WHO BROKE YOUR COCONUT?

I was thinking this morning..... I was invited to the commissioning of a multibillion naira facility during this past week. After the commissioning, the MD invited me to his office to tell me his story. He recounted how he rose from a humble beginning sleeping on the bare floor and mats in a remote village in Delta State to becoming a very successful businessman today. 'I have always made it my guiding principle not to see the hundreds of people that work for me from the lens of MD vs Worker, because I was in a worse state than them many years ago.'

He told me how information got to him about a tenant in one of his blocks of flats in Port-Harcourt. 'I was told how the children of this tenant were sent home from school because they were unable to pay the fees, and I was really touched. If they couldn't pay school fees, how can they pay the rent? I imagined. It reminded me of how I was sleeping on mats and bare floor for many years. I immediately called my lawyer and instructed him that all 12 tenants in the block of flats should no longer pay rent. That was 6 years ago.'

As I listened to him, I imagined how wonderful the world would be if everyone who had a humble beginning like him would give a helping hand to people in difficult situations. As I mused, I recalled the words of my young wife, 'When the gods break your coconut, stay humble.'

It's very easy to feel proud and walk like someone wearing a shoulder pad because you 'don hammer.' There are some very successful people from very poor backgrounds. Today, they treat their former classmates and other not so fortunate people like rag. They avoid them saying 'this one is not in my class.' Just a personal reminder from my wife, 'When the gods break your coconut, stay humble.'

It's been a Hindu tradition for ages to break coconut during auspicious occasions like buying new cars or even starting a new business. To them, breaking coconut is synonymous with prosperity. In that context, not everyone is lucky to break coconut. They've done all within their powers and even prayed for divine support, but the coconut refuse to break. You may or may not have exerted energy, yet your coconut broke, and you are enjoying the succulent white fruit. As you enjoy, remember that 'When the gods break your coconut, stay humble.' Remember Proverbs 18:11-12.

Stay hopeful. God's got our back.

Happy Sunday!

......Just the thoughts of a certain Wey Mey

Your Value, My Nothing

 

I was thinking this morning.... Last week, I was decluttering my wardrobe when I saw this lace kaftan or what we used to call buba and shokoto. I had made that outfit  for the dedication of my first child and had been reluctant over the years to give it away because it always reminds me of the joy of that special day. The value of that piece of clothing to me is not in the cost but the memories associated with it. To someone else, it is a piece of relic.

Some years ago, when my son was in his early teens and about my height, I decided to give him a shirt I really loved. I thought it would look good on him. My boy wore it once and never again touched it. After many months, I noticed the shirt was buried in his wardrobe. As I took it out, I wondered how a piece of clothing I value so much meant nothing to him. It was then I appreciated the relativity of value.

To my son, the shirt was old school and not his type of clothing. T-shirt was his thing at the time. However, to me, apart from the shirt being expensive, I looked and felt good in it. While the shirt was valuable to me, it meant nothing to my son. My value, his nothing.

Something that means the world to one person can mean absolutely nothing to another person. You see a man treat his wife condescendingly. He insults her, beats her up, and handles her like rag. Yet another man adores that same woman, worships the floor she walks on and praying for a chance to be with her and love her. What is nothing to the husband, is of value to another man.

Value is relative. Some things may not have monetary value, yet they are priceless. Some things become priceless because of what they represent to some persons. What's valuable to me is not up to you to decide. Just like what's valuable to you has nothing to do with me. The Eiffel Tower in Paris looks like a pile of metals to me, but because it is valuable to the French, it has become valuable to the world.

Believe in what you value, and others will come to respect it as well. Respect what I value just like I will respect yours. It's okay if we disagree on what material things we value, but one thing we should never disagree on is valuing a soul. Every life is more valuable than gold. Job 28:16.

Stay hopeful. God's got our back.

Happy Sunday!

......Just the thoughts of a certain Wey Mey

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

 

I was thinking this morning.... I woke up Friday morning with the word supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. While ajebutter people will wonder why I am speaking gibberish, a Warri man will say 'bros, why you dey yarn opata na?' However, the oldies will remember the word as a song and single from the 1964 Disney musical film Mary Poppins, starring Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke.

The song says about the word in a part, 'even though the sound of it is something quite atrocious, if you say it loud enough, you'll always sound precocious.' The Cambridge dictionary defines supercalifragilisticexpialidocious to mean extremely good or wonderful.

With each passing day of 2025, I am better appreciating how extremely wonderful life is. There is this open area in front of my house, where wild banana grew for some years. Just before Christmas of last year, the estate decided it wanted to use the area as children playground. They dug out all the banana trees and filled the area with over 10 inches height of sharp sand. With no more trees in the area, the children had fun playing in the open sandy park.

Then came the first rains of 2025 last week. As I went out for my morning walk that Friday morning, I observed that despite the 10 inches sharp sand that covered whatsoever was left of the banana plant, fresh suckers had sprung from the ground. Wow! I stood for some minutes pondering on the determination of the suckers to survive and could only whisper Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.

Life is extremely good and wonderful if only we can look beyond our challenges and focus on our creator and creation. Despite the weight and harshness of the sharp sand that had buried whatever was left of the banana plant, the suckers still forced their way out with the first rains. Life is wonderful. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.

The events of 2024 may have buried your confidence and swag. Please don't let it bury your dreams and hope. As you navigate 2025, refuse to be buried under the weight of disappointment. Push yourself, make the effort to stay afloat, because at the scent of water you will bud again (Job 14:9). Why? Life is wonderful and this year shall be supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.

Stay hopeful. God's got our back.

Happy Sunday!

......Just the thoughts of a certain Wey Mey

ARE YOU SATISFIED WITH LIFE?

 

I was thinking this morning.... I have been lodging in high-end hotels for many years and usually will enjoy their 4 course orishirishi. Recently, I noticed I was no longer enjoying these expensive lavish meals. I'd rather step outside the hotel to a quaint, modest restaurant close by to enjoy a dish of ewa agoin and diced dodo or amala and ewedu served in the same dish. Why would I not enjoy the expensive 4 course meal and yet be fully satisfied with one course Nigerian dish?

As I pondered, I recalled how a former CEO of Nigeria e-commerce giant, Konga, committed suicide in June of 2024. Why would a successful young man with big businesses and lots of cars decide to end his life while another man living in a 2-bedroom flat and managing a jalopy car be so happy and want to live on earth for 200 years? I also know of a man with 5 children and no job. Poverty take hand touch ground for im life, and he is wondering if he is cursed. He is definitely not satisfied with life. Hmm! What makes for a satisfied life? Is it success?

Some chase after multiple titles such as double chief, Dr, Engr, Pst, as a symbol of success but still not satisfied after 10 titles, yet a simple man with just Mr as his prefix is satisfied. I tell you the truth, a satisfied life is better than the success the world is selling.

Don't get me wrong. I am not saying success in life is not good but that aiming for satisfaction in life is a better goal than aiming for success in life. True, there are many who are successful and satisfied with life, just like there are millions who are satisfied with life without success as we know it.

If you’ve developed a taste for expensive cuisines and material things, then you will need wealth to derive satisfaction. But we generally do not need wealth to be satisfied in life. Rather, we need contentment. A satisfied life is better than a successful life because our success is measured by others, but our satisfaction is measured by our own soul, mind, and heart.

Genesis 25:8 - 'Then Abraham breathed his last and he died at a good old age, an old man who was satisfied [with life]'. As you navigate 2025, pray to be satisfied with life.

Stay hopeful. God's got our back.

Happy Sunday!

......Just the thoughts of a certain Wey Mey

STANDING WITH ME

I was thinking this morning..... As we ended the year 2024 and entered a new year 2025, many were engaged in both thanksgiving and celebrating in divers ways. While it may have been quiet for some, many made memories they would cherish for a long time.

On the 1st of January 2025, my colleague and friend, IBB, bowed out of active service and invited us to a thanksgiving service to commemorate the auspicious occasion and his birthday. At the close of the service, everyone gathered around to congratulate him on the milestones. With wide smiles, he acknowledged everyone and also took both group and individual photos. He did so to keep a memory of the moment everyone was standing with him.

Also, during the festive period, many took time out to visit Amusement and Nature Parks. At one of the Nature Parks, I observed people relaxing and enjoying the gifts of nature. As they did, they kept their phones busy taking photos of themselves standing with Nature.

Both literally and figuratively, it is easier to stand for extended periods when one is moving forward than when one is in one position. Remember Abiola and June 12? It took just two years of no progress for those shouting, 'On June 12, we stand' to sit down and eventually sleep on June 12. Similarly, 'On your mandate, we stand. On your mandate, we stand,' is still relevant because the owner of the mandate is in power.

There are too many people who do not know what they stand for. They have no principle or ideology they stand for. They are easily swayed like the proverbial reed. They are called fair-weather friends because they only stand with you when things are good. They jump ship and squat if it doesn't favour them.

As we go through 2025, there will be times when we will worry and have doubts about our dreams and expectations. We may even face tumultuous circumstances that will make us afraid. At times like these, we will need friends and family that will stand with us, but las las, all we need is the assurance that God is standing with us. Romans 8:31.

Congratulations and happy retirement, my friend. God is standing with you.

Stay hopeful. God's got our back.

Happy Sunday!

......Just the thoughts of a certain Wey Mey

THE FOOTPRINTS OF LIFE

 

I was thinking this morning.... It was the last day of 2024, and I decided to visit a couple of project sites at work to be sure all was going okay. I was referred to the stand-in engineer, Engr Sanni, at one of the sites since the chief engineer I was familiar with had gone on holiday. I sent for Engr Sanni to see me. When he arrived, I asked him how things were going.

He gave me a brief and assured me all was fine. I pointed out a few observations and turned to leave. 'Sir, you look and sound familiar,' Engr Sanni said and then asked, 'Please, what's your name?' When I told him my name, he smiled and said, 'I said it. You were my teacher many years ago at Bonny National Grammar School (BNGS) during your service year. When I first heard your voice, I suspected it was you. My name is Sanni'

I leaned in to scan his face again. Wow! It was truly Sanni, the boy from the North, whose father was a big trader in Bonny in 1991. The father had employed me to take his son extra mural studies and make sure he passed his WASC. Today, that same Sanni is an engineer.

Thirty-three years ago, I arrived on this island called Bonny, with nothing but dreams and energy to impact lives. I did my all to give the young and impressionable men at BNGS a shot at being successful in life. I hardly thought about what the future holds, but I knew that whatever I did then would speak sometime in the future.

Student Sanni becoming Engr Sanni is one of those stories. Arriving in 2025 is like arriving on a fresh island. Whatever you do today and for the rest of 2025 will leave footprints in the sand of time. The footprints will either be heading in the right direction or the wrong way. Wherever it leads can be traced to you. When those who crossed your path in the past hear your voice in the future, will they celebrate the reunion or avoid you?

Be intentional about what you do this year. The seeds you sow this year will become fruits in the years ahead. What fruit will it be? Ecclesiastes 11:1 - Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days.

Stay hopeful. God's got our back.

Happy New Year!

......Just the thoughts of a certain Wey Mey