Journeys with Mammalistic - by Samuel Ibok

I want to kindly but emphatically state that only my mom is entitled to the name "MAMMALISTIC." I can't remember the events that led to this coinage, but it has always been what we call her. Even my guys from school and our neighbours call her the same. So, if you hear it somewhere else, it's plagiarism—a healthy one. Relax, this article is not about the several names we call my mom but a reflection on conversations I grip dearly as they have shaped my values. She's by far a core part of my motivation to excel and my justification for the actions I take in pursuit of what she calls "the promise." 90% of our conversations end with her saying, Junior, remember the  promise.To date, that has sent chills down the deepest corners of my being. It does something to my mind that I find difficult to do sometimes. Although she's one woman, she has lived multiple lives, and I consider her a system. Mammalistics is a course that should be studied. A testament that we are more than where we come from. The daughter of the renowned Akara seller can rise from the ashes and be the ladder upon which others can reach greatness. Well, that's the story for another day. I wish to share the bulk of the lessons stemming from my 2-month internship with her in the passenger seat. Here's a little backstory to establish context. Following my Masters at Africa's finest citadel of learning, Covenant University, I went home to conquer the world. Myself and Mammalistic went out most evenings, providing taxi services to commuters in the ever-blooming city of Eket, popularly called "Idung Afiawe" (the white man's city). As young people in our twenties and thirties, we may think we know more about equality than our parents, but I dare say they've seen more and experienced more. Because they don't quote famous proponents and are not very skilled at shaping their opinions, that doesn't eliminate the wisdom resident in their worldview. Our very first outing remains memorable and sticks partly because, for the first time, the issue of equality came home. I'm saying this because it involved my mother, so for me, it was as deep as it would be with most people, or maybe I'm wrong. Our first client was a man who blankly refused to enter the car because it was a woman driving. In his words, paraphrased, imagine a woman is driving a taxi; I can't enter; she shouldn't be driving me. What I just said hits differently in my local dialect. I was furious and slightly kept my cool, but I couldn't mask my anger. It was written boldly and in big fonts on my face. I could sense that my mom was equally pissed. She didn't utter a word to the man; she simply drove and said there would be other commuters. There's so much to learn from that. If you "leave home to feed home," you can't give up because of one sad event. There will be customers who will frustrate you, but as a professional, you have to learn to keep your cool. Not everyone will appreciate what you do, and sometimes it's based on your gender. I'll leave it to you to figure out other lessons! Our next client was a lady. We then picked up two more ladies in front. They shared that they were quite surprised to see a woman driving a taxi. One said that it was her dream to buy a Keke and drive. These women lifted our spirits with encouraging words. I sat there in front without words and drenched in profound thoughts. They equally pointed out how safe they felt because a woman was driving. Can we all agree that women actually go through a lot? According to them, they wish more women would do this and beat society's expectations, which are largely limiting. They got my mom's number, gave us a tip, and promised to continue using our services. We later had male clients who supported the notion of ladies driving taxis, and they were equally shocked, affirming that my mom was the first they saw at that time in our town. What even made things cooler was the fact that there was no other car in our town that had a similar colour to ours. We were obvious and top-of-mind. In our 3-hour sojourn, we had made enough to refuel, and we still had profit. We discussed everything we saw on the road with our dad, who was our co-founder, chief investor, and financial advisor! I think I was the security officer and collections officer, and Mammalistic was the co-founder and chief operating officer. A family that builds together stays together. We shared the spoils of our battles—not equally, but I can't complain!

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