ALL WEATHER

The 1513 Lorry came Jostling slowly heading towards amex bakeries. This road was awarded last year and was finished only six months ago. Now it is worse than it was before they started work on it. The road meant to last for five years lasted six months only. Actually, people were not surprised, Governor used the road to compensate his bakery friend that his company liquidated last year due to bad management. The man is marketer by education not an engineer. Initally, he just poured red sands on the road and left it like that, when people started shouting, he came to tar the road harphazardly and the result is what people were facing now.

Management of Amex bakeries wanted to take the state of the road personal but was adviced against such move, to think that the man behind the bad state of the road was a former bakery owner made them to wonder if they were the target. Nowadays, there are million ways of dealing with someone, road construction might be one. When one’s intention is not clear to you, the best option remains to continue screaming on top of your voice till your percieved enemy opens his mouth or takes action.

JohnLuke, 54, owner of Amex bakeries from Nnanka, about 20miles south of niise the governors town, A Baker by trade but studied secretariat studies. He is about 6’2 in height, hair black with couple of gray, he weighs about 75kg. He was examining records in his factory when he heard the sound of the Lorry that was carrying raw materials for the bakery wobbled into the factory and coughed loudly before coming to standstill. He left what he was doing, went out to observe the Lorry.

“I think I have to sell this Lorry, it is not only an eye sore, but siphoning resources too” he told store manager.

“I suggest it should be allowed to remain until the roads leading to here is put in order. They contributed to the state of the Lorry” the manager enjoined.

“To think that the other Lorries were bought before it made me to wonder what the matter is with it”.

“Road, bad road” the store manager maintained. 

He sighed loudly and went back inside. The manager eyed the driver with pity and went about his own work. No one in the factory want to be source of another workers dismissal and that was reason none ever mentioned that it was the fault of the driver that contributed to the state of the lorry. How can a sound person started warming a car without first checking the level of Oil and water in the car?

Amex bakery was built in Mid 80s. It started with supplying government owned schools with cheap breads for their boarding house students and teachers. While othere bakeries were hustling for customers or sweating to penetrate over saturated market, JohnLuke was busy, penetrating primary and secondary schools in his city strategically. His idea being to stick it out for fifteen years and by then, the youths will be adults and Amex products will not need marketing to be household name.

35 years later, the strategy proved to be first class, not minding that they are others that are front runners, it doesn’t hurt at all to be second. He refused to be a moaner. Those infront of him must have known something he don’t know, after all, some of the front runners were his mates in the business. His candid opinion is that his product is better than most front runners, but just as beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so is taste in the tongue of the taster.

Ten years ago, he had diversified his bakeries to include buns, chop ones, biscuits, rolls, cakes and cookies etc. from observation, he noticed that packaging plays big part in selling of anything in biafran land. The adult behave like children in what they buy at times. Impulse buying. Even salary earners are not left out in this malaise. Red and golden coloured packs sell products than quality in biafran land, add well known name to it, you will soar and never be weary.

JohnLuke never for once subscribe to the notion that good soup is product of hefty money. As long as he is concerned, master piece in bakery is a matter of timing, and little observation. Observe your machine, weather and raw materials, these elements are your key to survival and success in bakery sector, even in your family kitchen department. Of all the bakeries addition to the bread, it was cookies that has generated the most income and still waxing strong. Infact, as far as cookies were concern, Amex cookies don’t have rival.

His competitors has been worrying for years, snopping around to lay hand on the magic formula, some had embarked on smear campaign years back without any success, some resorted to espionage through the workers to no avail.

Besides JohnLuke and his first son, no other person in the wild world has that formula. The customers refers to it as 'all weather'. January to December, it is as it was when it left oven. At times, JohnLuke will look around him and wonders where all the properties around him came from. He will thank the God of bakeries especially the one of cookies for lion share of his income comes from there. He prays that his son will keep his traps shut and his guard on all the time.

Bako, 30, JohnLuke first son was of medium height, with a dark brown complexion that most attributed to excess cookies. His hair was black, eye big and white. He weighs around 73kg and has one of those husky voice that is out of synch with his introvert nature. Out of the six children of johnluke, he was the only one showing interest in the bakery business. he studied banking and finance in school, added master degree to it, yet he prefered to work in amex.

His father was more than happy to teach him everything, he was learning very fast too. The only thing johnluke found odd with him is his introvert nature, he had observed him for years now and foundout that he is extremely shy in presence of Ladies, he though that with time, he wil out grown it. His family don’t have the tradition of celebrating birthdays but he had cunningly introduced that in his family just to flush bako out of his shell, he can't understand how a man that is well to do in all aspect will like to sink into the ground in front of a lady he is far better in all things and yet will ran into the house peeping at the same Lady that is virtually begging him to say something to her from the curtains, wasting money on data searching facebook for what was before him flesh and blood.

Earlier,he thought that it was a kind of disease but experts told him that it is not and suggested birthdays, parties and get together of every kind.

He discussed with his wife to host a cookie exchange and invite Mrs Grace and her daughter as special guest without bako’s knowledge. He foundout that he was interested in the girl and after observing the girl, JohnLuke was impressed with what he saw, he just hope that both will click on that particualry day.

To think that some bakers he invited for the exchange were the one suggesting what he the host will bring to the exchange made his antenna’s to go up a notch. Some were suggesting the line of speech they expect from him, which made him to be on his guard more. He was organising the event indirectly for his son's sake and some exchangers were interested in his cookies signature. He smiled to himself for he kind of knew himself and his enemies already.