwa.

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MUYIWA AND TUNJI

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Tunji and Muyiwa were both enrolled in the same secondary school, they were both in same class from Junior school up until the end of senior school. Tunji had improved greatly in his academics by this time. Tunji's spoken English had also improved.

The two young men passed their WASSCE with outstanding results, then secured admission to different Nigerian universities. Muyiwa was to study Land Survey while Tunji was to study Vet-Medicine.

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LIFE AT SCHOOL

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These two young men both did well in their studies, they both had good grades and promising results. Infact their lifestyle on campus was worth emulating.

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THE SUDDEN CHANGE

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Muyiwa was so good that during his industrial training he secured many contracts for his firm. He was paid handsomely by the firm. He was able to send money to his sick mother and siblings back home in Ikene.

After his industrial training, the inflow of money stopped, but Muyiwa wanted more, he wanted to make it immediately, he had been infected with the get rich syndrome, plus he wanted to solve his mother's immediate financial crisis, send his brothers to school, he just had a lot of responsibilities on him.

His mentality had changed, he needed money, more money and quick money.

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THE PROPOSAL

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He discussed the issue with Tunji who had similar responsibilities hanging on his neck, Muyiwa's proposal was for the duo to team up and engage in internet fraud, this way they would make fast cash.

He had made friends with internet fraudsters during his industrial training, all he needed was to link up with them.

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THE RESPONSE

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Tunji should have accepted the offer for all the reasons in the world, he needed the money for so many reasons, his mother needed care, his siblings too, and his personal needs, however, he objected and stated that he would rather take it slow than engage in crime. Muyiwa however appealed to Tunji to keep his secret and not tell Uncle Lekan nor Nike and her siblings.

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FEW MONTHS AFTER

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It seemed to be a dream come true for Muyiwa, as he amassed wealth and kept multiplying in it. He became the talk of the town among his siblings, relatives, fellow students, lecturers and even Uncle Lekan and his children.

At home, Muyiwa had become a reference by Uncle Lekan when encouraging his children and Tunji on the need to work hard and stay focused.

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THE COVER UP

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Muyiwa had told everyone around him that he was a contractor, that he still maintained his ties to the company where he did his industrial training.

THE NEW LIFESTYLE

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Muyiwa had completely changed, he stopped going home during holidays, then eventually moved out of Uncle Lekan's house, he rented a two bedroom flat and got it furnished. He never missed the Friday night club. He drank expensive wines, and ate the best of meals, he had a lot of fun.

In all of these, he was a giver, he would send money home constantly, he would assist Nike and Tunji financially when they came to him.

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AFTER GRADUATION

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Nike, Tunji and Muyiwa finally graduated from the university. While the other two were job hunting Muyiwa was building his house. One day the unexpected happened.

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THE BOOMERANG

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Few months to his wedding Muyiwa became seriously sick, he was admitted at the teaching hospital where Mr Lekan works, all medical attention failed, his case became worse and strange. Muyiwa was able to confess to Uncle Lekan about all he had done, one lesson he said he learnt was never to be in a hurry and to take life step by step, he made peace with God. At las! He succumbed to his illness.

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IT IS BETTER TO BE LATE THAN TO BE THE LATE

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After the demise of Muyiwa, Tunji and Nike continued to struggle, taking life one step at a time, some people even felt they would never amount to anything.

As fate would have it Tunji is a multi millionaire today, his hard work paid off, as a veterinary doctor, he has one of the biggest farms in Nigeria.

Nike got married and left the shores of Nigeria for the United States.

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CONCLUSION

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Muyiwa was intelligent and had potentials to become one of the greatest land surveyor of his time, if only he was able to resist the urge of get rich quick syndrome, he would be alive today.

It's better to work smart and hard with all deligence, than to cut corners in trying to be successful, cutting corners has its dire consequences.

In the end, it is better to be late than to be the late.

Thanks for reading.

I invite @ngoenyi, @msquaretk and @patjewell to join this contest.

MY INTRODUCTION POST