THE SCHOOL OF STREET
If people can refer me as “gym-powers” instead of Jimpowers, I wouldn’t blame them if they refer the word “street” to strict. I have no choice than to combine both words in question in this article “Is the Street Strict?” At the mention of the word street, many have had a nice view or description of a paved part of a road usually in a village or a town or a new constructed road within thier residence.
The concept of the word “street” is far beyond earth road passages but a journey that does not require pampering, bread with a silver spoon and poor attitudes but the street that requires hard times to succeed. Michael Chidubem Kerry would say “leave your house, leave the street and enter the street”. I pondered over those words severally over a decade now. Immediately, I picked up my tools and left for the street. When I entered the street, I became grateful to nature. The street does not check the following as an entry requirement in to the school of street;
• Language proficiency
• Credentials
• Potentials
• Physical capabilities
• Family background
All that the school of street requires for your admission are;
• Deliveries and not degrees
• Potentials and not credentials
• Mental abilities and not Gym-Powers
• Passion, Hunger and Desire (PHD)
The aim is to leave your parents financially and hustle for yourself. I weep this day when I see young men of middle age doing nothing and waiting patiently to inherit poverty of their parents. I also weep for young guys still driving their dad’s car, requesting for fuel allowance, recharge cards and internet subscription, Christmas clothes at the age of 18. For ladies making themselves as cheap as indomie, not understanding the principles of life. I pity you. I will share a short story to buttress my point.
A boy was travelling with his father, they journeyed to an extent, the father picked up a rock and said “son, what do you know about geology?” the son quickly replied “dad, I know nothing about geology” then the dad said, if you know nothing about geography, you have succeeded in losing 25% of your life. The journey continued, the second time, the dad picked up a green leaf (herb) and said “son, what do you know about trado-medicine?” the son replied, “dad, I know nothing about trado-medicine”. Again, the father said, if you know nothing about trado-medicine, you have succeeded in losing another 25% of your life. How many percent left? 50%. The journey continued, here it was about to rain, the father looked up the sky and said “son, what do u know about astrology?” the son quickly replied “dad, I know nothing about astrology” then the dad said, if you know nothing about astrology, you have succeeded in losing another 25% of your life. The journey continued. They met a river and if the journey must continue, they have to go on boat. They entered the boat and started sailing, suddenly, there was a heavy storm that got of them frightened and the boat was about to capsize, here, the son asked the dad “dad, what do you know about swimmology?” Just as you smiled, the dad smile as well and said “son, I know nothing about swimmology”. The son replied, if you know nothing about swimmology or you don’t know how to swim, you have succeeded in losing the whole of your life. The son or dad, who is more intelligent? I leave that for you to answer. The fact remains that your potentials and skill will save you in times of difficulty or hardship. That is what the street is all about. Certificate will drop you in an office but your talent and skills will take you round the globe.
The street is like a football and everyone has his own wing to play. The truth is that you will remain where you are if you refuse to play your own wing. The street is not all about struggling to succeed, is all about getting the right information that will make you a success. The success in the street is not luck, if you still believe in the philosophy of luck, you might wait and die a miserable failure. But mind you, the street is not God made. Is either you are in the right place doing the wrong thing or you are in the wrong place doing the right thing.
The reason why many have failed in the street is because they’ve not discovered their purpose on planet earth. That is why you see young men regrettably graduates suffering from a disease I call “Mandicapp” blaming the government of the day. God can do all things but He cannot do everything for you. Don’t blame God and government for your misfortunes and poverty. Imagine a poor man with nine (9) children begging the government for free education. Government is everybody, government is somebody, government is anybody and government is “NOBODY”. The most important thing that is needed for us is to the ones we ought to do for ourselves. Government won’t think, eat, sleep and bathe for you. Government can construct road for you but will never describe your location. You have to know where you are heading to, that is the street.
The fact remains that when your structure is fractured, you can’t function even with motivation because you lack direction. When I say do it yourself, I mean it. If God has given us brain in order for us to give Him rest, why should we be organising “all night” for things God has given us power to do for ourselves. We can’t be lazy and lousy and expect grace to cover our disgrace. Those in the street can bear me witness that poverty is too expensive for the rich to afford.
I would like to define the word “street”. Street can be defined as a place where an individual work out of financial dependency of any kind or sort within the law and aimed at becoming financially independent to anyone.
Street here, is putting off gratification is short term in order to enjoy greater satisfaction in long term. Street is the ability to project in to the future in order to make necessary adjustment in the presence. The street is doing what is required against what is desired.
A friend of mine I met once in Lagos said I quote “my handwork na G, as people dey learn tailoring, na so me take learn my own for one year. That is the street,” he concluded. I was astonished at his view to street. The ethics of the street is not to scam people, bear false witness against another, smoke, drink, and flirt or any other social delinquencies. Some school of streets would say if all these mention above are exclusive, there is no street. My school of street is law abiding street. There is no street you can run outside the law. The street requires mental ability and capacity to create, innovate and appreciate the potentials of God in you.
The street is not prostitution, lesbianism or its kind, stealing, aiding and abetting criminals, cultism, cybercrime and gambling to mention but a few. Don’t be bold to say am in the street when you indulge in the above.
The intervention and innovation by the government in the school of street are the empowerment and entrepreneurial programmes and lots more. I concur to that innovation by the government.
We are experiencing scarcity because of our laxity; we lack breakfast because we refuse to break from our laziness. We lack lunch because we refuse to lunch our potentials. We lack dinner because we refuse to dine with great minds. The only remedy out of hard life is hard work. The only benefit in doing nothing is absolutely nothing. We need to be in the street and hustle.
Nigeria got her independence 55years ago but 55% of Nigerians are not free. You are not in this world to occupy space, you are not a biological accident that happened because a man and a woman slept together. You have to set goals for yourself, goal setters are gold getters. Go to the street.
Considering the unemployment rate, high rate of poverty, financial struggle, poor salary, gratuity and pension structure, late retirement and other unpalatable situations in our country. Our current educational system focuses on preparing youths on getting good jobs by developing scholastic skills. These professional skills allow them to enter the work force to work for money and fails to teach us how money can work for us which is the latter street. The problem is that our financial genius lies asleep because our culture has educated us into believing that the love of money is the route of all evil. Quote me “money is never the route of all evil”. Money itself is not evil. It is the devilish way one seeks for money is considered evil.
Our labour force can only accommodate 10% of our graduates yearly. 3% of them receive late salary, 4% stands at risk of being retrenched within the first six months of employment and only 3% who work for government can boast of job security but with chips as salary. Has this not shown you the relevance of been in the street awaiting the government?
For how long shall we continue to work hard in school, come out with good grades and work for government or cooperation? For how long shall we continue to write Curriculum Vitae in search of a job? For how long shall we sit, stand and fight to argue over salary structure, reduction or increment of salaries? For how long shall we continue to learn how to write application letter, write it again and again and at times give it to someone whose handwriting is better than ours to recopy it for us so that we can considered employed? For how long shall we keep lying about our age so that we won’t get retired early by the government? Friends, don’t you think is high time we started learning how to write business plan for ourselves in the street?
You don’t need the insight of a philosopher, you don’t the genius of Wole Soyinka or the humour of Akpororo and you don’t need to travel abroad before you achieve everything you’ve planned for yourself on earth. Let me tell you, everything about the whites is not right, the fact that we are blacks those not mean we will lack. The white you see today are not better than us, they are where they are today not because of their currency but because of their current sense. The street requires current and correct information to further your course. One of disadvantages in the street is to consume from the economy and not to contribute to the economy. I shall discuss more on the street next month.
MOTTO: WORK OR STARVE
IYAWA JUSTICE
