Gabriel Olatunji (OLATUNJISPEAKS)
As forgetful as I can be I couldn’t forget this statement I heard from a friend some years ago, she said - ‘Excuses are like arm-pit, they stink.’
How pathetic it is for a young man to gain admission into the higher institution, spend over four years and in some cases eight years for a four year course, and manage to graduate into an association of job seekers! I thought education was supposed to empower and enable young people to think independently, to offer solutions to life problems and to be a blessing to the society!
What do we have today? A bunch of certificate holding young people parading the street in search of a job when it has become obvious to even the uneducated mind that the way to go in this new century is not Job security but offering ‘value adding services’.
The silly excuse often given by young people in this country for not maximizing their potential is appalling and calls for urgent correction. A 24 years old Nigerian guy owns a university; Yes, you heard me right – he owns a university. Basketmouth, the popular A-List Nigerian comedian was 15 years old when he started comedy. Muhammed Ali started boxing at the age of 12, won the coveted Olympic Gold medal at 18, then went on to win a world title. Omojuwa started his blog at the age of 25, he’s 29 years today and he’s already making national impact. Lionel Messi won the world title at the age of 23 and has consistently won it afterwards. Imagine how old Teju Babyface was when he starred in the movie, Diamond Ring; he became a successful comedian shortly after that. Omotola Jalade Ekeinde started acting before she was 18years old; became a star a few years down the line. The Facebook guy (Mark Zuckerberg) is just 28 years old if am correct; at this age our graduates here are still looking for a N50, 000 (About $313) salary jobs – Come on guys; You can do better!
I need your mind to open to possibilities. You are still very young, you should be very active. This is when you should organize that seminar you’ve always wanted to; this is when you should write that book you’ve always desired to write; this is when you should open that blog and give Linda Ikeji and Omojuwa a run for their money; this is when you should start that business and become an employer of labour rather than lifetime membership in the labour market.
Invest the same amount of time you are deploying to complain, look for job, abuse and criticize into making your name an institution in a particular field and few years down the line we will be begging for your account number.
As forgetful as I can be, I couldn’t forget this statement I heard from a friend some years ago, she said - ‘Excuses are like arm-pit, they stink!’
Gabriel Olatunji (@OLATUNJISPEAKS on Twitter) is an Entrepreneur, Solution Strategist and a speaker of the word. You can reach him on olatunjispeaks@gmail.com or for intelligent conversation add him on Blackberry Messenger:
This is an impactful and inspiring piece. I came here from a twitter link. I would like to add you to my connection for forward purposeful and engaging converrsations.
ReplyDeleteThank you.