It was around 2011. I lived at Magodo, Lagos during that period. I received a call from my mentor one evening. He asked if I knew a village called Siun on the way to Abeokuta in Ogun State.
I wasn’t sure but I knew I couldn’t miss it since it was after Sagamu Interchange. I jumped into my car and drove off. There was no time to waste. By experience, I knew if my mentor calls like that, there must be a learning moment.
I got to the village and saw his vehicle where I was parked. He was holding a meeting with some people. He beckoned at me to sit beside him while I listened to his conversation. After the meeting, he asked me to ride with him. I parked my car and hopped into his.
He linked up to the main Abeokuta Expressway and drove towards Sagamu. He parked at a spot and we both came down. He asked me to look around. I didn’t understand what he was driving at but I observed very closely.
It was then he explained that the Sagamu-Abeokuta inward road would witness an explosion very soon. I listened as he spoke about that stretch of the road benefitting from the works on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway.
He also said there was a plan to dualize the Siun Abeokuta-Sagamu corridor and that will ultimately impact real estate along that stretch. “You need to position yourself”, he told me. He asked me to buy land in that area.
Sincerely, I couldn’t see what he was saying. Everywhere was thick bush. It was only one company I saw that time trying to set up a factory. It was later I knew it was a major FMCG setting up shop on that corridor.
As we drove back towards Siun, he kept on expounding on how he believes that location would change significantly in less than 10 years. I felt 10 years was a long time. He dropped me where I parked my car and bid me bye. He headed towards Abeokuta while I left for Lagos.
About two weeks ago, I passed through that 42km corridor (Sagamu to Abeokuta is 42km) and I recalled the conversation I had with him about 10 years ago. The ten years that looked so far away then is now here.
I saw the different factories on that road. I observed the ongoing road expansion works coming from Abeokuta. That area represents an overflow of Lagos into Ogun State. It is now an emerging investment hub.
One of the qualities of a good mentor is vision. A mentor is able to see opportunities and help the mentee see them also. They help you see tomorrow today. They help you to see far. They help you to see what others cannot see. They help you see beyond others.
Vision is a combination of 3 things: Insight, Foresight and Hindsight.
1.Insight
They have a deep and accurate understanding of the subject matter. Sometimes, you could almost say they have the power of intuition. Intuition comes from a place of experience.
That is why when they have a hunch or gut feeling about someone or something, they’re almost always right.
In other words, insight is looking inward.
2.Foresight
They are able to predict a future occurrence before it happens. Consequently, they are able to move before others- call that the first mover’s advantage. Consequently, they can plan better. In other words, foresight is looking ahead.
According to John C. Maxwell, “One of the greatest values of mentors is the ability to see ahead what others cannot see and to help them navigate a course to their destination.”
3.Hindsight
They are able to look at past occurrences with a view to learning from them in order to do better in future. In other words, hindsight is looking backwards.
A mentor with vision is therefore able to look inward, look ahead and look back.
Mentors won’t force the opportunities on you as they don’t want to create you in their own image or likeness. Good mentors will still want you to be you and not them. You’re not supposed to be a clone of your mentor.
There are two major types of opportunities mentors will reveal to you:
1.Opportunities Inside You
A mentor shows you your real self. He/she helps you sharpen your self-worth. He helps you develop your skills and talents.
He shares his experience with you so you can understand that you’re capable of more. He gives you that gentle nudge and push.
2.Opportunities Around You
That was what mentor did that evening. This is true especially if the mentor is a business mentor. Those with a heightened sense of business can predict the direction of the sector.
Some of them have insider information and they may drop snippets for you. You’ll do well to listen to them.
While a mentor shows you the possibilities and opportunities , the real hard work of getting there is yours. You can’t outsource the work to them. Get your nose to the grindstone- and work!
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I did my National Youth Service at Port Harcourt. During that period, I lived with a former schoolmate's uncle at Nkpolu Rumuigbo, a small community along the way to Choba where the University of Port Harcourt is located.
A few days before we rounded off the National Service early 2000, I became very troubled. My heart was filled with fear and worry. The monthly "allowee" of N7,500 was about to come to an end.
I remember this amount because I used one month's allowance to buy a gown for a girlfriend then (story for another day).
On this day 25 years ago (May 30, 2000), I started a banking career that has now spanned seven financial institutions. On that day, I resumed at the Banking School located at Elephant House, Apongbon in Lagos.
I was part of the first set of entry-level trainees (we were called Banking Analysts) that were hired by the erstwhile National Bank then.
The actual date of resumption was May 29, 2000 but it was postponed by a day because the then President Olusegun Obasanjo declared May 29 as Democracy Day. So I resumed with 65 others the following day which was a Tuesday.
Building Social Skills: A Necessary Ingredient for Success
I discussed a few minutes ago with someone on how I consider having social skills a necessary ingredient for success in life.
I mentioned two different characters in the Bible and what was the major difference in their situation.
The sick guy by the pool of Bethesda in John Chapter 5 had been in that sick condition for 38 years. His greatest limitation as far as he was concerned was that he didn't have anyone to assist him by pushing him into the miracle pool whenever an angel stirred it up.
A DAY AT IKOYI CORRECTIONAL CENTRE: GREATERBAYO @ 50
On Saturday March 29, 2025, I visited Ikoyi Correctional Centre along with my wife, daughter and some colleagues. I had reached out to Ikoyi Correctional Centre (former Ikoyi Prisons) in the build up to my 50th birthday.
The major consideration was if there were inmates who had options of fines that could be paid so they could be free. In biblical Israel, every 50th year was a jubilee where people are released from their debts, freedom for all slaves and returning property to those who owned it.
So freedom for inmates was paramount on my mind.
However, we found out there were a litany of needs and after due consideration, I settled for 3 major projects viz:
1 Payment of fines for 8 inmates (initially 7 inmates but one more was added) at a total cost of N3,940,000
Philip Amiola: How A Simple Mail Evolved To Book Publication, Website & Newsletter Deals
Today, I met Philip Amiola physically for the first time. But here's the back story:
On August 5, 2020 (almost 5 years ago), I got a mail from Philip Amiola. A screen shot of the mail is shared along with this write up. Apparently, he follows me on X (formerly Twitter) and he had a few suggestions for me.
He suggested a personal blog or website and that he was willing to take my contents and publish them for free on a weekly basis via a newsletter.
The interview took place in Victoria Island, Lagos, that year. I arrived at the venue and met other candidates who came to interview for the role. A few were people I knew from Ibadan.
When it was my turn, I got into the office where the panel interview was held and sat down after I was instructed to do so. There were about seven people on the panel, and it was led by the managing director of the financial institution—an Indian.
One of the questions I was asked was, ‘Why should we hire you?’ The organisation had just started a new branch in Ibadan and was hiring relationship managers. I smiled and responded that I knew Ibadan—their target market—‘like the palm of my hands’.