Baba Wagué Diakité

“A LITTLE BOY sat on the dirt floor with a bowl of millet porridge between his legs. He screamed at the top of his lungs.

“Nay t’a fay! Nay t’aka sari fay! I don’t like it! I don’t like your porridge! It has no sugar. It has no milk.”

“Eat it, Baba Wagué,” Grandma Sabou said gently. “It is good for you.”

The boy kicked his legs wildly. “Nay hay taa n’fa fey. I want to go back to n’fa — my father! He has everything!”

This was the beginning of Baba’s new life in the village. Before this, he had lived with his parents in the city, with its rich variety of food.

Every time Baba behaved in this manner, Grandma Sabou would calmly get up and go to rest on her bamboo bed, letting the boy cry until he was exhausted. Then Baba’s forehead would slowly drift onto his right knee, and he would sleep for a good hour.

When he awoke, he would be hungry enough to eat the entire bowl of sticky porridge.

Grandma would smile and say, “The best time to do something is when you are willing to do it. Baba, you did a good job.”

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― Baba Wagué Diakité, A Gift from Childhood: Memories of an African Boyhood

“Every time Baba behaved in this manner, Grandma Sabou would calmly get up and go to rest on her bamboo bed, letting the boy cry until he was exhausted.

Then Baba’s forehead would slowly drift onto his right knee, and he would sleep for a good hour.

When he awoke, he would be hungry enough to eat the entire bowl of sticky porridge.

Grandma would smile and say, “The best time to do something is when you are willing to do it. Baba, you did a good job.”
― Baba Wagué Diakité, A Gift from Childhood: Memories of an African Boyhood