Have You Made Money Your God?

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I promise every reader of Saturday Breakfast that our series on the growth of the Nigerian recording industry and the talents that made it happen, will be continued.

In the coming weeks, we will look at the industry in the 1980s, the Kris Okotie, Jide Obi, Dizzy K. Faloala , Felix Lebarty, era; the reggae revolution that exploded with Majek Fashek, Ras Kimono, Evi Edna Ogholi, Tera Kota, Orits Wiliki and co; the huge investments that got wiped out by horrendous piracy, etc. Hold your breath! It will be interesting… Just permit me this week to go in a different direction as Saturday Breakfast digresses…

I am an unbelievably lucky guy and I thank the Almighty for the incredible energy and protection He has given me. For a guy who does not go to church as often as he should, it is in every way a miracle! I have been fired with bazookas and suicide bombed but… Do you know how many times I have been counted out? But the Almighty has always brought me back better than before.

Believe me, I have repeatedly seen the treachery and betrayal of men and how they rationalise their duplicity and all the nonsense they do. When a guy you thought was your guy begins to manufacture a dispute between the two of you when there is really nothing to quarrel about, your antenna should go up. Nine times out of ten, your guy is fabricating a justification for treachery which he is hatching and which will soon manifest. Then the guy you used to eat and drink with will tell everybody how horrible you really are and why he must perch somewhere else. It is all cock and bull! He has found a new chopping center.

The average human being is very selfish and always out for where he thinks his bread is buttered. Do not be surprised to find out that the person who has behaved like he would go to the grave with you is in fact praying that you should die quick so that he can grab everything that belongs to you. All the while, your guy has only been using you as his ladder. If he gets to wherever he has been climbing to or finds a better ladder, he will create a scene and dump you like rotten ogbono soup.

I have learnt to be weary of praise singers. If a guy begins to tell me that I am the best thing he has seen since man discovered sliced bread, my antenna goes up! I know that I am a mortal being and no mortal being is perfect. The guy is setting me up for the kill.

Have you ever got any telephone call from a guy you do not know from Adam who begins by sweet talking you and reminding you how the two of you met at an event you never attended? From there, he will tell you about the huge demand for a special stone in some place that only he knows and which you can obtain and be richer than Aliko Dangote. If you have not given up on him, he will whisper to you about a secret NNPC contract that he wants to execute with you as his partner that will bring so much money that even Femi Otedola will be shocked. 419 and half!

I have seen betrayal upon betrayal and evil men in every colour. I seriously have to restrain myself from believing that there is no good man in the world anymore and there is no reason to do good to anyone. Fortunately, there are still good men left and there is good reason to do good to people. If I cannot do good to people what then am I living for? The Almighty might as well take my life because it has become a waste.

I have written in Saturday Breakfast several times that I verily believe that the true worth of a man is not in what he takes but in what he gives. That is what I have dedicated my life to.

I have dealt with many who have made money their god and who do not understand the concept of giving and of sacrifice. They do not understand why I do not think like them. Some believe that I must be hiding something. Others believe that my philosophy is stupid. The believe that the fact that I own no house in Maitama or Banana Island as idiotic. Every day, hey count me out but each time, the Almighty brings me back in a new way.

I have repeatedly emphasised that I drive on a full tank of faith. I serve a living God. The work I do is to the glory of the Almighty. The power I use is not mine but His.

I cannot forget two years ago in New York City. I was engaged in the burial of my elder sister. As I went to school, I lived with her. She sowed the seeds of the values that drive me and the faith on which I stand. She gave completely of herself.

My sister had little money. If the truth be told, she had none. There was however nothing of importance that she wanted to do that she did not do.

At the funeral of Pauline Okoroji, people of all nations came. There was testimony after testimony after testimony as to how this lady with unshakable faith touched the lives of people of different tribes in countries across the world. I was proud. As her body was laid to rest, I noticed that nobody put one dollar, one euro, one pound, one yen or one naira in the casket. She left as she came.

My experience in 2019 has re-sharpened my faith that you do not become great by what you take but by what you give. The recent glittering wedding of my son and best friend in the same New York has reiterated the fact that if you believe in the Almighty, He will never let you down. On my way to New York, I had no money, none whatsoever but the Lord provided everything I needed. He provided more than money. He brought love and happiness in full measure and made me a very proud father. Believe me, you might face trials upon trials but like Job, you will prevail.

Have you made money your God? May I advise that you do not worship men or money. Worship the Almighty and take care of the needs of His children. Do not fret about how you will survive. You will.

Please do not take credit for that which the Almighty does through you. It is not by your power. All glory and honour belong to Him. Drive on a full tank of faith with your tires pumped with love and do not listen to anyone who tells you that your dreams are impossible. The word, impossible, belongs to the devil.

See you next week.

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