A young man from the city graduated from the university with a degree in mass communication and then got a job in the same city where he was sent to a town as a correspondent.
One of his assignments was to interview an old farmer who lived in the rural area of the town.
As he sat with the old farmer on his front porch, the young journalist switched on his recorder and started asking his questions.
One of the first he asked was, “Sir, what time do you go to work in the morning?”
The old farmer chuckled and replied, “Son, I don’t go to work, I’m surrounded by it.”
We can learn a lesson from the old farmer. Opportunities are a lot like work. They are everywhere.
But the problem is that we often don’t have the eyes to see them.
As you approach each day, look around. Be aware. If you don’t see opportunities, remember that it’s not because they aren’t there. You’re always surrounded by them.
You simply need to open your eyes and see them. Then act on them.
ON BABANGIDA AND VATSA: A TALE OF FRIENDSHIP AND BETRAYAL
On December 23, 1985, the Vatsa family had concluded plans to travel to Calabar. Typically, they spent the Yuletide in the Cross River State capital (Sufiya was Efik), Eid al-Fitr in Minna, Niger State (Vatsa was Nupe)...
...and Eid al-Adha in Kaduna. After packing for the trip, they awaited General Mamman Vatsa's return from an Armed Forces Ruling Council (AFRC) meeting. When he returned home late, the trip was postponed until the next day.
Around midnight, while Sufiya watched a film in her bedroom, Vatsa, working in his study, burst in to tell her that General Ibrahim Babangida (IBB) had summoned him. Sufiya protested, saying it was too late and that he should call his boss to reschedule for the morning.
Growing up, Victor Osimhen did not have it easy as he had to work hard menial jobs to make a living.
“I was cleaning the gutter for ₦20 for my landlord…and I did some cleaning jobs for my neighbours...and I did find pleasure in doing these things because I believe that when I work so hard to get this money, it’s so important for me…I’m cautious about how I spend,” he said.
Osimhen with his siblings used to sell newspapers and oranges and always had to run in moving vehicular traffic to sell water as well.
Even with all the hardship, Osimhen did not...let the circumstances in his environment weigh him down, he still kept moving forward.
When General Yakubu Gowon was preparing for the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) Summit in Kampala, Uganda, in July 1975, his Inspector-General of Police, Muhammed Dikko Yusuf passed a strong intelligence message to him that a coup...
...against him was not just in the offing but in an advanced stage that could happen as soon as possible.
M.D Yusuf did not stop there. He further told Gowon that Colonel Joseph Nanven Garba, his right-hand man and Commander of the Brigade of Guards, was a chief plotter.
Gowon could not believe what he heard and argued that his own people would not betray him. The Brigade of Guards was composed entirely of Middle-Belt soldiers mainly from Gowon's Ngas ethnic stock in present-day Plateau State.
MOTIVATIONAL MONDAY: TAKE THE BIG GAMBLE, BE RESILIENT
During the GSM licence bid round in 2001, there was an attempt to muscle out Chief Mike Adenuga. However, the then NCC Vice Chairman, Dr. Ernest Ndukwe was very fair and transparent in the manner he handled the exercise.
But powerful forces within the Olusegun Obasanjo-led administration were bent on frustrating Adenuga from securing a telecoms licence. Additionally, President Obasanjo, allegedly, had personal issues with Adenuga.
Nevertheless, Adenuga refused to give up and eventually secured the license in August 2003. He then changed the game with Glo's per-second billing, which the more established companies, like MTN and Econet (now Airtel), had said was impossible but were then forced to adopt.
In April 1963, Emir Muhammadu Sanusi of Kano flouted the First Law of Power and was deposed by the Sardauna of Sokoto and Premier of the Northern Region, Sir Ahmadu Bello.
The Emir had outshined the Master.
In 1961, when Sir Gawain Westray Bell, the Governor of the Northern Region, proceeded on leave, Emir Sanusi of Kano acted as Governor in his stead. However, as the Premier of the Northern Region, Sir Ahmadu Bello believed that his position was that of a grand Emir and was...
...superior to all other traditional rulers in the North, including the Sultan of Sokoto.
Emir Sanusi who once served as the Acting Governor of Northern Nigeria at the time when Sir Gawain Bell went on leave, thought it fit that he should be the substantive Governor of the...
On March 21, 2007, 30-year-old Christianah Oluwatoyin Oluwasesin was stabbed to death and burnt in her car by Muslim students for allegedly desecrating the Qur'an at a secondary school in Gandu, Gombe State, North-East Nigeria.
A mother of two, Oluwasesin was assigned to supervise an Islamic Religious Knowledge exam when one of the students wanted to enter the exam hall with books. Oluwasesin collected them and threw them outside.
The students, who claimed that one of the books was a copy of the Qur'an, started to chant "Allahu Akbar" (Allah is Great) and chased her to the school principal's office.