Two thousand and twelve memories

1.    SMS:  "Delivery was successful, tell mummy it's a boy!"

My nephew and first Grandson of the Akanni family, Olaoluwa Harold Akanni was born Sunday 22nd January.



2.     SMS: "To God be the glory as we welcome our new bouncing baby girl to the world"

My niece and frist Granddaughter of the Akanni family, Oluwasindara Esther Akanni was born Thursday 28th June.

To be honest, it was a bitter-sweet moment because I had received an email from Yokogawa a couple of minutes before this SMS came in.

Dear all,

With regret I have to announce you are not selected for the 3 months trainee ship in France.
You are still a candidate If one or more of  the selected candidates are not be able to travel to France.

Rest me to thank you for your efforts.

Regards,

I had been receiving emails like this all year, but this one was different. I had been taking French language classes since the beginning of that month in preparation for this opportunity and one e-mail just ruined everything.

3. "How soon can you get to the island?"

Seven days later, it was my niece's naming ceremony and the opening prayer was just being said when I excused myself to pick a call.

"Tolu, where are you? How soon can you get to the island? One of the five people selected for the training has opted out because he got a scholarship for his masters, so they need you to come and sign your contract as soon as possible"

I leaped for joy! This one phone call changed everything about 2012.

4. "This guy is good"

While I was still waiting for the training logistics to be sorted out, I was invited for an interview by a company I had applied to earlier in the year. I had my first interview before I got the Paris offer. The first interview was very interesting because they sent me a case study and I was asked to make a presentation on the solution for the issue on ground. I did good.

I was invited for a re-interview alongside seven new guys because I was the preferred candidate out of the original 5 candidates but my manager-to-be wasn't so sure I was a fun person (an insider told me this). I was just on my second slide during this re-interview when that manager asked me to pause and said she would like to base my interview off-script and that they were interested in certain qualities so they would just throw me random questions to test these qualities. So they went on and on bombarding me with different business scenarios and I was really on my A-game that day, so I just dishing out ideas to them effortlessly. My answers and approach were just unconventional and it got to a point that this woman looked at one other Asian manager on the panel and said

"Oh no, I told you this guy is good"

"I can see that" the asian guy nodded affirmatively and started asking me for ideas on a particular project he was working on. 

This interview was so dramatic that it was almost obvious the two managers were dragging to have me in their different departments.

You know how you believe so much in your self and at times, you just need others to remind you of your strengths. I walked out of that room asking myself why I would ever want to work for these people when I can raise a team that can compete against them.

5. "Congratulations Sir, here's your passport"

I got my first visa, a 90-day Schenghen visa.

6.

I climbed up to the stairs to the first floor of Eiffel Tower and when I saw the beauty of Paris at night, I froze and tears rolled down my cheeks.

The person that took this pic probably didn't know I was crying..lol  #GloryMoment

Too many things were running through my mind as I stood at that place that day. I remembered how I and my friends had talked about Paris and other choice locations years ago and I missed my friends as I stood there that night.

"This is the dream, this is the dream, this is the dream" was all I kept saying to myself.

This was a dream come true.

7. 

Onyeka Nwelue landed in Paris and added meaning to my stay there. I began to see things more differently, meet more people, and have more fun.

Myself, Onyeka Nwelue and Jaye Aderounmu (a.k.a Fat Poet) slept in Sandboxer, Alexander Terrien and Co-founder of Monkey Music, Jules Terrien's house this night.

It was music, social talk, drinks and more talk until Jules sent his media interview answers to Onyeka by email and we just switched to that sober mood as Onyeka read out Jule's achievement. Onyeka then mentioned his age. Jules was just 22.

The night took a different turn.

We talked about Africa, we talked about success, we talked about drive and passion.

We were troubled, we felt like celebrated under-achievers.

I couldn't sleep for more than 2 hours. Onyeka probably had a 30minutes nap.

It was a night of sober reflection.

It was a good night for our future.

8.

I had lunch in Paris on a particular Friday, dinner in Casablanca, breakfast in Lagos, spent 23 hours in Lagos and I was back in Paris by Sunday afternoon.

Paris at night (pic taken from the top of Arc de Triomphe by me)

9. Viva Barcelona!

I watched soccer greats like Carles Puyol, Andrés Iniesta, Xavi Hernández and Lionel Messi play live in FC Barcelona's match against Real Zaragoza at Europe's largest stadium, Camp Nou in Barcelona, Spain

10. 

November 30

I wrote the first few lines of my coming novel.

This is my best brain child ever, I write every sentence with this consuming confidence that this work will epic and that this novel will put my name in the mouth of every book lover worldwide.

I didn't get everything I wanted in 2012 and I'm even glad I didn't.

Bye 2012.

Bienvenue 2013

Sandbox Paris monthly dinner

Last night was exciting for me in a lot of ways.

I was at the Sandbox monthly dinner. This dinner is organised by Sandbox Paris and is thrown open to non-members. It was an amazing evening for me sitting in the same room with people from different walks of life who are doing amazing things daily in pursuit of their dreams, the atmosphere was intellectually stimulating and if you know me so well you should understand my excitement.

At first I was with my friend Onyeka Nwelue and I was just getting to introduce myself to Sophie and her friend when Nettra Pan (who I like to call a Cambodian goddess because of her beauty and aura) came around and said I should not sit with Onyeka and forced me to sit with some other people. So myself and Sophie, who by the way I find very interesting and smart, decided to look for somewhere else to seat. We found two empty seats around this table of four and we Alban and Cecile who were obviously jsut meeting themselves.

Alban is a very interesting fellow, he has travelled far and wide, he runs a business, he's hosting a party next week, so I'm definitely going to see him again some time soon.

Cecile is a medical resident, she's tall, beautiful, smart and seems rather adventurous and outgoing (a trait which is rarely associated with medical professionals). I gave her a copy of my book and I made her promise to review the book and send her honest opinion about the book.

I wrote A-Z Life Lessons in Nigeria and for Nigerians, and I am really interested in knowing what Europeans think about my book. I was telling Alban that Nigerians majorly read motivational and religious books, but fiction seems more appealing to the people here in Europe which is one of the reasons why I might be publishing a fictional piece in the nearest future. As much as I would have loved to, I couldn't give Alban a copy of my book, I've exhausted the copies I came here with and I really need to get more copies from Nigeria asap. Sophie said she would glad to review the book too and I really hope we meet up for that coffee soon :)

Sophie is intelligent and pretty, has a degree in business, she's currently pursuing her masters in renewable energy in a school here in Paris. She couldn't hide her passion for renewable energy

We talked about Alban's idea of mobile offices, his incubator company, and online platform; we talked about work-life balance, routines and how to break away from them, the benefit of having your house in proximity to your office; we talked  renewable energy, development in that sector, energy storage, energy trading; we talked about medicine, mobile health applications, effect of doctor's personality and charisma on treatment and diagnosis; we talked about spirituality, spiritual journeys, yoga,  etc, and towards the end we talked about my book and my motive for publishing.

I also met Etienne Adriaenseen, the Co-founder & CTO of Poutsch a socio-political online platform. He has definitely interacted with a couple of Nigerians as he was able to say "how far" "how you dey" etc. Awesome dude, you guys should check out Poutsch and subscribe.

In Cecile's words, those evenings are great for the mind.

I love the Sandbox community, I love this initiative, I love Paris.

Have a good day ahead guys!

This is why we are here

Success: this is why we are here

Success

Ideas translating into reality

Success

Dreams coming true

Success

Words turned flesh

Success

It is why we are here

It is why we go to school

It is why we learn

Learn what?

Learn the ways of success

Success

The divide between the rich and the poor

The divide between the great and the overlooked

Success

This is what we live for

Success 

Academic success

Material success

Business success

Oh! Material success

The money

The cars, clothes, shoes, mansions

The attention

The class

Success

It is why we are here

The smiles of satisfaction

The comfort in abundance

That's what we all crave for

Dinner is served

Life is a banquet
What are you bringing to the table?

Life is a banquet
We go to get what we want from the table

But what are you bringing to the table?
How are you making life better for others?

The first time I sat down to write I had learnt so much in the previous weeks and I lacked a company to share it with. The knowledge was burning in me, but there was no channel to spread the fire as I was out of school on internship and I didn't have the regular company of my dreamer-friends to share these thoughts with; choosing to write these thoughts down was the best thing that happened to me.

Today, I'm privileged to bring my thoughts on the pages of a book as though the book were a tray and I am dropping it on the banquet table of life and I know someone will take a scoop from this dish of thoughts and be filled with relevant knowledge.

Life is a banquet
We get to get what we want from the table
But what are you bringing to the table?
What are you doing to make life better from others?

Often times, I come across people that have scooped from what I have brought to the banquet and...
The joy that fills my heart when people quote me or I walk into a house/office and I see the book A-Z Life Lessons on the desk is priceless.
Often times people approach me to thank me for advising them; they put some of my principles to use, it produces results and they are super excited to get back to me on the validity of those principles.

I can't induce such priceless satisfaction if not for the hand of God upon me and my passion to share knowledge.

I once ran into a worship leader that inspired me so much in the place of worship in my college days and as he sighted me, with so much excitement he told me how he had been trying to get across to me just to let me know that as he read the first two page of my first book, tears flowed freely from his eyes. I was speechless. And as I walked out of that conversation, I remembered how I wrote some of the pieces in that book while in tears and as I repeatedly said these words to myself DEEP CALLETH UNTO DEEP.

If you've ever seen people dance with excitement when you give them your OLD clothes, then you should understand me to a reasonable extent.

Life is a banquet
What are you bringing to the table

There is that thing in you that will make this banquet more colourful, bring your tray to this banquet.


A times I don't even know what exactly it is I am bringing to the table, but I'm always eager to bring something to the table.

Life is a banquet

It is easier to condemn others and judge them based on what they are bringing to the table.
Life is a banquet
You and I determine what is served
Dinner is served
What are you bringing to the table tonite?

Thinking table

I would sit on this chair and think of all the successful people that I know of and I would remember the words from that lottery advert I used to watch a lot as a kid E FIT BE YOU OH

And it became a habit to look at successful people and to tell myself "Tolulope, you can become this big and even bigger if you choose to"

The coming revolution

How can we build business empires?
How can we build global brands?
How can we build institutions that graduates will die to work for
How can we create wealth?

How can we affect how people think
How can we spread this virus
How can we raise the intellectual standards
How can we become the standards

How can we do what Legends do
How can we do the legendary
How can we become legends

How can we actualise the imaginary
How can we push people to be independent
How can we save a wasted generation

Those are the questions that the industrialist in me ask every day
Funny how I ask myself this questions in “we”s
It’s definitely because I know this can’t be done solo
Individuals don’t win wars
Individuals don’t even go to war
A departure from average is not a step
It’s a battle
It’s a revolution
Strong armies birth revolution

I’ve fearlessly seen myself as the CEO of the world’s most profitable company
I’ve seen myself countless times on Forbes, TIME
I’ve seen the ripple effect of my future actions
I’ve seen myself as a force to reckon with

I don’t care if I’m not there yet
I just need to keep seeing
Ceteris paribus
Victoria est certum

Lil piece on lil things

Life sucks
Life’s good
Life’s wicked
Life’s fun

Living is difficult
Living is hope
Living is boring
Living is challenging

1 world
1 life
7 billion people
7 billion lives

Life sucks
Yet we’ll do anything to stay alive
Life’s good
We’ll do anything to make it better

Life’s wicked
We are often quick to forget the wickedness
Life’s fun
You only live once is our new anthem

Life’s full of ups and downs
I’ve had my ups, had my downs
But I’ve had more ups than downs
So my life is on the upside

Downs with school
Downs with jobs
But I know better now
Downs were just waiting periods

Periods that make us appreciate the ups
Periods that toughen us
Periods that weaponise the warrior
Periods that force us to dream

Life’s got so much suspense
Life should get an Oscar

I love life
I love my life
I love love
I love my love life

The good life is the dream
I found happiness and I found the good life
The good life is all about happiness
Happiness in the little things

Little things like those books
Little things like those dreams
Little things like her smile
Little things like “ok Tolu”

I focused on the little things
And they brought me great happiness
With a little hope today,
The sky is the limit for every dreamer

There's more in the mix

The achievements of yesterday are not enough

There's more in the mix......

Keep searching

Self discovery is not an event, its a process

Look closely, dig deeper

There's more in the mix.....

Potential is crying

Empower yourself for more

There's more in the mix....

Na that fear go kill you!!

I see so much fear in young guys these days and I'm wondering if fear is the new cool.
Why do young guys walk through life with fear in their hearts when the beauty of the youth is supposed to be in their caution-free living.
If you don't loosen up now, when do you plan to loosen up?
When you're 30 and you have a wife and kid to cater for?
When you're 40 and you have a wife, kids and extended family to attend to?
When you're 50, the kids are in expensive colleges, soon to get married and retirement is on the way?
When you're 60 and you're in your retirement days that you really can't enjoy because of what stress and strain has done to your health?
When you're 70 and you're awaiting the glorious call?
What are you doing to yourself when you know now is all you've got??
Stop worrying, there's nothing to be worried about!
And I can just hear another young person saying "why shouldn't I worry when I've not bought my first car?"
"why shouldn't I worry when I'm serving and I'm not sure if I will be retained after my service?"
"why shouldn't I worry when I'm not even sure I will get a job after my masters?"
"why shouldn't I worry when my mates are going for their masters and my folks can't even afford to pay my fees?"
Some are afraid to trade with their savings because they feel it will be the end of the world if they lose it, forgetting that they have loving parents that can bail them out if they fail in a legitimate business. They forget they have siblings that will stand by them no matter what. They forget a word of prayer can turn their situation around.
Material needs cause us to worry and leave us in fear
Social needs cause us to worry and leave us in fear
Job security cause us to worry and leave us in fear
But some of us have vowed not to be moved by environmental factors
Some of us operate as if we are ignorant of the many odds we are faced with
Some of us have vowed not to be bothered by the things that apply to MANY, because we know that in any situation there always those LUCKY ones that seem to be unaware of the failure trend.
Some of us have vowed not to shy away from confessing possibility in the midst of uncertainty.
Some of us have vowed to keep speaking of the things that are unborn/unseen as though they were.
We belong to a great army
An army of dreamers
Dare to dream today
And that fear no go kill you!

Sent from my iPod

These dreams

The burden of ambition

The struggle against ordinary

The crave for more

Slightly better

Slight mega

Slightly greater

The push

The drive

Argghhh

Can the future be here already?

It wasn't always like this

Early to bed, Early to rise used to be the order of the day

The longer the sleep, the longer the dream..cos dreams were infused in sleep

But with age came responsibilities

With age came these dreams

With age came aspirations

With age came these goals and the burden of success

As these aspirations got bigger

The nights became shorter

Day times have become too short for an early bed rest

And even when we get/fall on our beds early

Immediately, we start dreaming

These dreams again

Same bed, same dreams, different nites

Tables have turned

Dreams don't stand the same

Dreams now stand outside sleep

This time we are dreaming with our eyes wide open

The longer the dreams, the shorter the sleep

The longer the post, the more I crave sleep

Goodnite guys!

A year today

It was just around this hour 365days ago, fresh out of school, 7-day old Electrical & Electronics Engineering Second class upper degree holder. In the days that preceded, the only people I probably wanted to talk to were Jaye, Funsho, Modupe, Harry, Aniekan and Dami, they were the ones that had come around to help me put things together for the book launch.

I can remember the emptiness on my graduation day, I wasn't just feeling what most people were feeling, all I had on my mind was the launch. The launch came and it was awesome. Many things worked well, all the guests had a wonderful time..I had fun too; in fact looking at the video, I couldn't believe myself.

Everyone that was around when all of these things were happening could testify to it that God was indeed with me. Amazing things happened, great amazing things! Sorry if I hype this one book launch too much, I know many more of my books will be launched, even after I pass away, but there's nothing as magical as your first.

Just last month, my mom sent the book to a friend in the UK and this is what he had to say: 

"Very many thanks for blessing me with copies of your debut. I had a friend with me when i opened the large envelope. After flipping through a copy, he refused to release it. I have read my own copy twice and am keeping it jealously.

Probably unknown to you, you have spoken the mind of God about wisdom, to the young and the old, this generation and generations to come.

I am quite excited with what i saw and read but not surprised. Your mum and i used to discuss the progress of our children many years ago and i have always seen you as someone who has a message for his generation. I thank God for using you in this very special way. I find the book very insightful, moreso, it has a spiritual touch."

365days later I'm sitted on a couch in a neatly furnished 4bedroom apartment that I have all alone to myself in the city of Port Harcourt, my 12th night in this city, it has been raining all day so I've just been pretty chilled, eating as much as I can while reflecting all day. I've talked to many people today and after their congratulatory messages they wanna know when I'm dropping my next book, some wonder why there are cob webs all over my blog and it might be surprising if I say I don't even have answers to some of these questions. I consciously took a break, but seeing as this break was taking too long I decided to break this silence.

I want to bring my blogging mojo back, I like this 30 day ish people have been blogging on, but some of the topics are just to fresh for me...I don't even know what they mean x_x

I would like to talk about how work has been in Port Harcourt some other time, I would like to talk about my observations. I would like to talk about my upcoming book as well. I would like to talk about how lazy I have been in certain aspects of my life. I would love to talk about my new dreams. I would like to talk about some of my fears. I would also like to talk about  my job search. I would like to talk about my inexistent romantic life and something I call the problem of over ambition.

Maybe I have my own list already, just maybe!

But I wrote this piece for one very key reason, and that is to appreciate God before all men. I don't know what things I do to deserve the things He has blessed me with, I've messed up on many levels but He has always been faithful. I love God and I believe Him in a most unique way, I can't find the right words to describe how much I believe God, but I must say I am a BELIEVER. Judging from the environment in which I grew up, judging from my average background, there are many things that my hands have touched that most people that were in those shoes with me are yet to dream of touching, God put me on another level and gave me bragging rights. I'm not the best, but I could have been worse. So as Paul said in 1Cor 1:31 "Let him that boasts boast in the Lord" This day I look at my CV and I boast in this one God. 

"Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof" this journey just started!

Who will the Lord use?

Telecommunications came into Nigeria in the 50s and from that time till the year 2001, the nation could only boast of 500,000 subscribers. When GSM was going to be introduced into this country, the governing board issued 5licenses and gave all the operators a mandate to draw 2.5million subscribers in 5years. Failure to record a subscription base of 2.5million customers would attract heavy penalties and might adversely affect the renewal of their licenses.
In no time, they had mapped out a 5yr plan to achieve 5 folds of what was not achieved in the previous 60years and as soon as they came up with a promising strategy, they were issued licenses.

Within 6months of roll out, they had hit the planned 5year subscriber base target!

There are 30million households in this country. There is not enough electricity generated to serve these households. A recent report showed that each household uses an average of 20 electrical bulbs and that if everyone could switch to power saver lamps, it will reduce the amount of megawatts required to cater for the nation

Internet has been a big deal since the 80s and its relevance has multiplied over the years. Mobile internet is now prominent in Nigeria thanks to the introduction of Blackberry smart phones and the likes into the market. People now move about with internet enabled mobile phones attaching increased relevance to the essence of the internet in many spheres of life.
Broadband is not yet a big deal in this country. How many homes have internet? Just as our phones can do more than just dial numbers, our cable TV connections can do more; those DSTV dishes can do more.
Soon there will be a crave to get every home in this nation connected.

Africa is an emerging market, the opportunities are boundless. Within the space of 1 year, the worth of Africa's richest man tripled.

Amongst many other things, I believe the future belongs to:
1. The visionary; those who recognise opportunities long before they become obvious
2. Those who understand that men were not born with "impossibilities"
3. Those who are passionate enough to follow through on every opportunity that comes their way
4. Those who are empowered with the right kind of information.

Common to emerging markets are the immense opportunities they present entrepreneurs with. Don't choose the path of least resistance. Come out to stand as the one the Lord will use.
Sent from my BlackBerry wireless device from MTN

I love this prayer..

I like to say this prayer this way...

Psalm 23

The Lord is my shepherd

The Lord is my guide and compass

I SHALL NOT WANT

I shall never be in need

Before every need arises, His supply is already available

HE MAKETH ME TO LIE IN GREEN PASTURE

He gives me the most comfortable shelter

He causes me to lie in the midst of plenty

HE LEADETH ME BESIDE THE STILL WATERS

In the quiet, He speaks to me as He gives me clarity of vision and direction

HE RESTORETH MY SOUL

My soul is at rest

My soul rejoices in Him

EVEN THOUGH I WALK IN THE VALLEY OF DEATH

Even though I drive through dangerous streets

Even though I stroll through war zones

Even though I bounce past the territories of the enemy

I FEAR NO EVIL

I fear no witches, demon, or forces

I fear no fiery darts of the enemy

FOR THOU ART WITH ME

For I am in the King's entourage

For the host of angels are as a shield about me

THY ROD AND THY STAFF THEY COMFORT ME

The abundance of His supplies put me at rest

For in His presence are pleasures forevermore

THOU PREPAREST A TABLE BEFORE ME

Thou has chosen to pamper me

IN THE PRESENCE OF MY ENEMY

In the presence of my mockers and haters

THOU ANOINTEST MY HEAD WITH OIL

Thou has poured thine Spirit upon me

Oh the oil of gladness

Thy anointing that breaks the yoke

MY CUP RUNNETH OVER

And just when I'm thinking I've seen it all, you show up again and do even more

You embarrass me with favours all life long

SURELY, GOD's GOODNESS & MERCY SHALL FOLLOW ME

The goodies are at my command

As I'm calling them forth, they respond in my favour

And it will be favour unlimited because of His mercy that clefts for me

His mercy that pleads my case even when I'm unclean

AND I SHALL DWELL IN THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD FOREVER

AMEN

The house of mourning

 source: Google images

New births are recorded daily

Some received with joy, some with mixed feeling, others with regret.

People die daily

Someday you will die

Might be in a couple of hours, weeks, months, years or decades

But death is inevitable

All we possess are gifts from God and the Lord never requests for any of those things back from us. Nothing but the life He gives. He takes this one that we might enjoy life eternal.

I just got back into Lagos this evening after a short stay in the house of mourning.

It got to me a couple of weeks ago when I heard the news of his death as my mum broke down in tears on the phone, but the thought of his glorious exit did not spur up any feeling other than that of gratitude to God for a life well spent; It was easier to maintain that perspective while here in Lagos. But until I got to the centre of this all and his son rose up to the podium in church yesterday evening to give his eulogies, tears flowed freely from my eyes as he broke down in tears mid way into his speech; he held the tears back as he tried to exhaust what he had in writing but moments after that he burst into tears again as he was ushered back to his seat. Death is real.

I've never lost anyone that close to me before, and if he had not truly lived a righteous life, I wouldn't be discussing my deceased uncle on my blog. Very kind and humble man! As a kid he would always come around with his wife in their Peugeot station wagon and they would always come with sacks of this special "Garri saki" for momsy. He was a generous man, never will he visit without dropping something for the boys!

I remember the last days I spent with him, memories of the Saturday evening of his 62nd birthday in August 2009 is still fresh in my heart. For hours we sang hymnssssss. We started off singing songs we knew by heart, then we grabbed hymn books and we sang for hours after which he prayed for us and shared his thoughts on marriage and other things of life.

So I saw my uncle this morning and he looked the same. He was fast asleep and my mom kept on calling "Broda Tunde" but he wouldn't wake up. That's the closest I've been to a corpse and if not for the coffin one would think he was taking a nap while waiting for others to dress up too and join him in his outing. Death is real. It's an endless sleep!

I'm happy he died a righteous man, he knew he was going, he had ample time to give his parting words to his loved ones. To me, that's a golden opportunity. I know he is with the Lord right now.

So Solomon said

"(1) A good name is better than precious oil; and the day of death, than the day of one's birth. (2) It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart. (3) Sorrow is better than laughter; for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made glad."
- Ecclesiastes 7:1-3

And just like the pastor said in church this morning. So many of us go to the house of morning to sympathize and share memories of the departed while we fail to reflect on our own lives.

My Uncle is gone. Who's next?

How prepared are we for the inevitable?

How prepared are we for death?

The game, they say is the same but the players are different. On the stage of life, they say same stage different actors.

"Teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom"

What are you doing with what you've got today. Yesterday is gone and never to be replayed

Tomorrow is only a promise

Today is all you've got

What are you doing today?

It's so easy to say the cliché "live each day as though it were thy last" but is that truth reflected in our daily lives??

It is important that we all take some time out to go into the house of mourning (a place of sober reflection) to think things through. If you die today, what will be said of you? What legacy would you have left behind?

I spent a couple of days in the house of mourning and it has helped to place better relevance on time

Corporate slave trade

Word came to me on Friday that the start-up pay for graduates in NNPC is less than a hundred thousand naira and this stirred up great discomfort in me, I was sad as I couldn't contain the shock knowing what NNPC generates in financial returns on a monthly basis. To a large extent, I have a problem with the way things are done in this country, particularly how university graduates are treated, I earn a little above $300 every month and the goverment pays me additional $64 that I often feel insulted to withdraw from the bank; and once in a while when I get to discuss my pay with some people I get that "wow, you're lucky oh" and I always do a good job in containing my feelings.

I don't believe in operating based on local standards, after all our curriculum in the university was gotten from the western world, so your harvest for investing your time into getting educated should be somewhat comparable. Those that work the hardest earn the least in the country and it's disturbing.

If you were to be selling coffee at Starbucks or to be at the sales stand in McDonalds, are you telling me your monthly pay per month can be anything less than $1,000?
So we wear expensive clothes, work 8-5pm i.e. 9hrs per day, 5 days a week, which is 45hours a week and ultimately 180hours a month only to get $300 in your account (less than $2/hour) and no one is saying anything about this?

Agreed NYSC is service to nation, but what do you have to say about the average banker that gets #150,000 ($1,000) a month working 7am - 7pm (12hrs) daily, 60hrs a week, 240hrs a month
If you work 240hrs/month in McDonalds at $11/hr (google statistics) that's $2,640 = 400,000 in Naira. How many people earn up to that in this country? Some managers don't get two-thirds of that!

WOW!!
So well over 70% of those that I see waking up as early as 4:30am just so they can get to their office for 7:30am then end up getting back home around 9:00pm don't even earn up to $10/hour???!!
What/where then is the reward for their labour?

Things just have to change!

The vacancies are not there and the applicants are plenty, so the applicants that are offered the very few available jobs can't even negotiate their worth. They throw the offer letters on your laps and you either take it or any of the many other qualified candidates will take it. 

The people know that the jobs are not there but they don't understand that the jobs are not there, so they are brokenhearted after every unsuccessful attempt thinking that they are the problem. But the problem is most often not with the applicants, it is the system that is messed up. 

Oh African child

Where doth they hope lie

What happened to the days when employers were glad to recruit university graduates into their workforce. If I was well informed I heard the trend was: go to school, graduate, get the job that has been waiting for you all this while, get offered a car and comfortable housing. These benefits are no more! But wait a minute, I think the benefits are still there, but they are reserved for those without black skins. They treat the son of the soil like crap and offer the best of the best to foreigners, they are the ones enjoying the best of this land, they are the ones lodged in posh hotels eating the best dishes and living in the best suites. Agreed they are competent, but must they rub it in our faces? Can we not grow competent indigenes?

My heart goes out to mothers who borrowed money to send their children to universities with the hope that in a couple of years, there will be reasonable return on investment.  But our graduates are roaming all around the streets looking for the jobs that are not there. Those that are meant to create the jobs have left the world of works, to dwell with the 'powerful' so that they can get into political office and eat 'the good of the land' they've not worked for. If only those political gimmicks can be translated into business strategies, if only that greed can the translated into a thirst for economic growth.  Prices of crude oil has sky rocketed, which means there will be plenty of excess crude oil reserve cash for the nation at the end of the year, but we can't celebrate just yet because we know what selfish channels those funds will be directed into. 

The government is bad and the people are crying

But who/what is the government?

The people are the government 

The people are therefore bad and the people are crying 

Agreed most of the political office holders are not doing it right, but should the captain of industries join them?

If the educated earn that low then we should not be surprised when they tell us that millions of Nigerians live on less than a dollar per day. What are we doing to ourselves, why have we chosen to embrace this poor standard of living. 

My heart bleeds as I share these thoughts and I can't wait to put things in order, I crave for that moment in time when I will be a major employer of labour in this nation. I am too convinced I shall grow a model organisation, I am to convinced that the financial remuneration I will be offering my staff will be enviable worldwide. Reason being that I would be doing it out of love for humanity. We need love to get things right in this country!

Do these things bother you?

Share your opinion...

Would you call it Compromise?

People only dare what they dream. 

But I realise that the processing of daring these things could often be unpredictable, along your way you tread smooth paths, crooked ones, you come across cross roads and the likes; the underlying fact is that you are constantly faced with thousand more decisions moments after you make that one supposed 'big' decision.

So I thought to share these thoughts on Negotiation.

Negotiation always means Compromise and Creativity

In the words of George Ross (Donald Trump's legal assistant) from his book Trump Style Negotiation

A basic fact of life is that we never get anything we want. So in the course I teach at New York University I tell my students that negotiation is a process in which people learn to accept an available compromise as a satisfactory substitute for that which they really wanted.

Everybody goes into a transaction thinking that they know exactly what they want. But they usually can't get it, so they have to learn how to compromise along the way..

For example, if I go into a car dealership, I might start out by saying "I'm looking for a sports car with four-wheel drive and a sun roof." Then I see a new model and say, "I really love that one. That's what I want" 

The dealer tells me, "That has everything you said you wanted and it's only $36,000." I didnt intend to spend $36,000 for a car, so I tell the salesperson that's beyond my budget. The salesperson says, "I can show you two other models in the $25,000 range, but neither one has all the features you want. How important are those features to you?" 

Eventually I have to forego some of the frills I wanted... What I ended up with wasn't exactly what I originally had in mind but it was a satisfactory compromise for what I thought I really wanted. Every negotiation and everything you do in life has pluses or minuses - you have to weigh the pluses against the minuses - you have to weigh the pluses against the minuses - and a  decision is reached when the pluses outweigh the minuses. It's that simple, although getting there often involves a lot of frustration, aggravation, and arguments.

What do you want from life?
What has life offered you?
Did these words help relieve that funny after effect of "maybe things would have been perfect if I had gone with plan D" you get after making a decision?
Feel free to share your thoughts on Negotiation.

"Let us never negotiate out of fear. But, let us never fear to negotiate" 

- John F. Kennedy

Innocence

Dad died 3years ago. Today, I did something. Wanna know what I did?

I did it
Yes I did it.
U don't get it, do u?
I did it

It's done, let it be.
Why look at me with so much disgust if u truly get it? I try to make u understand, I try to appeal to your reason, but u keep cutting me short with "errr....u don't have to go into the details, I get it"

U don't get it, do u?
For all you care, I did it

If mom had done things differently 2years ago, I wouldn't have done it. But she did what was best for her and because she did it....

Today, I did it
Yes I did it
U don't get it, do u?
I did it
I did it with him

Even though I didn't mean to
The same man mummy did it with it
He did it to my sister
And I was filled with so much rage that I had to do it with him

Did I say I did it WITH him? Oops! I meant I did it TO him

With my sister Cuffed to the bed screaming helplessly as he.... Yes I did it.
Soon to be 6feet down the earth, yes I did it
Broken glass door,White sheets soiled with blood, lifeless body. I did it. I did it because it had to be done.


The knife in the pool of bed, I did it. In fact, the knife did it.

Yes the knife did it
I thought of killing that rapist of a step father
But I'm relieved I did not
I would have been soaked in guilt
I'm relieved I did not

It's feels great to be innocent
Glad I didn't do it afterall
The knife did it
Glad I'm innocent

Sent from my iPod

Weekend thoughts

It's good to finally get some rest after a long week.

Funny how Monday ended up being my most favourite day of the week. Started with the regular two and a half hour journey to work, plenty to do at work, then I found my way to AAF for a time out with Adaora Mbelu after work.

Even though I got to the event late, I was in time for the question and answer session. Adaora is a very smart young lady, I must say and her CV is just too impressive for her age. She's just 24!

It served as another wake up call for me. Had plenty of small chops to eat and trust me when I say "plenty"! Don't blame me, I was too busy for lunch break and if people like me didn't eat plenty, plenty will waste. Lol
A couple of old faces were at the event, Bede Okoro (celebrity read), Onyeka Nwelue (Blue hills), Nwando (Author of Out of Curiousity), Prince Wale Oreshade (Author of Sad Nectar), Nnaji (Dear Mother) then this Unilag dude that is about to release his first book, a Christian fiction novel (cant remember his name) and a couple of Others.

I also made new friends, Adaora bought a copy of my book, Femi did same and later dropped us home.
Since it was Wale's birthday, we left AAF for the movies to see Battle Los Angeles - first sci-fi movie I was seeing in a very long while. All of the action made it a perfect cinema pick. U might want to see a movie in the company of Wale and Nwando!!! I leave u to find out what ur experience would be like, but I must add that Wale is just a naughty boy!


I've been doing loads of dream work in recent times and I think it's a good thing. I could just sit down for minutes putting things together in the invisible realm and I have loads of fun doing it. But often times when I tell people that, they see me as a joker; I leave time to judge anyways.
We are getting there!

Sent from my iPod

The video you have been waiting for

I promised to upload a video of my studio session yesterday and the interesting thing about the video is that there is no video! The talk about wanting to be a 'cool kid' was all a joke!

Where do I start my apologies from?

I thought to myself that it would only make sense for my 1st post for the month of April to be an April fool so pardon me for exciting ur imagination in the wrong direction.

I still can't believe you guys took me for real, it goes a long way in showing how much u guys believe in me and I'm really touched by that.

But seriously, can u imagine Tolu Akanni rapping? hehehehe

I am no rapper, I'm a writer and a speaker. I've missed blogging and I think I'm back!

My 2nd book should be hitting the book stores late summer and I'm trusting God for the best.

It just occurred to me that I didn't get any official review for A-Z (Myne and Harry!!!!! take note :|)

In the coming weeks, I will be doing a review on the patterns of success. I read the book Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell in February and I'm yet to recover from the amazing discoveries and insights from the book. The book inspired me to do a shallow research and I can't wait to share  my findings!

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FOOD FOR THOUGHT

"All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds, wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act on their dreams with open eyes, to make them possible."

The post is titled...

Death of Autotune writing skills

Hi, I'm Tolu Akanni.

Contrary to your opinion, you don't know me!
As in you do not know me
I'm popularly known as a writer but that was in my past life. These days I don't write anymore.
I stopped writing for a simple reason, life as I have seen it in recent times has taught me that cool kids don't write. 'Cool kids' rap

I want to be a cool kid!

As in, being a cool kid is just coooooooooool!!

I'm gonna be 22 in 40 days and I want to be a cool kid by 22, so instead of doing non-cool stuffs like writing, these days I spend time in the studio spitting sick rap lines...trust me, I'm good!

The nice thing about this all is that I'm dropping a video of one of my studio sessions on this blog tomorrow....stay tuned!