30/07/2026
By the time Michael got home, NEPA had taken the light.
Again.
His wife had already lit the rechargeable lamp and was serving jollof rice while the inverter struggled to keep the fan turning.
"You came early today," she smiled.
"I promised somebody I'd be home before dinner."
Across the table, eleven-year-old David couldn't wait any longer.
"Daddy!"
He stretched out a test paper
"Ninety-eight."
Michael's face lit up.
"My correct boy!"
He reached over and ruffled David's hair.
"I knew all those extra lessons would pay off."
David smiled proudly.
Michael felt a quiet sense of satisfaction.
A good school.
A lesson teacher.
Books everywhere.
Savings for secondary school and university are already taking shape.
Everything he never had as a child.
"This boy will have a better life than I did", he thought.
As they ate, David looked up.
"Daddy?"
"Yes?"
"When I grow up..."
Michael cut in with a smile
"What profession do you want now? Doctor? Engineer?"
David hook his head.
"No."
He hesitated.
“How will I know what problems I can help solve?”
The spoon stopped halfway to Michael's mouth.
"What do you mean?"
David shrugged.
"You always ask me what I want to become."
He looked genuinely curious.
"But... How do people know what problems they can solve?”
Silence.
Even the humming of the inverter suddenly felt loud.
Michael searched for an answer.
He could explain mathematics.
He knew how to prepare David for Common Entrance, BECE, WAEC, university.
But this question...
He had never thought about it.
That night, after everyone had gone to bed, Michael walked past Davidl's room.
The ninety-eight was still lying on the reading table.
Beside it was a worn-out notebook.
He picked it up.
Inside were pages of sketches.
A drawing of a small device that could warn drivers when children are crossing the road.
An idea for an app that could help people find missing children quickly.
Tiny drawings of inventions.
Notes scribbled in the margins:
"This would save people time."
"This could make life easier."
Michael smiled sadly.
He had celebrated every report card.
But never asked what made his son curious.
Never asked what problems he noticed.
Standing there in the soft glow of the rechargeable lamp, Michael realized…
Some of the most important parts of preparing a child for life may not appear on a result sheet.
The next evening at dinner, Michael put his phone face down.
“So…” he began.
“What problem did you notice today?”
David looked up.
His eyes brightened.
"Oh! Daddy, let me tell you..."
He shifted closer to the table and began talking so quickly that his words tumbled over one another.
That evening, dinner felt different.
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Do you think David had always wanted to share these thoughts, but no one had ever asked?
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