“Living at risk is jumping off the cliff and building your wings on the way down.” Ray Bradbury
A discourse has emerged in the last few weeks in Nigeria that is
gaining momentum. This discourse is focusing on the notion of how we
help ourselves to grow and breakout of the category we have been boxed
into. Forbes released its list of richest people in Africa this week and
the ‘usual suspects’ are on it. With regards to Nigeria the‘usual
suspects’ are of course the main contributors to our economy and the
most generous philanthropists. They are the risk takers in our economy
and the men and women with vision who took risks that paid off.
Last week I attended a TEDx youth event in Abuja and came away with a
quiet satisfaction that all hope is not lost. I was convinced again
that the Nigerian youth are a real smart bunch, filled with ideas,
revolutionary thoughts and potentially life-changing concepts.
What they simply lack is opportunity –a lot of them are waiting to be
given a helping hand by someone they know or by the government not
knowing that they can actually create their own opportunities. They have
been caged by societal expectations and feel you must complete NYSC
before you can start contributing to the society.
Subomi Plumptre, a presenter at TEDx expressed my thoughts when she
said now is the time to take risks. By taking risks we create
opportunities and encourage innovation. How many of us can take the risk
and decide to start all over again even if we fail.
It’s time to focus on our ‘big hairy audacious goals’ as she called
them. We all have dreams but have different ways of achieving them. Not
all dreams are achievable but it is important to at least attempt to
bring them to life. What are we truly willing to risk to achieve our
dreams? Some people simply take a leap of faith and hope it pays off.
However, there must be an alignment of dreams, vision, drive and passion
to succeed.
I think in Nigeria we attach a lot of importance on what others will
think and as a consequence end up limiting ourselves by not taking the
chance to do something different. Parents usually push children into a
career path that is not their choosing and these children end up with
degrees they are not excited about which translates to an unhappy and
unmotivated workforce. I am an advocate of doing and being good at what
makes you happy.
My motto is, if you want to be a welder or carpenter then become the
best welder or carpenter you can be but above all take pride in
delivering a service that is second to none. Once this is achieved then
we get a paradigm shift in the economy where we place dignity in labour
at the top of the ladder. The onus is on the service provider to put a
premium on their skill and have people respect it.
With a yo-yo economy like ours, we need those with audacious visions,
hairy goals and intrepid passions to be the drivers for change. We
need those that have strong and consistent plans that can stand the test
and rigours of disappointment. We need those that can partner with
geeks and do whatever it takes to turn the simple ideas bubbling in
their heads to reality.
We need those with knowledge that has been powered by information and
utilised in the most cutting edge way to lead the pack. We need strong
partnerships that can help the youth realise achievements from ideas. We
need those that simply believe their existence is dependent on taking
risks and knowing for sure that hard work and persistence will pay off.
In the words of Helen Keller, “Life is either a daring adventure or
nothing”, so let us quit dreaming and start taking risks knowing that
only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly and that
only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far they can
go. It’s time to build a greater Nigeria and we cannot do it dreaming
or musing, we must attempt to start a revolution and do something that
changes the course of doom we are currently treading.
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