Fish in the gutter!

Originally written August of 2013...date may not apply.

 

That said, I actually saw this live! Fish in a gutter. I am no gadget freak, I would have had the proper camera to give you a picture. As though that wasn't enough, I saw some guys fishing in the gutter in Lekki!!!! I kid you not! As I was passing by the road I saw them with fishing lines and there was this big open drainage they were dipping it in. And I know that out of the 160 million Nigerians there are, only about 5 fish for fun, 3 others that fish for their families only but the rest of them sell them to the rest of us. Unless you live in Nigeria, you won't understand why you need the best of luck in the next fish you eat, just in case you get chosen by the wrong fish (you know how the fish in the market on the tray gives you goo-goo eyes? Word of advice, do not give in next time.).

I first heard about  that there were 3 fish in our own gutter, and the last time I checked, the guard (aboki) ate 2 of them. Now I haven’t seen any fish in my own gutter but I have heard splashes in the night. I remember staking out to catch a glimpse of the weird ones once but after about 20mins of inhaling the gutter smell, I gave up on the lead.

Sometime last month while taking a shortcut out of my street, I saw schools of fishlings and fish swimming in a gutter nearby. They were hanging out in dozens according to their age I presumed, each in their own school grade. When I spoke to someone about it, he said that a lot of people fish in the gutters of Jakande as well. There’s a hazy memory in my head that could confirm that because I can’t quite remember at this point whether or not I saw them at Jakande or imagined those ones. I didn’t think much about it until I saw 3 more fish in a gutter by Lekki roundabout.

The most logical explanation to why that is possible is that the fish were carried in the ocean surge and previous floods. That could be the actual fish themselves or their eggs, you decide. I didn’t read up on this so feel free to look it up and challenge my notions.

This experience led me to write a book, my first. I have written a few, but I am guilty of uncompleted books written on my phone, my many journals or even my email draft. Their spirits often haunt me in my sleep. Hopefully this one will give me the confidence to finish the others so they can all rest in one piece. This book is about the important lessons that  I am learning as an entrepreneur and focuses on how I am able to adapt as an entrepreneur in Nigeria.

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