talent doesn't pay bills

My sister's first son, turned 23 in March. Smart boy. Tall. He trained with a football club around Agege stadium area for about two years, woke up at 5am sometimes, yet nothing came from it. No contract, no trial with anyone serious, no money. Now he's sitting in my sister's house in Ikorodu asking what next. She called me last Sunday after church, and she wants me to talk to him. Tell him something. But tell him what exactly? That the job market is a joke right now? That fresh graduates with second class upper are sending CVs into silence? That football without connections is just exercise? and at the same time I think about what it means to watch the boy fold away the one thing he's actually good at. The one thing that makes him light up. He asked me last week if I knew anyone in marketing who was hiring. I said I'd ask around. I haven't asked anyone. I don't know why I haven't asked anyone. He's expecting me to come this Saturday. I don't know what I'm going to say to him.

Posted 25 May