SAKA: HOW LONG WILL YOU BE A SALARY-EARNER? ARE YOU A LEARNER? E-4

EPISODE IV

‘Kayode Oyero

“When the desperation velocity at which you pursue your aspiration is too racy, it’s a sign of an on-coming termination. Sincerely, it’s no ignorance that life is a test of endurance…..  To rush is to be crushed; more haste, more waste!” –O.J.O

     Griiinn, grriiin!

     “Hello Uncle Saka!”

     “Hello Fatai! Bawo ni, sorry I mean how are you?”

     “Alaafia ni Sa- I am fine Sir!”

     “Alright! Ope ni fun olorun- God’s name be praised! You know He is the only God that should forever be glorified. And again, He is the Alpha who in his bounteous mercy brought us this far, I mean to witness the shining broad day light of the last day of this month.”

     “You’re hundred percent correct Sir! And I must also confess and profess that your expression is good an attitude of gratitude!”

    “Fatai, Eda to ba monuro, a dupe- a reasonable being must know surely that he has all the reason and cause to be thankful! You know, many are right now enjoying the hospitality of the hospital bed.”

    “Uhhhnn! Egbon Saka- Uncle Saka, that is again deeply thoughtfully intelligent of you! Opolo po- too much brain!”

   “It’s alright! By the way, how’s Risikatu and the children?”

    “They are very fine Sir! And Sir, I must thank you for your encouragement last week! Sincerely I must say that your words revitalized my spirit which was low as at the time.”

    “Haa! Fatai, you mean I revitalized you last week?”

   “Bee ni exactly Sir!”

   “But, Fatai, I can’t remember giving you any multivitamin whether syrup or pill?”

    “Haa! Uncle Saka! You have again started with your humorous choruses! Anyways, you sure did gave me some dose, it’s just that it was in the abstract, I mean it is un-grippable for a hand to grip.”

    “Haaaaaa! Fatai! Alawada ni E- you’re such a clown! Maa so wipe O so bee- I will say you say so! But, lest I forget, I have to quickly teach you something today before you hang up the call. You know life is a teacher, and the more we live, the more we learn. In fact, the more we learn, the more we earn. That is why information is  said to the fuel of transformation.”

    “Hmmn! Interesting! Ododo Oro- undiluted truth. The more we learn, the more we earn!”

    “Bee ni- Yes Fatai! You see, people who know flow while those who don’t know lie low in ignorance and anguishing poverty. You see, I should have told you some of the things that I am now about to tell you last week, but for your gloomy countenance, I suspended it. But today, there’s time, and there’s talk. Yes! Aaye wa, oro wa! In fact, airtime wa pelu. Abi, sebi, I yesterday transferred five thousand naira worth of call-card to you courtesy of Y’hello mtn?”

    “All correct Sir! What a perfect coincidence Sir!”

    “Fatai! You see, as I was saying last week, you have to be exceedingly patient in that your new business. O gbudo bu omi suuru mu. Life operates on the maxim: ‘No cross, No Crown!’ Just as it’s impossible for anyone to get to a willing Boss if the secretary is unwilling, rebuff and unco-operative, so also, you can’t be established in the business if you are unwilling to challenge challenges. In fact, disappointments take precedence before ground-shaking, landslide and phenomenal appointments. See, there’s nothing as to say being patient is ancient an attitude. It’s also not an ignorance that life is a test of endurance. Oni suuru, lole fun wara Kiniun- only a patient person can pass a saliva-un-moist thread through a needle’s eye. Yes- Beeni!”

    “Sorry, Egbon Saka- Uncle Saka! You are beginning to chants incantations!”

    “Yes- Beeni! You can say that again and again till kingdom come. Yes, only a patient person can study Law, which takes ayeraye- forever years, Medicine, which takes time everlasting and Engineering, which also takes lot of years in the engagement of nuts and screws and lever that the discipline is known for. In fact, hardcore discipline is what is needed to achieve success in these Aro meta- tripod disciplines. You see, it was patience that made that young man, ehmmn, eehmmn…”

   “Which young man Sir?”

   “The one that made the scientific discovery of an electric bulb of course!”

    “Ehhmn, ehhmnn, it must be Thomas Edison Sir!”

   “Yes! Fatai! Ori E pe! O geti E- you are rightly correct! O ya patewo fun ‘ra E- applaud yourself!”

   “kpa, kpa, kpa, kpa!”

     “You see, that man called Thomas is what can be described as a persistent pursuer of dream. It took Thomas many many years to hatch the discovery of a commercially feasible electric bulb. You can see how dogged and ruggedly untiring Thomas was. Can’t you?”

    “I seeeeeee!”

    “And again, there’s this other person, his name is Jonas Salk. You see, it took this oyinbo man almost ten years if not beyond to develop the polio vaccine, that today prevent a juvenile illness that one time claimed the lives of thousands of children and adults all over the world.”

    “This is interesting uncle! I never knew you are so vast in the history of technological invention like this.”

    “Haaa! Fatai, you make me laugh! Oju agba to jin, o nidii- the hollow in an elders’ eye is as a result of years of accumulated wealth of experience!”

    “Ododo oro- truthful words!”

    “Thank you for the compliment Fatai! That reminds me of something and somebody.”

    “Okay! Who is that Sir?”

   “That apartheid man.”

    “Uncle Saka, which apartheid man is that?”

   “I am talking about the number one and only integrity-conscious Moses of the South-African people…”

   “Mandiba, Right?”

   “Mandiba, wrong!”

   “Haahaa, Uncle Saka!”

   “Fatai, you’re wrong! His korokoro name is not Mandiba. His true name is Nelson Mandela! Yes, Mandela Nelson! It’s only just that ‘Mandiba’ or whatever you called it is his clan name.”

   “But I got it now! At least, Gbomo-gbomo and Kidnapper is the same now.”

    “Shut up Fatai! How dare you argue with your well-read and versatile elderly mature brother, Sakastic himself? Even if you are not scared of my skin colour, don’t you fear the rich man in me? Or have you quickly forgotten the proverbs of our elders that say that ‘Eni juni lo, le juni nu- a Superior may decide to treat the Inferior with insufferable treatment if such Superior is not conscience-driven’.  Fatai, you must always ‘gba-submissive’ in the presence of Agbas- Elders.”

    “I’m sorry Sa- apologies Sir!”

    “That’s alright! Agba ti ko binu, lomo E n po- Only an enduring person can accommodatingly lead people. You see, Fatai, that man called Mandela wrote in his wisdom, in his life book, Long Walk To Freedom that the mill of God grind exceedingly slowly. Fatai, when you have the type of understanding that with patience, endurance and persistence, every good thing will come, then, you are a stone’s throw from being Outstanding. Abi, can a seedling mature into a plant in a day? Or better still, is it possible for a plant, no matter how manured, to develop into a fruit-bearing tree in just a day? It’s arrant No! an impossican’t of the impossible! Just as it takes persistent weeding and watering to achieve the maturation of a tiny seedling to bring it into a plant, so also is it necessary that for everything in life, particularly your business, relentless is important! You see, it’s no fallacy that ordinary beget extra-ordinary! Imagine a sperm cell as ordinary as it is transposed into me and you. Imagine a small miniature white orange seedling becoming tree-bearing juicy fruits… the list of probable example is ceaselessly endless."

    Fatai, More haste, more waste! And remember to save all I have said in your left hand so that it will be safe. Bye-bye for now!"

"Alright Sir!"

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...Kip da Optimism Alive!

SAKA: HOW LONG WILL YOU BE A SALARY-EARNER? ARE YOU A LEARNER? E-3

EPISODE III

 “Life is tossy, not always rosy. To focus on one thing consistently is to become a Focus: scattered energy is a wasted effort….. Why move away when the grass isn’t green? Can it be green always?” –O.J.O

‘Kayode Oyero

      “Good morning Uncle Saka!”

     “Bawo ni Fatai- how are you Fatai?"

     “I’m trying to be fine Sir!”

    “Trying to be fine bi bawo? What happened? Your countenance is gloomy- Oju E kore lowo.”

    “Egbon Saka- Uncle Saka! I am fed up! Totally fed up!”

    “Haba! Fatai! Fed up ke! Why are you fed up? What are you fed up of?”

    “Everything and anything! In fact, life in general!”

    “Calm down Fatai. Okun ki n ho ruru, ka waa ruu- Aggressiveness does not solve anything. More fury, more worry! Fatai, ease, please- pele pele dowo E! O ya, aburo, what tempest rages your soul?”

   “Uncle, it is this business of a thing! It is three years now, and all seemed not to want to be well again with the business. You can imagine recently, things have been falling apart and the center of the business seems like it could no longer hold. Can you imagine Uncle that the cost of maintaining the business is higher than the profit coming in from it? Can you just imagine that patronage has declined so drastically. And that Competitors have sprouted from nowhere and everywhere like cactus in the desert. In fact, to be candid Uncle Saka, I am suspecting that the matriarch of the under-world are after me! To tell you Uncle, I am beginning to think that this line of business I settled for doesn’t fit my star! Yes, O da bi eni wi pe ko barawo Mi mu I think I need to consider a business diversification.”

    “Ha ba! Fatai, don’t say that again- Ma so bee mo! Your language is that of hopelessness. And your aggression that borne by frustration. Fatai, you have to know that life is tossy and not always rosy. The fact that the grass isn’t green today doesn’t mean it won’t be green again. Everything in life is bound to be challenged by the blizzard wave of life. Persistence is the cock-sure resistance in the face of daunting challenges. Wo- see, Fatai, there’s a natural principle called the power of concentration. When you converge your attention on something consistently, you’ll eventually become a Focus in that area. You’ll be a point of reference in that particular field of human endeavor. Fatai, it is sad that some people lack patience whilst pursuing a goal or a career. They stay when there’s grain and gladly enjoy the gains that accrue from the grains while they abscond in times of pain.”

    “Uncle Saka, I don’t quite understand what you mean by ‘they flee in moments of pain’?”

    “Alright, Fatai, don’t get it twisted. You see, the pain I mean here is relative. Let me give you an instance, in white collar ministry, the pain may be delayed promotion, while in entrepreneur, the pain most time is frustrated sales and deterring turn-outs.  People who dance to the rhythm of the stay-when-it-is-green-only music are people with the Nomadic mentality.”

    “Egbon Saka-Uncle Saka! What again do you mean by Nomadic mentality?”

    “O se- thank you Fatai! You see, Nomadic mentality is a toxic mindset. It is the mindset of Cattle rearers. People with this type of mindset are never stable on a genre of business or build a career at a firm. They change job and business line between the intervals of every two or three years. They move where the grass is green; where there is relative succor; where there’s moolarh! Today, they are Car sellers, tomorrow, they are Paint manufacturer, next tomorrow they are into clothing and textile. And the day after next tomorrow, they are into Cathering and hotel management. They are consumers who don’t want to invest their sweat into anything but to consume solely. They are always unstable. No definite goal or mission. No set ambition. Experimenting characterize their lifestyle. They go where they know the grass is rosy, forgetting that to thrive in life, one must sweat it out striving. Fatai, you see, people with this nomadic mindset have no understanding that it’s a taboo for a baby to walk perfectly in a day without first crawling for months and tottering for a little while.”

    “Uncle Ododo oro you have spoken! They are indeed cattle rearers!”

    “Yes, Fatai, ko siro bee- All correct! You see, our fore fathers have a saying that Oju kan bayii ni a maa n to si, ti o fi maa n ru- Scattered energy is a wasted effort. You see, Fatai, let me not deceive you, life is a process and not a recess. It is a series of instruction and a number of operations. No line of trade or career path is challenges-free. Problems are the price of progress. The obstacles in life are to make us better and not bitter.”

    “Hmmnn!”

    “Fatai, your case is a reminder of the words of Martins Luther King Jr.! He had said long long time ago that the ultimate measure of man is not where he stands in moments of relative comforts but where he stands at times of challenges and controversy. There’s also this wise man. I have forgotten his name ooo! Okay, now I remember his name! They call him Oral Roberts. He also reflected many many years ago that no one can bring renewal or change without confrontation. He said then before you came into this world that the truth is, if you like things easy, you will have difficulties. And for those that like problems, they will quickly succeed. To take chances is to make advances. Take the obstacles you’re facing in your business as an opportunity to make advances by defeating it.  Fatai, get up! Don’t give up! Mere seeds become a forest of thick and sturdy timber! Don’t dump a business because of the little, little shortcomings of the moment. Obstacles is the breakfast of champions and not cereal.

    Tuju ka Fatai- Cheer up Fatai! You can prevail over your travails!” (O.J.O |09, 13)

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…Kip da Optimism Alive!

SAKA: HOW LONG WILL YOU BE A SALARY-EARNER? ARE YOU A LEARNER? (2)

“To build a Home like Rome is not a day’s job, but a daily job. Life is a process not a recess. Start anywhere to get somewhere. Until you move, nothing will move.” –O.J.O

‘Kayode Oyero

grrrrhhnnn, grrrrhhnnn!

“Hello Uncle Saka, good morning Sir!”

“Hahaa!Fatai, it is you, good morning. I did not check to see who was calling before I pick up the call. But at the sound of your voice, I knew it is you. How are you? How is the weather- bawo lafereyii?”

“I’m fine Sir! Thank you so much Sir for the previous week’s tutelage.”

“A ba, Fatai! Ko tope- don’t mention. Awa fun raw a ni- we’re each other’s Keeper. After all, our people will say: Agbaki n walojak’oriOmotuntunwo- the young must never go wrong under the korokoro watch of the Elderly! It is an impossican’t of the impossible!”

“Very thoughtfully intelligent of you Sir!Egbon, I must confess on behalf of the entire family that we are proud to have you, not only as our Olori Ebi- family head but also as our Solomon!”

“Haahaha! Fatai! O get ee pa! Your commendation is a reminder of my eventful exuberant youthful years when I had a lot and a lot of women  at my beck and call. You know Oyinbo skin is irresistibly a source of attraction on its own!”

“Uncle, I know you had and is still having a lion fair share of women, but that’s not my point. My point is that the family is humble to have a Sage of your age!”

“Okay, Fatai! Now I understand you better. You know ‘ela l'oro’- clarity of expression is paramount in communication. And you know there are a lot of difference between Ogun- god of thunder; Ogun- charm and amulet; Ogun- twenty; Ogun- war and Ogun- as in Ogun State of Obasanjo!”

“You’re rightly correct in your language analysis Sir! In fact, every moment spend with you is always a lesson.”

“No be me Fatai, Na Baba God! And I hope you’re thinking to quickly do something on what I told you last week Monday. You know in life, if you don’t move, nothing will move in your desired direction. You see, it is important for somebody to give attention to his intentions so that when he speaks, the whole world will stand at attention.”

“Yes Uncle Saka! I’ve conceived a business idea and have also drawn out a business plan. Not only that I have also started doing some feasibility studies to test the reality of my concept and what the society lack and need that they will be willing to pay for should I provide such need.”

“That’s actively pro-active of you Fatai! I am becoming proud of you! You are not only a hearer but a Doer of the word. But, wait, let me ask you a question before we get deeper into the depth of our discussion. You know we’re getting engross.”

“Alright Sir!”

“Did your network provider credit your account with bonus airtime?”

“Rara Sa- no Sir! I’m on family and friends; it’s a less-costly call package. The rate is ten Kobo per seconds.Many thanks to y’hello mtn!”

“That is delightful for my ear to hear! Fatai, you’re becoming a good student in the school of financial intelligence! Okay!if that is the case, let us kia kai quickly continue our discussion. Delay is a waste, you know even the ten Koo per seconds is money.”

“Okay Sir! I said I now have a business plan and have commenced my feasibility studies. The business I’m eyeing is one I have flair for. Like you had advised that I should turn my passion to my profession so that I will have mansions.”

“Yes, moranti- I remember. Wait, Fatai, sorry for interrupting you, because I must quickly chip in this that most people don’t find their occupation interesting basically because it is not their hobby. So as a result, their performance is always under-average and this gives birth to under-utilization of productive capacity. You see, when you have passion which is the inner drive and natural likeness for something, you’ll definitely succeed at it. No be with gra-gra, but with effortless ease. Make your recreational devotion your vocation; your vision your profession!”

“I don’t really get that last line Sir!”

“I mean do for a living what you do as a hobby! Chikena!”

“Agboye Egbon Saka! You are well understood Sir!”

“You see, Fatai, just as I was saying, Job utility which is also known as job satisfaction is maximally derived and enjoyed to the fullest while doing a passion-driven job. While futility, in this case, not financial barrenness, but, job dissatisfaction is a sure outcome for anyone who settles for an income-motivated means of living. This is because, when the turf gets rough, tough and curve, and frustration sets in, it is passion which is an internal stimuli that will help keep one going. And by consequence overpower the inevitable external thunderstorm of the business expanse.”

“Uncle Saka, small small, your grammar of expression is getting complex beyond my comprehension. You know I’m not as professorial as you are.”

“Fatai, you make me laugh. You know I’m always hotter than fire, anytime I have a fire of informative knowledge burning inside this my flat stomach. And to spit them out, I always like to use all the collection of big-big vocabulary in my mentally mobile dictionary.”

“Yes, that I know very well that you attended the same school with the former Nigeria’s Wole Soyinka in the house of representative. I’m talking of a person of Honourable Patrick Obiaghon himself!”

“Fatai!Isokuso wo ni mo gbo pe o wi yen- what did I just hear you say? I mean what did I just hear you say with my one and half ears?”

“E ma binu Sa- Apologies Sir! That was meant to be a complement and not an insult Sir!”

“Gbe enu E s’ohun- bury your mouth in shame. I refuse to be confused this early mormor. I don’t even know what is the problem with you children of nowadays? You poke the Elderly in the face too much. I will have tell you to kneel down on the phone if not because of the proverb that says Agbati O binul omo E n po- leadership is all about tolerance. And a good leader must not be swift to anger because the wages of rage is damage- Ibinu ko dahun kokan fun ni, Suuru baba Iwa. Agba to ni suuru, ohun gbogbo loni."

“I’m sorry once again Sir!”

“Si o, owa lara! Ko kuku sibi ti mofe da E si-one cannot behead himself because of headache! Fatai, any ways, before I forget, when do you want to start your self-business?”

“Uncle Saka! That is the challenge at hand! You know everything revolves round money. And as I had confessed before your able lordship last week that I was a fool because I lavished my entirety life-time savings to mark my golden jubilee birthday last April.”

“Eeehhn, Fatai, that was gone. That one is in the past. The past is meant for the past and not to be escavated in the present but to remain in the burial ground of the past!”

“Eeehhhmm Uncle, what I’m actually saying is that I presently lack the financial muscle to spearhead the business now. Not that I don’t have any money at all, but it is not a handsome sum.”

“Ogbeni Fatai, why do you want to start when you have handsome sum? Don’t you know you can harvest big outcome if only you start with that your small income?”

“Uncle Saka, I know. It is just that, just that I was thinking if I can..if you can, can……”

“Fata! Stop! Don’t even complete it because I know where you are going. See, the will to do come from the knowledge that we can do.A strong person cannot help a weaker person unless the weaker person is willing to be helped by helping himself.

For me Sakastic himself, I cannot and will not borrow or give you any money outside or inside of my ‘I don port’ money because I also sweated for it. Nothing is free, everything cost a fee, even in free-town, Seria-lonne.

Fatai! I have offered you advice for free. I can’t again now give you money. Lae lae, it is impossible! A ki n je meji laba Alade! Lae lae! It is an abomination! Bye, bye my regards to Risikatu and the children!"

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A self-employed Nigeria!

…Kip da Optimism Alive

SAKA: HOW LONG WILL YOU BE A SALARY-EARNER? ARE YOU A LEARNER?

‘Kayode Oyero

“The first principle to be obeyed on the pathway to becoming your own Boss is to throw out the fear of probable loss.” –Olumide Emmanuel, C.E.O, Common Sense Group.

“Goodmorning Uncle Saka.”

“Haa, Fatai! how are you?”

“I’m fine Sir!”

“It’s being quite a while- O to jo meta. You remember that you have an Uncle today, after a very long period of your absential forgetfulness of me.”

“Ojo kan pelu Sir. It’s not like that Sir! It’s just that my hands have been tied lately.”

“Okay, I understand. So, it is after it was untied that you know the way that leads to my house.”

“Sorry Uncle, My apologies.”

“Any way, no problem and how’s Risikatu and the children?”

“They are in good shape Sir!”

“Glory be to the uncreated Creator of heaven and earth.”

“His name be praised.”

“And Fatai, how is work?”

“Uncle Saka, work is just fine!”

“What happened? What is happening? Why just fine? Wetin be the matter?”

“Uncle, work has been going well, but, but, ehmm, ehhm.”

“Fatai! Fatai! Fatai! How many times did I call you- E melo ni mo pe E?"

“It is three times Sir!”

“Fatai, thank God you counted accurately. Stop talking with tongue in cheek. Tug out of your shell. Don’t be like the proverbial snail that over-protectively bury its head in its shell because of the fear of Sunlight. Jewo fun mi- confess now, after all, our people say a lifeless body cannot hide from the person that will perform its burial ritual of purification before it is committed to mother earth. Yes, Oku ki I fara pamo feni to ma a we E. And more importantly, problem shared is problem halved so says Oyinbo people.”

“Ehhm, you see, Uncle, you’re correctly right. The issue that burdens my heart is that my retirement and retrenchment age is fast approaching and encroaching. And the thought that when it comes, I will no longer earn Salary is the beginning of my worry. In fact, it is just unthinkable for me to think that it will come. Uncle Saka, that is all that bothers me.”

 “Alright, Fatai, let me ask some questions.”

“Go ahead Uncle, I’m all ears.”

“Okay, Fatai, how old are you?”

“Uncle Saka, I clocked fifty last April.”

“Okay, that’s right, and many years have you been working this work you have been working?”

“Twenty years Sir!”

“Fatai, thank God you dare did not lie, because alreadily, I know the answers to my questions before I asked them. Abi, sebi I was the only one who carried all your responsibility on this my slump shoulder when we mysteriously lost Papa and Mama in an inexplainable manner?”

“Yes Uncle!”

“Fatai, what is the status of your savings?”

 “Saaayy-vin!”

“Yes, the money you have in the bank.”

“Haaa! Uncle Fatai, sorry that I forgot to inform you of the best celebration of elaboration that ever-happened in the history of our Village!”

“Fatai, what are you talking about- ki lo n so?”

“Uncle, you know April is my birthday month.”

“Yeees, bring me out of the dark jare.”

“And that was the month you travelled to Lagos to perform the ‘I don port deal’.”

“Yeesss, how’s that supposed to affect the money in your bank account.”

“Uncle Saka, eehmm, ehhm, that account is now red.”

“What! Fatai! What happened to the entirety of your life savings? I mean that robust interest-yielding sum that you told me you have been saving for two solid decades?”

“Ehmn, Uncle, you see, I used it to celebrate my fifty years birthday anniversary in grande-style. Yes, in a heaven-and earth-knows manner. Aye gbo, Orun mo!”

“Shut up! I say shut your trap! Again, I say padlock that your stinking dirty and unwisely foolish mouth!”

“Sorry Uncle- E ma binu”

“Shut up! Don’t talk when I am talking. Sorry for yourself. You ignoramus! O ma seun oo! Omo eni O ba j’oni, a bayo- it is good for one’s extention to take after one’s wiseness. I still can’t believe what I heard with my one and half ears. Fatai, you mean you squandered and wasted your entire life-time savings on a nonsensical ordinary one day birthday, all for the sake social glamour? I am disappointedly disappointed in you.”

“It was not ordinary Sir, it was extra-ordinary. In fact, the village Patriarch- Baale promised to coronate me with the title of Amuludun (village welfarist) as a result of the wide feast I made in my name.”

“Fatai! I say shut up! O ya, kneel down on your knees. Abi, no matter how big and grey-haired a child is, he is still a child before his parent and his Elders. You’re truly and really a bush illiterate. When will you wake up from your official foolishness of wasting and lavishing your hard-earned money on frivolities while priorities like having an investment or floating a business is unattended to?

Fatai, from today henceforth, in fact, right now, you need to have an investment mentality and remove that salary-mindset that occupy all the nook and cranies of your mind. Fools waste money, average people spend money while wise people invests money.”

“Fatai, are you a fool?”

“Yes I am.”

“Why are you a fool?”

“Because I wasted money.”

“That is very good! B’omode ba ti mejo E lebi, koni pe lori ikunle- if an accused confesses being guilty, the Judge might necause of his sincerity tamper justice with mercy. O ya, Fatai, by the authority conferred on me as the Olori Ebi (family head), stand up from your knees.”

“Thank you Sir”

“ Fatai, you see whenever money wants to escape your hand, ask yourself if the money will yield more money for you whether on the long or short run. People who have Salary-mindset will find it difficult to become wealthy. Like extremely wealthy. Yes, because, as the money comes, they spend it lackaidaisically without no plan. They live for today and not for tommorrow.

 Fatai, do you have a land in secret whether in Lagos, not necessarily, Ajar or Victoria Island. Even Agege?

“Uncle, No!”

“Do you have shares in any establishment?”

“Uncle, No”

“Fatai, you are a waster. Money wasted is destiny –wasted. That ceremony you say you celebrate when I went hustling at mtn for the production of the ‘I don’t port’ jingle, did it add a kobo to your life?”

“No, Uncle.”

“Fatai, now I know that the spirit of poverty is tormenting you. See, when money gets to your hand, the first thing you must do is to pay the investment bill.”

“Uncle Saka, like how many percent should that be in a month.”

“Ori e ti n pe bo- your brain is becoming charged. At least thirty percent.  See, life is an acrobatic display. If you have today and you don’t invest so that your money will work for you when your bones will be too tired to work, you will lack at your old age. Gather gold before you get old.”

“Okay Sir!”

“Any ways, it is not too late for you to reverse your money-spending mentality and your civil-salary mentality to an investment-mentality. After all, the only biggest room in life is the room for improvement.”

“Okay Sir, but Uncle, what about how to manage and manoeuvre the many risk in entrepreneur?”

“Yes, your brain is no more booting it is now almost completely charged!- O ri E ti n pe bo!

You see, Success in its simplest form is 'the ability to go from one failure to another without loss or diminishing enthusiasm'. No dream is attainable on the platter of no obstacle and disappointments. You need to know that disappointments come before ground-shaking appointments. You see, you must firstly appease disappointments which can be likened to an unwilling secretary in order for you to gain access to the willing Boss which appointment, in this case success. When you start you own business, you must not go weary in the face of challenges. You must forge ahead and be ditamiiiinned like Kano Nwankwo.

Finally, finally, Fatai, put this one I am about to tell you in your left palm so that you will not eat with it. Know that persistence is the only resistance to failure! Don’t because of say you may record loss, now kill the opportunity to become your own Boss, your own Oga patapata. The future is cheap when you buy it today. Spend money on necessities not needs.”

“Uncle, what are needs and what are necessities?”

“Abere ona ki i sina- he who seek direction from the right source stands a little chance of being misled. Fatai, needs are those things you can do without. For example, exorbitant wristwatch and clothings and other fanciful ornaments like gold, diamond, silver, diamond, and many other objects of glamour. And for necessities, they are things you can’t survive with. Chiefs among them are moderately modest clothing, food, and shelter.”

“I seeeeeeeeeeeeee!”

“Fatai, don’t be like that prodigal son in the Bible. Leave prosperity for your posterity and your children. Don’t leave them in poverty.”

“Thank you Uncle Saka. I brought this Agege bread as a token of appreciation”

“What! what an insult? Do you know how much mtn paid me for that ‘I don port’ jingle?” (O.J.O |09, 13)

…Kip da Optimism Alive