Can money buy happiness?

When I was younger, I remember that you literally had to do something “special” or unique to become famous. Either you were a politician, a lawyer, a civil rights activist, a sports hero, an astronaut, or a movie star. You were recognizable because of your body of work or wealth.

Today, there are people who are famous for being an influencer in music, lifestyle, or something. New ways of making wealth have emerged. For some reason in today’s society, young people have become captivated by this type of people – solely because of social media and technology.

People now follow influencers, their every move – as they travel the world, take pictures of every activity, even when they say ridiculous things in public.

The lifestyle of the rich and famous is evolving.

When Agbeke became the richest woman in her city it was no surprise to her. She was always dressing up as a young kid with all kinds of accessories [flowers, caps, necklaces, belts, fascinators, etc.]  from her mum’s wardrobe as far back as the 80s.

She was fond of correcting people who called her, her native name – Agbeke, without adding “Princess”. She calls herself “Princess Agbeke”, and so do her siblings and Dad except for her mum. Who only calls her Princess Agbeke when she feels like teasing her.

The story of Princess Agbeke was that of a young girl born in a remote city in Africa to middle-income parents.  A visit to Princess Agbeke’s city showed any tourist that it was one of the poorest villages that ever existed. Her father was a school teacher while her mother was a housewife who does some petty trading at her leisure.

Princess Agbeke soon joined a new college (also called senior school) in a nearby village as the first girl to be educated in her city. She will normally go by a small boat to the neighbouring village accompanied by her father who was a school teacher at that school.

The only senior school in the entire neighbourhood, it normally takes them up to 5 km every day. One day Agbeke got back home sick and exhausted.

“You know you really don’t have to go to school to be a big woman in the future. Agbeke’s mum exclaimed while helping her massage her legs and back with a warm towel and shea butter (popularly called ‘Ori’) – Shea butter is a fat extracted from the nut of the African shea tree. It is ivory in color when raw and commonly dyed yellow with borututu root [Borututu is naturally rich in antioxidants] or palm oil. It is widely used in cosmetics as a moisturizer, salve, or lotion. Shea butter is edible and can also be used in food preparation in some African countries.

Hmmm…. Agbeke sighed. She had come home with a swollen leg and back pain; partly due to the stress of going to the neighbouring school.

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“Mama, do you want me to be like you?” Agbeke asked while groaning in pain. “Yes, what’s wrong with being happy like me? I have four of you, your father is a respectable school teacher and two of your brothers are happily married. What more does anyone want in life?” Agbeke’s mum responded.

“Happiness to you is not happiness to me mama. I want to own the world, I want to be great, I want everyone to know who Princess Agbeke is, and I want to……” keep quiet there. Agbeke’s mum stopped her from speaking further.

“You are only eleven years old and you are speaking to me like this, you better go and rest your head and take the herbal drink I made for you to relieve the pain. I will ensure you don’t go to that school for the next one week so you can get better.”

Hmm…Agbeke sighed as she slept off.

She woke up early the next day, hoping to join her Dad on the journey to school. “No, Agbeke, your mum says you need to relax, your leg is still pretty swollen. I will speak to your teacher on your behalf personally.”

Princess Agbeke burst into tears and walked back to her room.