Some Views About Nigeria...

A state may buy 3000 buses, 500 new trains, 3000 police cars, make 1000 new roads, and build 100 new schools and 4000 housing units.

It will not change much. New things don't change much when there is no new way of thinking. Wealth without education tends to wastage and poverty.

Thats the thing about education. The purpose of education is to teach how to discover, invent, harness and manage resources, or wealth. Human resources, informational resources, material resources, financial resources, technological resources etc...how to deploy them

We have two problems

1. Those who are in charge of the nation's wealth neither have nor value education; so they do not know how to handle and deploy resources.

For instance, time is a resource. It is one of the most important resources in the history of man. One of the largest differences between the developed world and Africa, is the understanding of the importance of the time resource. How that 10am is 10am, and never 10:05am or even 10:01am

"Ahn, ahn, I was only 15 minutes late now! Do you know where I'm coming from?"

As long as we still think that way, no matter how many new things we acquire; we cannot prosper as a nation. A school that teaches maths, english, arts, science, philosophy, technology etc; but does not teach punctuality; has not taught anything.

It is not normal to finish eating corn and throw the cob inside a bus or taxi or by the roadside.
It is not normal to shunt a queue.
It is not normal to arrive at 8:10am when you're to be there for 8:00am. It isn't just 10 minutes, it is abnormal.

That is, if we want a civilised society. New transformers and new airplanes cannot give us this, if our thinking remains the same.

I'm telling you that the difference between the first world and the third world is as simple as an airplane that is billed to leave at 6:44pm MUST leave at 6:44pm; while in the third world, 9pm and we are still waiting, 'gisting', and giving excuses.

It is lack of education that makes a people applaud a government for injecting 4000 buses into its transport system. Oh wow, see new buses! They are trying o.

It won't change much. They will still go the way of every new thing introduced in the past. Waste and dilapidation...

But when you see a transport system with departure times. For instance; departure times are 6am, 6:30am, and 7am. Then we have just arrived.

This is why we have thousands of new corps members joining and leaving the youth corp several times a year, with nothing much to show for it in the states: all that brain power of fresh graduates; and all that man power of youth. No program, no continued concerted banding of skills and potentials to effect lasting change. Waste.

Ah, the second problem

2. Those with education think education is wealth. They don't know the purpose of education. So they finish school and are looking for a job. They don't know they have just gotten the keys to harness resources. They don't go into politics, into government, into markets, into religion and faith systems, into community organisation, into sports and entertainment. They sit in an office somewhere and divide their education from all these things. They do the minimum such as attending church were religion is concerned, and voting where politics is concerned (very few, even at that). They leave these things mainly to those whose minds have not been primed by a robust education, instead of going in there to train them not just to gather and store up resources for waste, but to harness and develop them to build a community, a state, a nation.

The school is the foundation of civilisation. The home is the foundation of society and the school is the foundation of all meaningful civilization. It takes properly educated and learned folks invading all aspects of life for things to get better. That's why our parastatals last had a form of life in the 70s when the whites were still here. It's not because they were white. It was because they were educated.

That's why there was such a strong revival of Christian faith in that time; because all the young men who were receiving a call from God were well educated: Reverend Tunde Joda, Pastor Adeboye, Pastor Kumuyi etc were highly educated to the postgraduate level and successful doctors, mathematicians, lawyers, architects, and in other fields; and several effective ministries grew out of campus. Little wonder Paul wrote two thirds of the new testament and was able to deploy grace to the Gentiles.

Fast forward to today when many young men enter into ministry because they are not excelling in education or as an alternative to hard smartwork and a quick road to wealth. What do we have? Many NEW churches, making little impact.

Yes. We are presently in dire need of the re-education of an entire generation.

*E. UzoPeters*

What's Should Be The Priority?

Lately, I had to say No to some opportunities to make some extra cash. Now the reason for doing that is not farfetched at all. I was under the weather right from middle of December and into the new year.

I guess I was stressed. So I have decided to rest more. I know there are money targets to be met but I would rather be healthy and meet them later than try to meet them sooner by stressing myself and ending up sick. Then I would have to spend the money treating myself.

I feel a better thing to do is to think of ways one can make more money through less stressful, legitimate means. You know I do not subscribe to sinister stuff or money doubling schemes or even advance fee fraud aka 419.

Let's stay healthy so we can make the money. Do you share a different view? Please feel free to express yourself in the comments section, below... Thanks for reading!

A Tale of 3 Business Lessons

Compliments of the season! It's that time of the year when we get together to have fun with family and friends and reflect on how we fared in the outgoing year.

For me it has been a great year. Thank God for that! I have not been posting here regularly, however, I will endeavour to build a routine into my schedule and keep to it. So help me God.

Now to the essence of this blog. Today, I would like to share with you, 3 lessons I have learned this year from different events around me.

First one, was my interaction with a very courteous commercial motorcycle rider. In Nigerian parlance we call them, Okada. I had just closed at work for the day, and hailed this guy to stop and give me a ride to my place. Before I even started talking, he greeted me very politely. Good evening, Sir! How was your day? After a split second of shock i quickly answered, my day was great, thank you. How was yours? Subsequently, I told him where I headed and he moved. Now so many things went through myind while I was on that bike. This man was probably a family man, someone's daddy, yet he was very polite and courteous. I was thinking of all the ways I could pay him back for being so nice to me. A generous tip maybe? Well, to cut the long story short, I enjoyed the ride, and we had a great chat, in good English, not pidgeon, by the way.
Lesson 1: Always be courteous to your clients. It can open doors in high places for you.

Second lesson was an event at a public area which one could regard as a commercial area.
I had alighted from a bus and was walking towards the area where the Okada guys wait for customers. I noticed there was a bit of commotion around that area, things were scattered and armed policemen were patrolling the area. The tables where the food sellers used to place their wares were turned upside down. The food stuff were inside the truck which the law enforcement officers had arrived with.

The area was very close to a high voltage pylon and as such was not supposed to be a market place. Now before that day, buying and selling had taken place freely. That day the officers took them by surprise. Some of them were arrested.

Lesson 2: Never set up your business in an illegal area. Always ensure you have government approval to do business wherever you set up your business.

The final lesson was from an interaction I had with an Okada rider with whom I had a lease agreement. He was supposed to use the bike which I had paid fully for, make back the money I had spent in buying the bike plus a profit and then the bike would become his.
Now, he had done this the year before and we had a quite smooth period of returning payments amidst some dissatisfaction on my side from delayed payments but nothing major.

This time, I made a very big mistake. I didn't write down our agreement!
He told me what he would be returning as payments weekly and how much he would pay as profit. I thought he said 50% of the price of the bike and probed him further to be sure that was what he meant. Turns out that he had a different figure in mind. He was going to pay a profit of N50,000 and not 50% of the price. Now things didn't go well and we agreed to sell off the bike. He was just misbehaving in so many ways. Of course he had more incidences of delayed payments as well as travelling without even bothering to tell me! So many issues. We decided to sell and guess what? That's when he plainly says that, We usually pay N50,000 as profit to the original owner of the bike who made the investment (me in this case)!

My goodness, I was furious, enraged, angry, but I couldn't hold him accountable because there was no written agreement! I had been played.

Lesson 3: Never go into any business deal with anyone without a form of written agreement specifying the terms and conditions of the contract.

I'll stop here. Do leave a comment on your thoughts about any of the lessons. I would be glad to read them and respond. Thanks.

The Power Of 'NO'

"My First 'No': I've been waiting 14 years to share this story. Please take the time to read.

At 31 years of age, today marks the completion of:
1. Four years of a medical magnet school
2. Four years as a Neuroscience Major (B.S.)
3. Four years of Medical School (M.D.)
4. Five years of Orthopedic Surgery Residency
5. One year of Fellowship in Hand and Upper Extremity Surgery

That is 18 years of training, 14 years post high school. It is interesting as a child when you tell someone you want to be a doctor when you grow up...they believe and encourage you. Mostly because it is so far in the future and no normal human would even think of crushing a child's dream. But the closer you get to accomplishing your dreams, the easier it is for people to discourage you and marginalize your goals.

In elementary school, I was the little girl who wanted to be a doctor, it was cute. Middle school I excelled, scored high and when I told teachers I wanted to be a doctor, they were all for it. High school, I was in a medical magnet school, took AP classes and it was a no brainer. I said I wanted to be a doctor, the response was always positive.

Along this path I entered college at the University of Miami, the best school in Florida. I was accepted to the Neuroscience program. The real journey was about to begin. With this journey would come many people, teachers, advisors, professors who would tell me that I could not and would not make it to M.D. Up until college, the idea of becoming a doctor was entertained and encouraged. Like I said earlier, as a little Black child it's only perceived as a dream, not as a journey that will actually manifest.

The road to me obtaining an M.D. and later becoming an Orthopaedic Hand Surgeon was riddled with 'No'. But last week, after a long day of surgery, I sat back and reflected on the first time I heard 'I don't think you can make it,' or in simpler terms, when I heard my first 'No.'

My first 'No' came my freshman year of college. I completed my first semester and had to meet with my freshman advisor. I met with Dr. Victoria Noriega, a beautiful intelligent woman that as a freshman I looked up to. I reviewed my grades with her. I had a B in biology, the rest were A's. I'll never forget when she told me I would not get into medical school. My grades were not high enough. She then proceeded to say, minorities do better in health related psychology fields. This was my first semester of college. She was the first person to tell me, I couldn't make it to M.D., but she wouldn't be the last.

Imagine, at 17, if I had listened to this advice from my advisor. The resulting cascade:
1. Never going to medical school to obtain my M.D.
2. If I did not move to Atlanta to attend medical school, I would never have met my pastor Michael L. McCrimmon , who ultimately introduced me to my husband Correll Bilbrew.
3. I would never have completed 5 years of Orthopedic Surgery and become the second African American from the oldest Orthopedic Training program in Texas.
4. I would not be graduating today as the first African American Female Hand and Upper Extremity Fellow at The University of Florida.

I've heard many No's. I would not get into medical school. I should not be a surgeon because then, 'I couldn't get manicures and my hands would be constantly dry from scrubbing my hands from surgery' (real comment from a medical school professor). I was told, 'I fit better as a Family Practice physician', because I don't have the demeanor of a physician. I was told when scrubbed in to a surgery with an Orthopaedic Surgeon during the time I was applying to residency that 'I would never get into an orthopedic residency; he would never vote for me to get in.'

You see, there are many No's along my journey. I can honestly say not once did any No deter me. It literally went in one ear, out the other and in the garbage can. It never stopped my grind and that is why 14 years after that incident I'm graduating.

Be careful when you tell someone No. Today I have at least a dozen minorities I am mentoring to also become an orthopedic surgeon. How sad would it be if I heeded that first No. Imagine if instead of no, I heard 'how can I help you get there.' The closer you get to accomplishing your dreams, the easier it is for people to discourage you and marginalize your goals. Keep Striving."- Dr. Lattisha L. Bilbrew, Orthopedic Hand and Upper Extremity Surgeon

Culled from Facebook on Eunique Jones page

COMPLEMENT vs COMPETE

As teachers it's very important that we complement each other and not compete with each other. It's good to step back and see the BIG picture that we all are a part of and appreciate the TOTAL VALUE of the picture.

It's like a puzzle where each piece is unique and shaped differently. Individually, each piece doesn't make sense or add value or look beautiful.

However, once you carefully assemble all the pieces together, the ESSENCE shows, and the real beauty shines through.

In this analogy, each of us teachers are the individual pieces. Each teacher is unique and adds a different kind of value. Just like the uniqueness of identical twins, no two teachers offer exactly the same kind of value even though they are in the same field of endeavour.

Did you know that, the creator of this forum or group or channel where you're reading this post on, has a unique offering that you won't find elsewhere? Just scroll down the posts or go through other posts made on this channel after reading this and you will find a CORE MESSAGE they are dishing out.

 Of course behind the message is the value that YOU, the teacher receive on a daily basis.

Finally, the picture, in all it's beauty is the complete teacher who is probably a member of all these groups and follows all these social media channels dishing out different content that edifies the COMPLETE TEACHER!
On it's own, one group or channel cannot give you everything, because one teacher cannot give you everything. That's why you consume all the content and attend the different trainings advertised on this group or channel.
Now the COMPLETE TEACHER can now REPLICATE THEMSELVES in a RANK XEROX STYLED OPERATION CALLED TEACHING... THIS WILL PRODUCE LOVELY COPIES OF THE BEAUTIFUL PICTURE WE STARTED WITH IN THE CHILDREN WE TEACH!

PS: After putting the puzzle pieces together, you'll observe that there are still SPACES craving to be filled...who knows if YOU are the teacher with the missing piece needed to fill that SPACE?
We are waiting for you...nay...THE WHOLE WORLD IS WAITING FOR YOU...EARNESTLY!

#nigerianteachers #computing #entrepreneur #teacherpreneur #teachersofinstagram #nigerian #educators

Treat 'em RIGHT

Doing business in Nigeria is fraught with a lot of issues and challenges but to succeed sometimes just requires us avoiding certain actions or choices which we are faced with daily.

That is the purpose of this blog. How NOT to do business in Nigeria. It has been said that one of the first things you must do in your business plan is to know your clients. After that, just ensure you treat them nicely.

Some may argue but your customer is King, and if I may add, the employees are Queens. Both parties must be handled with care.

I will cite an instance with my most recent business demo session where I and my team went to show a very interesting game called race to infinity to a school in the Lekki phase 1 area of Lagos. It was a success, and we await the massive orders from parents who would watch the videos of their excited kids playing and learning too.

After the session I had to take my team to lunch as the exercise was demanding. I did not have enough money on me so I quickly rushed to the bank after asking them to wait for me in the school's reception.

I hoped to transfer a certain amount of money from an account which atm was not with me to another one which i had an atm for so I could make a withdrawal and go back to pay those dudes.

I submitted the document and even pleaded with the cashier that some people were waiting for me to get this money. She just replied, "You can't get it now. You'll get it in thirty minutes!" I could not afford to keep those guys waiting so I had to rush home, and get the atm of the account with some money and got them paid.

What's the point here? The cashier could have made the payment possible immediately after seeing it was urgent. That would have been a plus for her and her bank. However, she didn't. To worsen it, she never effected the transfer at all. Imagine i had been waiting for her, hoping that she would do it, how would those guys have felt?

It is always good to have an alternative just in case, a transaction you need does not pull through.

The children i mentioned earlier are my first clients, so i made sure they were comfortable and enjoyed the game. I have to leave the parents who are my paying clients to make their decisions now.

Morale: Never treat a customer badly. People may forget what you said to them but they will never fprget how you treated them.

Nigeria is a great place to do business. It has lots of potentials and opportunities.

Emotions: The Ups and Downs in Our Minds

Apologies for being off this medium for a long time. I was really busy. However, the summer holiday is over and the kids I was coaching are off to school again so I have a bit of time on my hands. Today, I wish to consider emotions. Anger in particular.

You know its personal whenever we are on this medium. I will proceed to narrate some experiences I have had with my clients recently. Some event happened that left one of my clients really upset. She was more upset because apologies were not coming from the right quarters, namely me.

Now this client had a friend who was also one of my clients. So after some interactions with her friend, this client of mine told me I was supposed have an appointment with her friend which was earlier cancelled. She said her friend told her, "I should come." Upon getting to her friend's place, I found out it was not true. The previous cancellation still held. Wow! It was sunny that day, I had spent money getting to her friend's place and to make things worse, she was not picking her calls.

That she was probably not with her phone did not come to mind. I just felt so angry and wanted to tell her I was angry. I even felt she did it on purpose. Hmmm....Thank God she did not pick. I then felt like sending a text but thought it would not be wise to do so as I would likely regret my actions later when I would have lost the client.

Moral of the story? Always keep anger in check. If it seems really hot, go through the Count from 1 to 10 therapy or just leave the area completely for a while far from where the source of the anger is located. Anger, when its not well handled can mess a lot of things up. Do not allow anger rest or make its residence in your heart. It wrecks 100% all the time when its not well handled.

Cheers.