30/05/2026
Year 2023, Mama as i usually called her from Parakou, a town in Benin Republic bring 3 farm workers for me
Mama actually came to Nigeria wiith 12 farm workers. 11 male and 1 female. The female is one of the guys husband
But by the time mama came, i already have my farrm workers from Parishiaga in Burkina Faso
I had met mama in one of those years that i travelled to Burkina Faso. She has been my God sent on those journey
So mama kniw that i always get foreign farm workers every year. So when people in her place said they want to work, i was her first contact
Despite that i already have my farm worker from another source, i still honour mama by taking the last 3 farm workers remaining out of the 11 she came to Nigeria with
Mama has nothing in this deal other than we pay her transport money to and fro and the boys transport fare which the farmer already know
So I gave the 3farm workers to my Landlord who has not gotten any boys by that time
The farm worker with us is the one that brought his wife. And the wife has been placed in a food place in Saki to work
2 days after the husband said we must go and bring his wife from Saki to where he is
But why didnt you insist before mama left for Benin Republic.
He said he thought where the wife is staying will not be far from our own side
Hmnnn
Thats how we have to pay the food canteen woman the transport money she paid to secure the farm worker wife and bring her back to the husband side
We did this because the husband is the lead of pur team. As in the other two guys are obedient to him.
We called them ogaloko meanning farm boss
Then work start
Ogaloko told us he was in Nigeria last year and he collected Bajaj motorcycle. Remember yearly payment is Bajaj motorcycle.
To us thats great assurance that he can work very well on the farm. When the ogaloko leads, the others must follow
For the wife, we source another amala joint for here to work. She will get paid and she will eats there and sleep there.
She gets to see the husband once in a while and wont constitute problem to the other guys sharing room with the husband
On normal day, farmers usually reject farm workers that come with wife. But because the way the situation is
So work start
Ogaloko was not proving himself. Which means the other boys work is not good too. They will not work more than the ogaloko
My Landlord will complain to me because they are still technically my boys.
I will call and counsel ogaloko that his performance is not good. He need to put in more effort
Soon ogaloko start hiding his laziness under one sickness or the other.
Today its stomach pain. Tomorrow its headache
And he start skipping farm work.
Anytime he claim such sickness, he will send for his wife and stop her from working to stay with him
Hmnnnnn
First the wife madam at the food canteen sacked the wife. The woman has also be complaining that the wife is too sluggish, he sleep all the time, he wont attend to customers
Me, i pretend not to know that one because i am still battling with the husband laziness issue
My house become courthouse. A week can not pass before we settle one thing or the other. As we are dling that, i am also calling Benin Republic to update mama of her boys performance
I told the Ogaloko, this your woek is not justifying Bajaj mororcycle ooo.
He said he will proof to me whem they start making Yam heaps( Ebe isu)
Yam heaps is the most tedious part of farm work
And so we manage Ogaloko team till yam heap making season
Few days of yam heap making, ogaloko said he no do work again.
Heaps making is about 2 or 2.5 months. But extremely tedious
Everyday, farm worker make 100 yam heaps
But you said you collect Bajaj motorcycle last year?
In short, not only the ogaloko leave, all his team abadoned work and went back too Benin Relublic
Now farmers dont have money to pay them in the middle of the year until end of the year.
So i have to bear the cost of sending them all back. With promise their money will be send to them by the end of the year when harvests are sold
We have sat down to calculate what their effort is worth for the period they stay
By December, we arrange and send the money to the account no that Mama gave us
And that settle that case
You can then imagine my great surprise whem somebody came to great me in 2025 and now turn out to be Ogaloko.
Hiannnm
I dont even recognise him again, then my landlord now said, thats our ogaloko that did not complete his years in 2023
Ohhj
And in 2025, someone else have employed him in Ago Amodu again
We ask of his wife, he said the wife is nursing a baby so he stayed back. Congratulations i said
By that time, he now promise my landlord, his former boss that when he finish from his present place, he will come and work with him
Hiannn
My hand no dey was my response.
Thank God he did not come through me
I am not getting iinvolve
You can now imagine my surprise when i asks of Ogaloko one day and they said he left
He left how?
The year has not end. What happened
Ogaloko could not complete another working year again
But he promise to come and work with you now, i told my landlord
Picture here is standard yam heaps
