₦airaland Forum

6. Quit Whining – No One Owes You Anything

The last lesson I want to talk about is the debilitating entitlement mentality that is commonplace among young people today. The earlier we realize that no one owes us anything, the better for us, and the more prepared we would be to face life’s challenges.

Don’t think you are entitled to a job, just because of your parents’ influence or what they have. Don’t think things would be all rosy because you graduated from UNILAG with good grades. Be prepared for surprises and disappointments because life is bound to hand you a couple. The only guarantees you have in this life is what you do for yourself with the grace God has bestowed on us all.

You have to be prepared to bend backwards and do what you might consider to be beneath you, because of the bigger picture. When you consider my resume today, you might see the prestigious organizations I have been privileged to work with. What you need to know however, is that as a UNILAG graduate and a post-graduate student in the United Kingdom, I have also driven taxis and worked as a security guard, amongst several other menial jobs I did in the past to survive.

We need to get off our high horses, quit whining and start doing – for ourselves and for our country. If something angers you so much, instead of whining, think hard about possible solutions and do something about it, because anger in and of itself is not a strategy. Doers have a way of finding each other out, and before you know it, you are in good company with progressive minded people that exude positive energy – comrades with whom you can challenge the status quo, fight together, and succeed together. Some of the closest friendships I have kept to this day are from my UNILAG days – people I can actually trust to surmount challenges and get things done.

So also, complainers have a way of finding each other out, to indulge in very depressing rhetoric about why things can’t work and who is at fault. From their comfort zones they criticize without offering any solutions and always end up frustrated – run away from such people.

Henrik Edberg said, “… if you change yourself you will change your world. If you change how you think then you will change how you feel and what actions you take. And so the world around you will change. Not only because you are now viewing your environment through new lenses of thoughts and emotions but also because the change within can allow you to take action in ways you wouldn’t have – or maybe even have thought about – while stuck in your old thought patterns.”
The world has always depended on those that believe they owe themselves the duty to leave a lasting impact on the world. Are you one of them? You owe it to the world to leave a lasting legacy – the world owes you nothing.
Conclusion

Ladies and gentlemen, as I conclude my remarks, I hope you have benefitted from my sharing with you these key lessons UNILAG taught me. They are, of course, not exhaustive, there are other lessons you will pile up in your journey of life. For those that have similarly learnt these lessons, and can therefore relate with me – good for you – I hope my words served the reinforcement of these lessons in your hearts and in your minds, and continue to guide you in life. For those that missed these lessons as students of UNILAG, I offer my assurances to you that there is the opportunity to imbibe these key values from today, and start practicing them. This is what would differentiate those that are merely ‘certificated’ from those that are truly ‘educated’ UNILAG graduates.

Once again, I congratulate you on attaining this major milestone, and pray that you would always remember this day as the beginning of great and mighty things in your life. I am extremely delighted to be here with other alumni, to join your loved ones to witness your convocation. It is a rare honour to see you celebrated, and join others to receive you into one of the most vibrant university alumni communities in the world. I hope our paths cross again on your way to greatness, and your life counts in the universal quest for a more just, safer, and prosperous world.

Remember to remain humble, compassionate and courageous. May God bless and keep you and grant you good success and fulfillment in your years ahead.

Thank you for listening.

Dr. Kayode Fayemi, CON
Lagos, Nigeria | Monday, January 23, 2017