....... I am an Aviculturist
.....I love giving
....I escaped from gorilla attack
........ Why we use Agbegilodo
As he approached the front of his office over 1,000 white pigeons flew towards the sky flapping their wings and as they touched down their beauty showed .One could imagine and appreciate the handiwork of God on these birds, and as they all touched down they formed a circle around him as if they had come to welcome their benefactor.
In a jiffy, he went inside , brought out a can filled with corn and millet grains which had been kept in a cool dry place and threw them to the birds, again they all flew and scattered towards the areas he spread the grains .
Mukaila Obanigba looked at the birds. He smiled and jocularly said '' this is enough for you now''. He then went into his office to start the day's business.
It was on a busy Monday , the beginning of a new week. As he sat in the office using calculator to know how much he made over the weekend a woman came inside . The woman went on her knees, in tears she said her son was chased away from school for not paying school fees and needed his assistance , she added that she would not mind working for it in his sawmill. Obanigba , shook his head , asked her few questions and told the woman to come back. The following day the woman came back and was given double the amount she demanded for.
Few months ago, a young man cried to him that his father died and he is the first child of the family , and according to custom and tradition he has to buy the casket for the burial. Obanigba asked how much he needed for the casket, he counted the money and gave him.
These are some of what the man called Mukaila Obanigba , a silent giver , a philanthropist and a devoted Moslem does without blowing his trumpet.
WHY I GIVE
Every year he gives money to the handicapped, to the market women and to the needy . Many testified to this attitude of his philanthropy .Asked why he gives out money freely and donating as if he has any political ambition or any motive behind it . Obanigba smiled and said '' I am not rich and I am not poor . I have gone through hardship.I know what it is to be hungry and not to go to school. I am not doing all these for cheap popularity or for any favour . It is in the Holy Koran even in the Bible to help the needy.
I believe in hard work with God's blessings. I just have to do it,l have no power of mine its God that answers prayers . If I wait till next day to do good what if I don't wake up the next day? '', he said.
THIS IS 20YEARS IN THE BUSINESS
Obanigba has been in the sawmill business since 1999. According to him he inherited the business from his late father, Obanigba and has been doing it since then.He said many have abandoned the business but for him , he is still in it by God's grace.''I have experience in this profession and cannot be cheated. I know how much a timber cost. I have driven timber vehicle , and I have cut the wood using machines, infact I know the nitty- gritty of the business so nobody can pool wool on my eyes''
There are a lot of challenges in the business , he said but he is able to face most of these challenges due to his experience and Allah's guide . He said '' nobody can cheat me in the business because of the knowledge of the bush and the skill I had acquired from my late father so nobody can come up to cheat me on the number of trees fell, sold or bought''
MY ENCOUNTER WITH GORILLA
The man who had seen the good , the bad and the ugly said he has been to many forests and had faced many hazards in the bush while sourcing for his daily bread .Recounting part of his experience, Obanigba said ''I have been to many forests and seen dangerous animals . I with my co workers once had encounter with a gorilla in the bush and we had to run away leaving our implements behind.It is a real gorilla ,it is very mighty .This I can never forget in my life . It is real. We ran for our dear lives. I came across the animal along Benin-Idanre -Akure road''
The man who defended the usage of using old and rickety timber lorries gave his reason, '' nobody uses good ones for the drivers would not use it very well, we are black and wicked and will not maintain the good ones so there is no point buying new ones.Do you know some of these timber lorries don't even have brakes?.That is why nobody can even encourage his children to be its driver'', he said
.
''They call it agbegilodo magbeyawo (the lorry that carries timber but not a wife) because nobody will use the vehicle for pleasure so one cannot take his wife or family along in the vehicle and it is not for a family .Some of these timber vehicles don't even have light or brake, imagine. If there is an accident they will all perish, a family must not be in the vehicle or else all of them will perish'', he counseled.
WHY I KEEP PIGEONS
The businessman who has been keeping pigeons as his pet spoke how he loves keeping birds , he said ''those are my birds . I am an Aviculturist . I love pigeons and whenever they know that I am around they will cluster round me and flap their wings.Their beauty shows and I feel happy seeing the nature and work of God'', said the timber Merchant .
Reminded that some mischievous people could read negative meaning to his pigeons , he fired back '' I have over 1,000 pigeons , it is my hobby. If they say the birds give me money then it is funny, and if over 1000 pigeons give me money then I should be able to knock Obama, the former President of America's door and say hello to him''.
THERE IS NOTHING LIKE DEFORESTATION
As we fell trees always , would there be trees in the forest again?, the business man was asked, but he quickly gave an answer ''there is nothing like that ,there is nothing like deforestation for trees cannot finish in this world,no'', he responded and added '' a tree grows every five years, and that is it ,There are trees everywhere.Have you seen where trees did not grow?''
OTHER ACTIVITIES
Obanigba says he is a good mixer , he said ''I am a socialite , I do drink but in moderation and I don't smoke'' .
Asked what he sees when he look at the morning every morning, he replied '' when I look at the mirror I discovered that I am getting old, we cannot stay young forever''.
AWARDS
The timber businessman and saw miller said he has received many awards from different organizations and state , ''You can see the awards, we would talk about it next time'', he said .
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