I know a shortcut

The first time I heard those words had to be when I was about 8 or 9 years old. Until this day I had faithfully followed the path that was shown to me to get to the market. But all too soon this pathway became all too lengthy and I began to seek alternatives. So when my tempter sister said those words to me I swallowed up the entire promise and said “lead the way”.

And so it began, we took a route that wiped clean 50% of the journey; words cannot describe how gidi I was when my final destination came into sight. I began to think about ways of how I could turn my new found knowledge into a profitable investment. Ugo down the road would definitely have use for this new route, not to mention Ada and Tayo, they too visit the market. And of course my other siblings. O God thank you for choosing me to be acquainted with this knowledge first. You are always good to me.

Eh… wait, what is this I see infront of me, is this a beautiful crafted ecosystem which houses many different species of the animal kingdom such as snakes, other snakes and more snakes. Why am I speaking big grammar, omo na bush I see!!! Big Bush!! The kind bush wey tall pass me. The kind bush wey the fear of what is inside the bush is greater than what is inside the bush. The kind bush wey you know say you no fit tell anybody why you enter am… as in you gan sef go dey ask yourself “How do you feel, sebi na you dey feel like you sabi pass everybody… Ok now enter… I say enter.”

I looked at the slimly villainous creature that was my sister and began to wonder why I had let her tempt me so. Like honestly why did I listen to this Delilah. I began to calculate how long it would take me to turn back. Here were the facts. I had completed 50% of my original journey, with this detour I had walked an additional 25%, this meant that to go back I needed to walk back 25% then complete the remaining 50%. So all I had done is increase my journey by 50%. Oh God why did you let me fall prey to this Judas!! Ehn why… am I not a little child should you not protect me from these spurns of evil. What will I tell my mummy when a snake bites me eh... what?

My dear people I had to suffer the consequences of my fall from grace. Omo the way I ran through the bush you would have thought I was Mrs Usain Bolt. I mean there was not even a clear pathway; it was just a bunch of overgrown leaves that had been trampled due to one to many people stepping on them.

Needless to say I would pass this “Shortcut” another 10 or 20 times in my life. Story for another day. But I guess the point of all this my long ranting is of recent I am becoming more aware people trying to take the shortcut in life. Sometimes it is annoying things like going off the road when there is traffic. All those who take Lagos/Ibadan expressway can testify to this.

Or it can be riskier and involve travelling to another country on a visiting visa with no intention of ever returning. But why, is it really worth you putting your life on hold or the fear of immigration services. Looking at my own personal experience I only took that shortcut because I was trying to avoid putting in the necessary work. If the distance was too long, I could have employed other means to either improve my speed or improve the entertainment value of the journey. Either way I held the power in my hands.

Today we have youths complaining about lack of employment opportunities but when you have a discussion with them, very few have taken steps to empower themselves with the skills employers are looking for or skills that could turn them into entrepreneurs. Many choose the shortcuts to the promise land. But as they say “Easy come, easy go”

So my dear readers what are your thoughts on shortcuts, are they a necessary evil or an avoidable calamity.