Thread by @segalink

Let me tell you a little bit about how Nigeria works from a perspective you have never seen and one that you may never be taught in school. The most potent means of getting visibility is competency cum discipline in what you do passionately & the other is your relationship.

This is a twin concept in any ideal situation where one can’t do without the other unless in Nigeria where competency is supplanted under the heavy force tribalism, cronyism and religious bigotry all in the name of connection Power.

But I digress to explain the common eccentricity. In ideal cases in our clime Relationship is the most potent. This differs from connection of mere acquaintance to a credible sponsor of repute but having a relationship with someone who can plead your case even in absentia.

This concept is also connected with the relationship between activism and advocacy. We all have the rights and capability to protest or show discontent for authorities to appeal or address us as a crowd but only a few can drive Policies & sit at tables for Reforms.

This explains why you find very talented people languishing in poverty because they have no relationship bandwidth that can effectively plead their case and defend their competency via meritocracy. Suffice to say competency alone can’t get you there.

So when you live recklessly and betray people, that ripple effect goes beyond your imagination. It builds a negative reputation for your persona that poisons whatever talent that you may have. Recommending you to anyone becomes a risk no one wants to take.

I mentioned Discipline earlier and I have done a lot of talks on this. It refers to your diligence and consistency in that area enough to warn you a name. Relationship however is the crown that creates apostles and evangelists for your brand via word of mouth.

In the political clime and the business world you can’t define anyone or recommend anyone you have not experienced. You have no basis to defend what you don’t have personal experience on in the know. The account of random third parties don’t count as a reference.

Many of you see others as corrupt because of the programming of politicians not because they have robbed you before personally or you have a conviction from a competent court on this assumption but all that is in your head & those who drinks with you at the pub.

In the real world when tasks need to be accomplished, the key ingredient for the award is not Socialmedia vibes via consumerist conformity of some online marauders. It is more about your competence cum depth of recommendation from those who’s related with you in the know.

Let me translate. What the sponsor with a relationship with such candidate is expected to do is put his goodwill on the line for this person. Now in the workplace all the employer sees is a competent worker backed up with a credible sponsor (Godfather of some sort).

This culture is operational across sectors and mostly within the sociopolitical space. It is what produced the Fashola, Ambode and SanwoOlu of this world. They are not just strays sojourning in Asiwaju’s boys quarters fabricating documents for blackmail or relevance.

There is a responsibility within that chain of influence. There must be an experience. This is why you can’t just follow people on twitter and expect a recommendation to high places. You can’t meet people today & demand that they take you to the President for jobs. #Desperation

They must experience you first and prove your competence and discipline before putting their weight on your cause. I personally was trained by elderly professionals with stints with leaders of repute. I follow the same tradition. I can’t recommend who I can’t vouch for.

This will mean that his sins will be my sin and will affect my reputation. In the Bible this rule holds that for absolution one gets a turtle dove or lamb that is young without blemish to the temple to atone for our sins as dictated by religion before the crucifixion of christ.

This is why you can’t really break political circles especially under the oppression of populist parasites. It is cult like and there is always a pyramid through which your loyalty will be tested. In fact you spend majority of your youthful years proving your maturity & readiness

With the current entitlement paralysis of our young, avarice and impatience none of the thought leaders can even clear most for internship let alone employment. This is why you see 40year old and beyond being appointed as aides and clerical appendages. It’s a game of trust.

Needless to say it will get worse with the current criminal conspiracy of identity politics of hate where you can get fired for your twitter/Facebook post or rejected based on what you said in 2012 regardless of the contextual premise. That human element has come to stay.

Many of you may not have gotten the memo but this is what operates. Interviews nowadays are exploitative. I learnt they now ask you to draw up business plans or pitch and never get back to you yet your ideas are implemented and you can’t fight back because you have no means. 😞

Listen and brace yourself for the next level. Many will be forced to depend on Government dole out. There will be hypothetically #BusstopMoni #TraderMoni #HomelessMoni and the likes just to get you hooked on socialism in exchange for your revolutionary spirit. Yes I predicted it.

The only way you can escape the next wave of their machinations is to fix your attitude towards one another now. It is never too late. We are all we have. If you don’t understand this now you will soon get it once the noose gets tighter. Things are going to get worse.

The image of your Pentecostal Pastors and religious leaders have mostly fallen from Grace to Grass. The term Pastor/Imam is now synonymous with fraud, lies, avarice, format and exploitation. I would have recommended a spiritual intervention but that solution too has expired.

Gone we’re the days when a cleric can attest for you reliably. It makes no difference now. So we must look inward and find our uniqueness via mindfulness and emotional intelligence. This is what draws you to your destiny helpers. People are reading from you & assessing you.

Those BMC griots you see wasting their lives online has nothing else to do in life than depend on stipends from Government to cyberbully citizens expressing their opinion as constitutionally guaranteed. Don’t be them less you end up like them. No one will hire these ones.

The highest they can become is a thug or Online Almajiri of a corrupt politician but how sustainable is this? Twitter may not even be in vogue in years to come. Go and ask MySpace superstars or Hi5 Kings. Nothing in life is permanent. When the weather changes what become of you?

When I realized this many years ago I decided to be different in my approach at least in the media, entertainment & broadcast sector. I hired my first 70staff based on competency even though most of them were recommended not much depended on the sponsors. They proved themselves.

Not to me but to the firm with their output and commitment to the deliverables. We built relationships from there and went on to make Art. Long story short that team is making waves now across the Sector and we have each other’s back till tomorrow. This is how we build a nation.

Do you know how many Police officers we have met through the interventions? Do you know how many people have a change of heart towards responsibility in the Nigerian space due to positive influence and engagement? Why can’t we be social on Socialmedia? 🤔

This is not to discourage you but to encourage you not to get too carried away. One day we will wake up & have no twitter App or Facebook audience. Then what? Reality will stare you in the face & the imperialists paying vituperative hirelings will no longer take your calls.

I just thought I share this with you on a candid note because most of you will share the future with my kids. I should care for posterity sake. We mostly determine what our society becomes because we are actually society. When U get paid for being hateful & dubious, is that life?

Imagine asking your children what their father does for a living and for them to say you are a “toxic vituperative striker” for the BMC - Twitter Division. This is not a life purpose but a transmogrification & detour from making Art with fulfillment. They don’t care about U too.

I pray that with these few lines someone out there will recalculate their life coordinates & realign their trajectory by doing things differently henceforth. I look forward to celebrate U regardless of your political leaning, religion or tribe.

...End of Celestial Observation..