By Debbie Olujobi

Life is big, it’s not made up of one person; it’s a complex network of many persons, many locations, many beliefs and many values. Navigating life in full control is virtually impossible as the forces that hold the power are not vested in any one person or even groups of persons. Life as we know it is a consequence of decisions and life styles lived over eons; we just add a few touches to what is already in existence. I look at my life and I am not stupid enough to take credit for its highs and lows; I am of course extremely grateful to God for the abundant grace that has brought me thus far.

I have concluded that life is like an intricate game of chess and I am just a pawn who can be moved around with different results. The person I am now would be completely different if I was born in war torn Somalia for instance; I would have made hard choices to survive and if I was successful I would not have the same worldview, belief system and even life expectancy. The life we have is what has been pre programmed and lately I have started to admire those who break with the programme and start to wrest the power back in a direction of choice.

The lure of the greener pasture is the motivating factor for life changing decisions and at some point in time we all reach a state of discontent with where and who we are. Those in the country/villages move to the cities to get a better life and those in the city want to move to the country to enjoy a simpler life. I have only ever lived in the city but I have holidayed in a few country sides that make me love the slower and simpler pace of life. City life in my humble opinion is highly overrated and many middle aged people who have lived in the city for most of their lives begin to feel the same.

A couple of years ago a member of my family was posted to serve his compulsory youth service scheme in Ibadan and we had all been disappointed as it seemed a very dire fate for many reasons. The first was that he would be parted from his childhood sweetheart, the second was that in anticipation of a Lagos posting, he had procured a flat to start adulthood in style, the third and last reason was that while Ibadan was a city of sort, it could not be compared to the ever busy, ever frantic Lagos; it was an unknown quantity. It was a miserable few weeks to begin with till the country bug struck out of the blue.

Fast track to just this Friday and I am on the phone with another member of my family, young and dynamic, who had grudgingly left Lagos to go work on a 3 month contract in Ibadan and the country bug had struck once again. Instead of packing up after his contract, he is in fact looking for a flat and trying to relocate to where he calls saner pastures. I couldn’t exactly act surprised as my husband had predicted it. We dubbed it “The cock crow at dawn” phenomenon and truth be told we didn’t mind the move ourselves at some point after retirement.

In the 80’s there used to be a television series called “The cock crow at dawn” and it centred around a young family who moved from the city to the village. The move if I remember correctly was a dream of the father, his wife supported him but his children hated it and fought against it. Life wasn’t always as idyllic as he expected in the village, he had to fight for his share of the family land;  he didn’t expect the hatred and resentment of his uncle who didn’t fancy returning his inheritance but the family eventually settled into village life; the country bug got them all.

I don’t have any reason to relocate to Ibadan or any other place in the country yet but I am getting infected by the bug of village life. It’s the fantasy of fresh food, fresh air, slow and easy pace of life, no traffic, that is intoxicating and it is amazing that my fantasy of a simple life is encapsulated in the sound track of that 80s television series.

It was written and performed by my favourite Nigerian singer and in my own view, a true legend, Bongos Ikwue and I went digging it up. Turns out, I wasn’t the only one in love with the song as some smart person has reworked it and again used it as a beautiful soundtrack for a Nollywood movie. I don’t know whether I’ll ever succumb to the lure of the simple life but if I do it will be to fulfil the promise fantasies of that 1st verse in the song.

Cock crow at dawn(Bongos Ikwue).

You can hear the bird sing in the morning,

You can hear the water splashing down the hill

Kind of roaring..

You can see the sun going down

And the people as they go by

Without a frown

Bridge:
Here the traffic never jams
Don’t cost much to buy some yams
And the neighbours say hello

And will even strive to pull you up from down below

You can even hear the sound of the cock crow at dawn.

Refrain:

Will he ever get there?
Will he ever make it?
Will he ever hear the sound of the cock crow at dawn?