Thread by @TeeJayDan

I am not a twitter person, and since I started rebuilding my businesses I have been lowkey. But given my experiences in the past few weeks, I feel obligated to do this. Here's a thread:

@julietkego @richardalijos @lagospicture #naijacast #SwitchTheInfluencer

@DirectorSolomon

The last child of my family turned 17 in April this year. He joined me in Lagos in 2018 and has been living with me since then. Before he came over he was living with his mother, my step mum who is constantly overwhelmed with responsibilities.

#naijacast #SwitchTheInfluencer

When he first arrived I noticed certain traits in him. His dress code. His social behaviour. His interests, which were heavily reflected in the sort of conversations that pricked his interest. The content he consumed from TV and the internet.

#naijacast #SwitchTheInfluencer

Fresh out of secondary school, he was almost obsessed with the type of car @wizkidayo bought, he wanted a really big phone because the music videos show that it was cool to own one. But talk to him about his life and you could tell he was confuse.

#naijacast #SwitchTheInfluencer

It took me some time to realize what was happening. The boy had practically lived most of his life away from home. The people he saw on TV and billboard had more influence over him than his mother did. They did the actual parenting not his mother!

#naijacast #SwitchTheInfluencer

He knew so much about music stars; their net worth, where they party etc. He told me how back in boarding school he spent time reading on gossip about them. They were the only Nigerians who crossed his mind when we talk about successful people.

#naijacast #SwitchTheInfluencer

Because I know the power of music I decided to pay attention to the kind of music he was listening to. This smart boy was listening to musicians who only sang about women and money and a plethora of unintelligible lyrics. I needed to intervene!

#naijacast #SwitchTheInfluencer

So I will wait until he is in the middle of enjoying a particular song then ask him to tell me what the song was about. In most cases, he will struggle to tell me and end up laughing because he'll realize too that the song made no sense.

#naijacast #SwitchTheInfluencer

I shared articles with him that talked about the power of music and started battling to get him to read books. It was ironic that a brilliant 16 year old would spend an entire day watching music videos but struggle to read a chapter of a book.

#naijacast #SwitchTheInfluencer

@UmarGombe

When he clocked 17 this year I had a very honest conversation with him. I told him I was ready to invest in him but he needed to develop his mind. He then "before coming here I was always confused, but now I see hope and I know what to do."

#naijacast #SwitchTheInfluencer

He got me thinking. A good number of parents think they know their children when indeed they do not. Your child spends more time away from you: in school, with friends, and with TV/Youtube while you're at work. Who are the people influencing your kids?

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When @nairamarleys was arrested it was my younger brother who broke the news to me. That was the first time I would hear about the singer and when I looked him up, I panicked. I couldn't imagine someone like that inside my brother's head and mind.

#naijacast #SwitchTheInfluencer

Let me say very clearly, that I have no respect for anyone who's involved with advance fee fraud. Even those who say "plenty of my friends na G boys na" with pride. I have no single respect for you and want nothing to do with you. You guys are killing us!

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You are the reason why FIU of banks mess with young people who are building legitimate businesses. - why our green passport is treated with contempt outside our continent. You stress Nigerians trying to secure international investment or collaborations.

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Once you approach potential clients outside Nigeria, no matter how smoothly the preliminary conversation is, once it is established that you are a Nigerian business, they begin to recoil and your chances of closing a deal become slimmer.

#SwitchTheInfluencer #naijacast

The people you call G boys are criminals struggling to live a lifestyle they do not deserve. Let us not romanticize this thing by calling them fancy names. They are branding our country in poor light and killing the chances of businesses to flourish.

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Sadly, these criminals are role models for our younger ones. We grew up looking up to the people society held at high esteem for their contribution to our collective pride and identity. Tables have turned, today. Teenagers want to make money by all means.

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Music stars flaunt luxurious lifestyles which are largely funded by pushing drugs and fraud. The younger generation now has no motivation to seek substance, they just want to live in mansions, change cars and women every night because music videos say so!

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@JasonNjoku has so much to teach about opportunities in digital age. @Ajebee is equipping a new set of creatives. @mamalix has is seeking youth in the north, to takeover her platform. Sadly our younger ones are cursing @officialEFCC for arresting Naira Marley
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The sad thing is that even @feladurotoye does not have the kind of influence Marley has. Not even @TonyOElumelu. Music is a powerful and fast platform to shape people and influence a movement. So what can we do? I'll tell you.

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Let the successful people we know share their stories more. Let them show that they too have sick cars and really expensive wristwatches and live in palaces. These young boys need to know that the legit enterprise pays and pays way better, in the long run.
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This is why I let my younger ones know about my finances. When I get hundreds of thousand naira or some millions, I let them see the account balances and how the monies are to be spent, how they were made and why I am spending them the way I intend to.

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I make them understand that it is normal for me to have a million buck today and have zero naira tomorrow because of the businesses that we are building. I disabuse their minds about the illusion of fast wealth and show them the rewards of hard work.

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I admit to them that fraud may seem like a lucrative option, but in 5 years time, no Yahoo boy alive will have what I have. Whereas I am building a solid asset base and creating platforms that will outlive me, those criminals are blowing temporary money.

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Wealth gotten from crime cannot last as it has no legs to stand on. It is why those boys are rich for a week and broke for months until they net their next victim. Plus if you value the peace of mind you will find that it is an expensive path to take.

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I drive my car comfortably and never skip a heartbeat anytime I come in contact with law enforcement. When policemen stop me on the road they treat me with respect because they feel the confidence, and I dont get extorted since I have nothing to hide.

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We need to show ourselves so that those coming behind us can know that crime doesn't pay in the long term. Yahoo boys brag about the substance they do not have. We are the real deal but until we show ourselves na only Yahoo boys everybody go dey see.

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They are always claiming to be bosses and whatnot. But all na wash. Las Las when they fall out of luck or favour na for TV dem go show them wearing singlet and boxers. No one can ever treat me that way. Now tell me who the actual boss is. Me, bitch!

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Building businesses here and living right is hard. I won't lie to you. But in the long run, e better pass Yahoo Yahoo. While Yahoo boys are running from EFCC, when I had trouble with my account na me go EFCC office to para.

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I am sharing this because I am angry. The reputation of Yahoo boys has caused me so much: blocked business, suspended bank accounts for "suspicious transactions", plus they are influencing an entire generation of Nigerians.

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Today, I am happy to say that I have successfully kicked people like @nairamarleys out of my brother's mind. The next work is to fill that space with an understanding of how to create lasting wealth. He knows about my mistakes and the debt I am servicing.

#SwitchTheInfluencer

These kids are prone to become confused once they have access to phones and the internet. Even us adult suffer from information overload, how much more of impressionable minds like theirs. We need to be their role models or find them the right influencers.

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My parents were my primary influencers. My father gifted me a transistor radio on the week that I wrote common entrance exams. That radio is why I am interested in politics, economics and social work today. - why I dig deeper than headlines.

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My mother bought the most books on almost every subject and indulged my reading habit. She even told me to avoid girls, that the number of books I read will determine the quality of girls who will rush me. 🤣😂 Those books are the reason I am off the street.

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Growing up, I was influenced by the Soyinkas, the Cyril Stobers, the Funke Opekes, you know, Nigerians making Nigeria proud. We need to become this type of influencers to our younger ones. This realization has alone makes me want to live better.

#SwitchTheInfluencer