What if

How wealthy or rich are we in this state? If today the constitution of the nation is changed and the resources of each state is used within the state it is found. How rich are we going to be? Are we still going to meet our needs? Can our internally generated revenue (IGR) meet our internally generated needs (IGN)? Yes I do not pray that something like this happens…..but what if. To make progress in life, we need to ask some what if questions and provide the answers before they are actually necessary. This is what enables people, organization or nations to recover quickly from an unexpected negative occurrence and to be able to capitalize on an unexpected opportunity. What if I lose my job today? What if my children stop sending money to me? What if government introduces fees in public schools?

The reason for doing this is strictly for planning. I know that Africans do not like anticipating change or disaster. That’s probably why insurance is not doing well as it should. I don’t myself. However for those of us who have spent sometime on mother earth we know that unexpected things do happen. Should you fail to have a contingency plan or back up plan the consequences will be devastating. Even where your backup plan does not work you are more equipped to handle a turn of events than the individual that did not anticipate it at all. That is why you should have a will now. Planning for the unexpected is proactive and hard work.

Lets take one what if scenario. What if your pension or gratuity is not paid to you promptly or on time? To handle this proactively here are a few tips.

• 20% of your income henceforth should go to investments e.g. stocks; real estates etc. get financial education.
• Increase your source of income or ensure you ensure you have multiple sources of income
• Plan your family. Ensure that by the time you retire, all your children are through with their tertiary education and self supporting
• Empower your spouse- make sure your spouse is gainfully employed or doing one business or the other
• Avoid wasteful spending- think about this. Why should you spend your entire savings on a wedding or burial ceremony? You don’t have to impress anybody.
• Own your own house. Start building your own house now. Don’t wait till you have a large amount of money before you commence. Buy a parcel of land and start construction work gradually. It’s not funny when a retiree uses his gratuity to build his house.

Let’s get back to the first what if question. Can this state survive with only her internally generated revenue? I really believe that we should start working towards this now we at least have external funding support. What do we have at our disposal? Tourism potentials, agriculture or arable land, solid minerals, educational institutions and human resources are some of the things that readily come to mind. We should identify our major strength and build on it. We must invest heavily to make our resources marketable and competitive. Efforts to build human capacity must also be sustained because people are the most important resources of any nation.

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the
ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds
in your sails. Explore. Dream." -- Mark Twain. American humorist, writer and lecturer, 1835-1910

oluyemi Adeosun