Self-Motivation, Personal Growth and Entrepreneurship Development on DeoluAkinyemi.com

I’m sorry if I’m digressing from the better life gist a little. I don’t know if it’s just me, but I feel really really moved when I think about Nigeria. Do you? I know I am not alone, I certainly am not. I’m not even the first to feel this way, but I feel so strongly that I must contribute my quota into transforming Nigeria into the future I know it has.  We might be divided in our past, but we are united in our future. We might have diverse tribes and languages, but we can aspire to one vision. My destiny and if you think about it, yours as well, is tied to this country! When we pray for the peace of our Jerusalem, we are qualified to prosper in it!

I’ve had an opportunity to attend a few brainstorming sessions recently with Fela Durotoye and a number of other passionate change agents in Nigeria, and I know that the cloud is gathering, and the rain will fall! I have had the opportunity also of speaking with accomplished Nigerian business leaders, and the question I find on the lips of the ones with the right values is, “after we have made all this money what next, what legacy will we leave to generations unborn, is this our best as a country?” Continue Reading »

It’s very depressing observing people in my environment everyday. Right now as I write, I am on the road, and I’m writing and staring out the side glass, I see different people, different shapes and sizes, different classes and at different stages. Sometimes I look beyond what I can see, and try to ask myself what some people could be thinking? Many people are so bothered about the basics, that they are clearly stuck in the present. The immediate gratification of our basic human desires, kind of mortgage our future possibilities. It’s either that our quests to satisfy the immediate that blinds us from the ultimate, or the fact that we haven’t set our ultimates is what makes us slaves to the immediate. Even I am inclined once in a while to stray and think in the line of our regular excuse, the fault of our leaders, the lack of accountable leadership, the lack of systems that can bring to office people that have visions and the capabilities to drive us to achieve. My mind strays, but not for long. Leaders are men like you and I. They were not born with crowns, nor with leadership tattooed on their butts. They were born like you and I, crying and wailing, wondering why they had to come to this world at this time. If we must get a better life, we must stop looking outside ourselves but inside. We must know that to fix the king, we must train the child. Yes we need great leadership, much more we need a system that will make it impossible for mediocre leadership to reach the throne, but most importantly we need to be a people that deserve a better life. We need to be an enlightened people, people that are easy to govern, difficult to rule and impossible to enslave.

I’m in the office now, I made it through the car park, lift and corridor of the office without closing my laptop. Yeah, every morning that’s my routine, I always keep the laptop opened. I wonder what my neighbors at home and at work think J. So back to the quest for a better life. My assumption is that I want it, and some other people do too. We need to get a few things right. We know some of these things already, but few of us put them to practice. In the cause of last weekend, I spent a considerable amount of time with an Australian friend, and it occurred to me that there are many things I know that I don’t practice, yet this guy knows a few things, but practices them like a religion. I got challenged to take some things more seriously, and I consider it a privilege to remind you about a few of them. Continue Reading »

Goat Robbery Suspect

Thinking about the title of this post brings back fond memories to me of childhood. If you were born in the seventies in Nigeria, I’m sure you’ll have a few thoughts peeping out from the dusty recess of your mind. It was on Sunday evenings back in those days, and somehow we tried not to miss it. They were stories with values, and they connected with us so strongly then.

A few years down the line, tales by moonlight had gone, and what we had featuring so strongly on our local sets, were, “Iriri Aye”. These were true life stories that were difficult to believe. They were strange but true events, that could send jitters down any spine. When I read the article yesterday that said that a goat had been caught as a robbery suspect in Kwara State, my mind did quick flashbacks. Now, is this tales by moonlight, or Iriri Aye?

Continue Reading »

I’m sure someone will read this post and smile, because it’s actually the name of a company in UK. It’s the name of a fantastic company run by fantastic people and has been responsible for managing every single one of New Nigeria Club’s events in the UK. If you want to have a classy, stress free and proper event in the UK, I highly recommend Events and Things, and you can trust that they will not charge you any hidden costs.

Now back to what I had in mind. This post is simply to alert readers of DeoluAkinyem about some opportunities and meetings happening around so you can be a part of them and also invite others. It is also to provide some administrative information about certain new things that will be featured on DeoluAkinyemi.com in the coming weeks. ..and about the Announcements up there.. yeah in case you noticed, the spelling can’t be helped Continue Reading »

As I sit here, right here and now, I’m watching the inauguration of the president of the United States of America – Barack Obama. As I watch, my ears are getting hot, and my stomach turning. My heart yearns for a fresh breath of political leadership for Nigeria. My soul and my heart prays for Nigeria – “God, please, give us leaders!”. In the breath that I utter the prayer, I recieve a call from another comrade, he called to tell me that right now he is just calling me to tell me that he is praying that God should give us leaders!

Praying this prayer, I also hear God loud and clear – what are you waiting for? God will not come down to give us a leader, God will not cast his votes with paper, God will not write his name in the clouds. God will do it through you and I, through hands and hearts that are willing to engage themselves in the process of change. If we don’t have good leaders, is because you and I don’t think we deserve it enough. If we live in darkness, it’s because you and I didn’t switch on the light. If we live in the past, it’s because we have mortgaged our futures. Continue Reading »

I was reading a story some days ago that I had read before, but it struck me in a new way! It is a proverb, that when the student is ready, the teacher will appear. I have noticed this a lot in my life. That what I have seen before takes on new meaning because of the experiences that I am having. I know for how long I drove in the car with my dad for example, without paying attention to how the car was driven. It came to a time however, that the student in me was so ready, that everything that was done became a lesson for me. We are at various points in our journey, and the stories told today may not be relevant to you today, but keep them close to your heart, for as soon as the student in you is ready, the teacher will appear!

In this story, a prophet was about to die, this prophet was not a fake prophet, he was a real prophet. He was real in that he had said different things and they had come to pass, he had also done many great works, and miracles and signs. He was a respected and highly revered prophet in the land, and even the king was installed by him. On his death bed, the king came to him, and sought for him to bless him this last time. To appeal to his emotions, the king said the same words that the prophet uttered when his own mentor was departing. The prophet was touched, he decided to bless the king, but not in the conventional way of blessing, he requested that the king perform some acts of symbolism as a channel for his blessings. What you are about to read, is the strategy for ensuring that that which is yours in potential, reaches you in reality. Enjoy Continue Reading »

In the wake of this year, I described the things that we’ll find happening in the economic terrain in 2009. I described a story where the first sign in war led famine, was things becoming expensive. Well, we are not so far gone in the year and it’s happening already. I’m not merely writing a report of the state the nation, I’m writing to give you an idea of my analysis of what is happening, and to give you some guidance into what you can do to make the most of this time. I will offer guidance, no absolutes. Let’s say I’m learning not to put myself in the position where people hand me responsibility for their choices. 

First, when you hear anything is happening, the first thing you ought to do is understand why. If it get’s resolved without your understanding why, if it happens again, you are in a fix. Let’s say for example you are trying to run a particular software, the software stops on a particular page and refuses to go forward. The average person begins to pound on different keys and “Wala!” the computer begins to work again. If it happens again, he’ll possibly waste a lot of time again, banging the keys without knowing which of the key combinations unlocked the page. He might even end up destroying the computer. We will never be able to accurately and efficiently solve our problems if we don’t take time to understand the root causes. So, why is the Naira sliding, where will the slide stop, how does it affect you and I? What can we do? Continue Reading »

1. Access to Kings

I woke up very early yesterday morning, earlier than I usually would, to leave my house for 5am and head for the Airport. I was going to meet Fela Durotoye and Bunmi Ajagbe a member of his team, on our way to see the Minister of Education in Abuja.  

It ended up being a fulfilling meeting. Our objectives met with favour, and it was a good learning experience for all of us and me in particular.  I didn’t clamour to go see the minister, I was invited to come, that felt good and like the fulfillment of desires. The day went well. Continue Reading »

The wake of 2009 leaves the avid investor with some not so shocking realities. Not so shocking because the highs of shocks of 2008 have left some dead, and the ones that are alive have either given up or are still looking for what to do. Some Nigerian investors have committed suicide while some oil barons are currently in mental hospital. In case you are however new to all these and why, then let me do a little education for you.

I know some people that as at this time last year, could value their portfolio in the NSE for example at N200 million. The same stocks valued now are averagely at N50 million. Technically, peoples money currently occupy about 25% of their initial investments. I have also heard of veteran oil magnates and also novices, who the downtrend in the stock market led into oil and gas sales. Due to the sudden bottoming out of oil prices, I have heard of people with debts they may not be able to pay. I gathered as well that the exposure of the banking sector in all these is approaching digits that 10yr olds might call uncountable.

The Stock market has left people with the aftertaste of the proverbial issue that farts in one’s mouth and puts salt in it. You can’t lick the fart and you can spit out the salt. {Oro naa so si ni lenu, o tun buyo si, iso niyi, ko se pon la, iyo niyi ko se tu danu}. Or how do you explain the fact that you put 1 million somewhere and now you have N250,000 there? You’ll be reluctant to sell, hoping it will go up, at the same time you’ll see many opportunities you should use money for, it’s a really confusing state for many. The oil market experienced the bull for a while, then began to bottom out as well. With the headlines making the dailies about real estate, it seems that the crash of that sector from a mortgage point of view is threatened. The exchange rate between the Naira and the dollar is also currently hinging on market forces, electronics and imported product stores have started pricing up, accomodation costs are on the increase. In this midst of this yam pepper scatter scatter {isu ata yana yana}, how can people make money in 2009? If you want to know, then you might be interested. Continue Reading »

Yeah, you read the title well. It will seem so shameful to some, but I watched it. Let me say clearly for starters though, that watching that movie was not a natural impulse for me, but haven watched it, and the way my mind works, I have no regrets.  Jennifa, Starring Funke Akindele (tell her to contact me for an interview – should be interesting) is interesting to watch. Buy and watch, don’t watch it on facebook, let the artists prosper!

Jennifa was a slightly exaggerated and humorist view of what is happening in our society. It is also moral in the traditional yoruba kind of way – as the traditional yoruba stories always have a lesson for you to learn. Jennifa has tipped as a film, I started getting interested one day when I saw about 30 people of different ages, mostly ladies gathering at a bus-stop steering at a TV set on the street. I thought they were watching football, but as I drove past, I saw they were watching Jennifa. Haven watched it, I’m somehow happy they did watch it, and I’m happy for the team that put it together that their movie sold. There were some observations I made however in my special watch, and some lessons I want to crystallize. Continue Reading »