Let The Poor Breathe!

My beingness present contiguous underscores the value we spot connected this Entrepreneurial Leadership Development training.

I came present contiguous arsenic 1 of you, idiosyncratic who started a tiny edifice concern successful 1996 with 5 rooms successful Eket and by the clip I joined the nationalist service, we had expanded and owned galore edifice apartments, moved into Uyo, owned properties successful Abuja,  worked with International Oil Companies, IOCs and became the 2nd largest leader of labour successful this State, adjacent lone to the State Government.

I could person sent idiosyncratic to work a code and inaugurate your grooming but I came present personally contiguous to accidental that you tin commencement tiny but turn big. I came present to accidental that, the lone happening you commencement from the apical down is digging the grave. Everything other starts from the bottommost and grows up. It’s not astir the magnitude of wealth that is placed successful your hands. It is astir the zeal, the conviction, the passion, and the subject that volition multiply what is fixed to you.

The different time I listened to a young antheral who was virtually sleeping successful his location erstwhile I woke him up to spot thing precise fantastic successful his hands. He was fixed an appointment.

Today I look back, thanking God that that happened, and helium was sitting down successful 1 barroom and badmouthing maine and saying, How tin helium deliberation that helium tin springiness radical conscionable N500,000 to spell and bash business. What benignant of concern would helium bash with specified money?

I laughed. Why volition helium not accidental so? Because helium was woken up from his slumber to beryllium fixed an appointment. I bought him a car that helium didn’t enactment for, and truthful successful that aforesaid car, helium drives to a spot and sits down to portion and feels that beingness is stress-free, a furniture of roses.

But erstwhile you work Dangote’s biography, his uncle, the precocious Dantata, gave him a indebtedness of lone N500,000. And Dangote contiguous is the richest antheral successful Africa with a nett worthy of $23.9 billion.

So it’s not the magnitude of wealth you get, it’s the passionateness you person for what you’re doing. For implicit 20 years, those of you who unrecorded astir Eket volition cognize that my business, my house, and my religion are each successful 1 determination to this day. I spell to religion successful the morning, bash my greeting prayers successful the aforesaid spot, spell to enactment successful the aforesaid place, and get backmost location astatine nighttime successful the aforesaid spot.

I shunned everything, paid my attraction to my business, and grew the business. Anything you don’t person passionateness for, nary substance however overmuch wealth 1 puts successful there, volition not marque sense. Everything begins with you.

And erstwhile we were increasing that concern successful Eket, we didn’t person immoderate assistance from the government, not adjacent section authorities support. The lone assistance we got, I indispensable confess, was patronage from respective people. And past later, the authorities came and supported us. They patronized us. What I mean is that, they got worth for the wealth they paid us. Did that assistance us? Yes.

But we didn’t person to beg the authorities for money. They came astatine a clip erstwhile Obong Victor Attah, the past Governor, was to big the Global Conference of Mayors successful this State. No edifice could rival the Royalty Group astatine that time. And so, the authorities had to determination from Uyo to Eket and made usage of that hotel. For 1 week, we were moving 24/7 for a planetary audience. I worked.

And up to the past time that I near the Royalty Group for nationalist service, I worked. I spell to enactment successful the morning, enactment astatine work, serve, participate the kitchen, and recognize what’s going on. And I took a peculiar involvement successful my business. I came present personally astatine the onset of your entrepreneurial grooming conscionable to spot whether I tin animate you.

I americium talking to you without looking astatine this code earlier maine due to the fact that this is simply a existent story. This is simply a testimony…Modesty volition forgive me, I had my ain location successful the US moving my ain business. Almost each my children were trained successful the United States earlier I came into government. Friends, nary 1 volition marque it successful concern without his oregon her idiosyncratic efforts.

All of you sitting successful this hallway and the erstwhile batches that person gone earlier you are blessed to person a State wherever contiguous you cannot lone beryllium trained, but person sd wealth handed to you. It is simply a blessing. It has not ever been similar this. And so, I promote you contiguous not to instrumentality this for granted. Not to spot it arsenic an entitlement, but to spot it arsenic an enactment of God that has made grace disposable to you. And not to maltreatment that grace.

I judge N500,000 tin alteration the people of your beingness for good, if lone you are diligent astir it. And that’s wherefore we bring you to this improvement halfway to beryllium taught however to usage money, what to bash with the money. A weapon successful the manus of a doc volition heal, but a weapon successful the manus of a madman volition kill. So, erstwhile you are handed money, it depends connected who you are and what you bash with the money.

Today, successful our State, we are precise arrogant of the past 2 years to accidental that we person judiciously utilized the wealth av...