Yabatech Hosts- Enviable Youth in Taking Advantage of Change Seminar

Yabatech Hosts- Enviable Youth in Taking Advantage of Change Seminar

Come August 27, Yabatech will be the home of the capacity building programme.

Venue is Engineering Block (MELB 3-10). Time is 10am prompt

Yours trully. Wale Micaiah, Oluyemi Adeosun, Damola Giwa and Toyin Daniel will be there.

You need to take advantage of this.

A Different Picture.....A Different Result

Occasionally do you have the reason to pause and ponder over life is all about? Personally I do. I am also persuaded that this is a legitimate question. It’s interesting to note that how you see life is the basis by which you will base your judgments, actions and decisions. This is what determines whether you are materialistic or not. What you have attachment to and to what extent.
For instance, what is your view on money? What can you do to acquire it? How are you willing to share or distribute it? To what purpose are you willing to put it to use. Do you want to spend it now or later? You need to appreciate how influential your perspective on life can be. It is not just limited to your relationship with money, but also with people, positions, opportunities etc. This is also referred to has your value system.

Values are what we stand for. They are grounds on which you cannot compromise. Values do not change no matter how you vary the quantity of money. People with values are the ones that will make a difference in the new Nigeria. A people who know what they stand for. A people who don’t have a price. A people who cannot be purchased. Values are the DNA, the fabrics of which the society is made. As a people we have great values like, integrity, uprightness, honesty, hard work, diligence. Our word is our bond. This is our honor.

It may shock you to know that perpetuators of wickedness and corruption are in the minority. They are few but noisy and loud. They have painted us red abroad but their time is up. How do I know? You represent the truth and you will stand up for it. At your place of work you will follow due process. You will not take bribes or shortcuts. No more examination malpractices. Yes that’s the new you and new Nigeria. Nigeria will change when you make your own little contributions. Nigeria will be different when you are different. By the year 2025 I see a brand new Nigeria. I see people of different nationalities queuing up at our different embassies trying to get visa to enter Nigeria. I see Europeans participating in a Nigerian visa lottery.

I am not crazy, neither am I daydreaming or having a nightmare. Things have started changing already. The only way you can perceive the change is by changing yourself. In case you are contemplating leaving the shores of our country for good. Please change your mind, don’t pack your bags yet. Don’t go to where opportunities have been. Stay in Nigeria where we are creating opportunities. Stay and help build this country to that level. Those who till the land will reap the harvest. The tide is changing and I can feel it

Most of us will do anything to become good except change our way of living.- anonymous

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