Kenzy Moses is a bartender in the city of Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, where he sells alcohol and Arabian tea.
His story rings a bell and sounds like every other young man who never took his eyes away from success while passing through the valley of hardship.
The Interview With Kenzy Moses:
They say the roads in the city are paved with gold. For you, why have you travelled this far?
Back in the village, we barely have time for our books. Once you return from school, our parents give us a hoe to the farm. And that was why I left the village.
The hardship in the village is unbearable. It completely affects how you look at things in life and you get physically drained too. And if you don’t continue to feed your dreams, it dies. You grow complacent and your attitude changes. Some grow to become criminals stealing from people. I left to chase my dreams to remain different from the villagers.
I wish to go to school but I don’t have any sponsors. My father died 6 years ago. Since then I’ve been hustling. I became a stylist to survive and pay for school to finish up secondary school. I’ve been saving money as a bartender so I could get back to school. I hope as time goes on I will grow to do and become better in future and positively affect the lives of my people.
If wishes were horses, I ought to be in the best school right now. Some of my friends studying in Ghana are all on scholarships.
Succeeding in life is not a magic, if others can do it then I can. I want to be a lawyer to fight against corruption. It is the biggest challenge we are facing as a people and corruption goes beyond the government.
I don’t enjoy working as a bartender. Customers who get tipsy sometimes insult the hell out of you. It kinda puts me in a sad place when that happens. The salary is nothing to write home about and sometimes you get paid lesser — way below minimum wage.
I want to get back to cutting people’s hair and possibly own a salon. So I could sponsor myself to school.
I believe in education. It’s essential for personal growth. Across all works of life you need to be educated to at least perform well or do a certain calculation in math.
I’ve been hustling but I keep in touch with family. I speak to my mom and my siblings 3 times a day.
Imagine you could do anything, where do you see yourself in the future?
I would be wearing a robe. I would be a lawyer. (He said with great confidence written all over his face and smiled).
Thank you for speaking to us, Kenzy Moses.
By Elijah Christopher
Elijah Christopher is a journalist at A New Touch Of Africa, is also a creative writer, a poet, and an IT enthusiast. He contributed to the collaborative poem written in celebration of Edwin Morgan Centenary, the first Glasgow poet laureate and Scottish national poet from the University of Glasgow. He loves meeting people and learning about new places, cultures, events, and lifestyles.
