How can a poor boy, with no money and no connections, from an impoverished village and little chance of making it survived and excelled in life? The answer is surprisingly simple....read on.


Like every other man on earth I was born, but not into a rich family. I never counted it as a loss of privilege because all are not born with silver spoon. The background of a poor boy has nothing to do with his life, and our background must not put our back on the ground.

So, I have a career today, that only existed in my imagination just some few years ago because I fed my dreams and starved my fears. Recognition and discovery of purpose changed it all for me.

I worked it out by first obeying the voice of God, through coming out of my locality because I knew I wasn't destined to succeed there.

Is it not possible that I could have gone into this corporate City and failed?..Absolutely YES!.

But I have made it a lifelong commitment to acknowledge my fears without catering to it. I have made it second nature to nurture my dreams because that is the only way to turn them into reality.

You see, I finished my secondary school as a Science student, I won some competitive awards along the way and had good WAEC and NECO results.

With my JAMB score, which I later jettisoned and opted for the protracted 7yrs excruciating traditional apprenticeship scheme, I could have easily got admission into any University of my choice I wanted in Nigeria. Move into the school, study and graduate.

Not bad for a boy that was raised in a village with little or no sure chance of making it in life. The problem was that financially, my hands were tightly strapped behind my back. It was like a huge elephant on my way, I needed to gain financial freedom before thinking of going back to school. I wanted to experience places I occasionally see on television and read about in books.

I wanted the highest academic degree I could get. I want to study Civil Engineering, broaden the scope of my knowledge, challenge my perspectives, make good and quality friends, engage with the world…I wanted more...only if wishes were horses!

I decided go for the traditional apprenticeship program...I temporarily gave up every idea of pursuing my education and became an apprentice...a routine, vague but sure way of getting out of abject poverty. That's if you will-fully pay the price and make the required sacrifices. Hard stuff!

The only thing that stood in my way then was FEAR! The fear of everybody around me. Mum, Dad, Friends, Siblings, Step brothers and sisters...

Those closest to me didn’t understood why I would want to leave a partially guaranteed average life for an uncertain future. Many have took that path but couldn't make it to the end and ended up wasting their time and life.

Where is that?

Do you know anyone there?
‎
Have you ever been there before?

Why not consider a bigger, more diverse city like Lagos or conventional city like Onitsha, where majority of the people from our village housed themselves!?

These among others are just some sample of the numerous questions I was getting from those who were genuinely concerned for me.

Going for this apprenticeship scheme ranks as one of the most uncertain but best decisions I ever made all my life. I have made friends and families here that I’ll keep for life and built relationships with people that will stand the test of time.

This is where I fulfilled a long-cherished dream of becoming a young business man and an astute entrepreneur. And, let’s face it, what’s better than living your own dream?! Having people file up in numbers seeking your attention? Getting consistent calls from Friends, Bankers, Suppliers, Customers, Agents etcetera... Reaching out to the needy and putting smiles on people's faces.


Absolutely nothing!

I learned so much about business on my Apprentice and working for my boss that I knew I would be well prepared to set up my own business once I launched out.

The experience was so amazing, though it was protracted and grueling but amidst all, it was worth the price.

Working for my boss is probably some of the best training anyone can get as an entrepreneur, but starting your own business is a completely different thing to working for others.

No matter what obstacles are thrown at you or opportunities come your way, you have to make it happen; there's nobody telling you what to do next or giving you advice.

Obviously, starting your own business will literally change your life. I mean, all aspects of your life. There are more to entrepreneurship than what the majority think of it, and I'm going to tell the story some other day.

You see, It's never your fault that you were born into a poor family. It's ONLY your fault when you choose to remain in that state of poverty. You can change your fate. Trust me!

The dream of every young person born into a poor family is to go to the best schools, graduate with good results, become a successful Doctor, Lawyer, or some other prestigious professions and then get rich afterwards.

After that, it's all easy; vacations in overseas, a beautiful wife, a great house, nice cars. Sometimes, some people manage to make this dream happen, but it's not a sure-fire thing because life has a nasty habit of getting in the way.

Some of the richest people in this country started poor..I was reading the story of MKO Abiola of blessed memory, how he sold firewood to survive. But, the man went on to become one of the richest Nigerian in history.

I also have a remote mentor who I have never met. He was born into a poor family too but have now become one of the leading Nigerian entrepreneurs today.

I didn't have an easy life either while growing up in my home town. I remember sleeping on a straw mat until I turned 18 when I left for the Apprenticeship. Trekking more than 200km every week for 12 years simply to attend my primary and secondary education.

But today, life is different. At 25, I built a befitting standard 5 bedroom house for my Mum at the village, saw my siblings through different universities which I initially couldn't afford to pay for myself, have orphans in schools, recently acquired a prestigious university degree in Business Administration, established businesses that employes several people who through their earning are becoming better for themselves everyday, now enrolled in of the top five private universities in Africa for my MBA and many more...

Even though the statistics about poverty are depressing -poor people tend to stay poor, just as rich people tend to stay rich. But it's not because poor people are lazy (far from it) or rich people are more industrious (they are not).

It's because of people allowing things to stay the way they are. It's because people who were born poor accept their fate and conclude in their mind that there's nothing they can do about their situation. With that mindset, they are not doing what's expected of them to get out of poverty.

I want to tell you (who have read to this point) that your DREAMS will always exist side by side with your FEARS. Both of them are product of your rich imagination. And you have the power to make one or the other a reality.

Poverty and riches are in itself is a mindset. To have life, to have liberty, to have happiness, you need to feed your dreams and starve your fears. What will prevent you from living the life you want is not lack of money, or lack of time or lack of talent.

What will prevent you from living the life you want is a lack of discipline and a sheer disbelief in your DREAMS. You have to believe your dreams to make them real.

On several occasions, people have asked me how I managed to survive poverty?

How can a poor boy with no money and no connections, no access to quality education, from an impoverished village make it in life? The answer is surprisingly simple.

I dream.

I dream..

And I keep dreaming...

The life I live today is the product of my dream some years back. I am dreaming right now of the life I want to lead tomorrow and I will not let fear dictate what I can or cannot become.

🤝


Well done

Quite motivating