A few months ago, I was playing a game that offered a special bonus, allowing me to freeze time until I completed a challenge. Eventually, I reached a particularly tough stage and had to attempt it three times.
During my NYSC, I had the opportunity to meet one of the management team of British American Tobacco Nigeria in Ibadan, I tried to shoot my shot by selling myself as per efiko fresh graduate nah.
After all my grammar and vocabularies. He asked me: "What do you know about us?"
I tried to mumble words, but nothing came out of my mouth.
He broke the long silence and gave me his card. "Call me when you know more about us?".
I still don't know how I misplaced the card, i would have been a top manager in BAT Nigeria by now.
That was 10 years ago; ever since this occurrence, i have been keeping track of them and I am happy to see them celebrate 20 years of operation in Nigeria.
Having successfully exported to 11 countries & the United States, raking in an annual foreign exchange of $110m from exports into Nigeria. Having invested $185m to set up its state-of-the-art Ibadan manufacturing facility in 2003, British American Tobacco Nigeria is worthy of celebration.
In case, the oga i met 10 years ago at D'Rovans in ibadan is seeing this, Oga i now know a lot about British American Tobacco Nigeria and i am still very much open to work with the team.
Let me tell you a little story:
Let’s title it “How to run a drug cartel and pretend it’s a music label”:
Go to a poor desperate destitute community like Ikorodu or Bariga,
Pick one or two talented but very impoverished and desperate kids so that they see you as their lord and saviour;
Tell them you want to sign them to a “record label”, introduce them to drugs and get them hooked on drugs, also use them as drug mules then use their drug use as a blackmail chip to keep them enslaved and loyal to you;
Now in between all of that, release a few songs under the “label” to cover up the actual fact this is in-fact a drug trafficking and drug trading criminal organisation that only trades in music as a money laundering outfit. From time to time, buy them some flashy things- like a new car, shiny chains and designer outfits; you may also rent a lush apartment somewhere in the luxury end of town. All of this is to present the facade that this music business is really booming and overnight success is very possible. But whatever you do, don’t forget to make sure the payment receipt is never in their name just Incase any one of them “misbehaves”, you can easily seize the car and kick them out of the apartment.
Now if any of the “artistes” who are in-fact drug mules tries to exit the organisation, you harass them, attack them, ostracise them, blacklist them, blackmail them online and get influencers to label them “ungrateful”, make sure no radio stations play their music and ensure no mainstream popular star does any features with them; tell the public they are “mentally unstable” because of drug addiction - same drugs you introduce them to. And if the “artiste” remains obstinate insisting on leaving, you “delete” them, they suddenly fall ill/develop an ‘infection’, receive an ‘injection’ and they sleep never to wake up. That will serve as a simple reminder to the other mules in the organisation what the fate of anyone who tries to exit will be.
You know it. I know it. We all know it.
But nobody will say it - because it is Nigeria and not everybody will live to tell the story.
Well somebody just tried to tell his story and he developed an ear infection and just died. How convenient and coincidental. Isn’t it?
Well, you have seen Gangs of Lagos; you have seen King of Boys; you have also seen Shanty Town. I won’t say anymore.
You have seen that criminal organisations always have a “front”, there’s always a business they run that covers up the actual violent crime empire they run on a daily basis. They usually have direct links to the powers that be and the “government” of the day, running campaigns and sometimes helping to “settle” opposition voices or silence the youths who may demand a better society.
This is is the template they have used for decades. Sometimes it’s a meat business like in Gangs of Lagos or it’s a cloth shop like in King of Boys- but beneath that glowing business front is a dark dirty criminal empire.
Does it all sound familiar?
Does it look like anything you know?
Anyway this is how you run a drug cartel and pretend it’s a music label.
This is a fictional story- but if it sounds eerily similar to someone or a group you know, oh well. It is what it is.
Goodnight. God bless.
There is a time for everything. A time to Grieve and a time to Heal.
A time to Laugh and a time to Dance. A time to Speak & A time for Silence.
Thank you to everyone out there for your love and that has held me down.
My next album TIMELESS is here, March 31st. Preorder in bio💚
Tomorrow we will have to work together in multi-ethnic settings,How do we look at ourselves after all this division peddled by politicians for their own selfish interests.?The sad reality is that these politicians are just using us.We must be United.
Moji /moʊd͡ʒi/ is an Animated Pilot we have spent over a year quietly working on ⏳
Our Goal is to get it Sponsored and turned into a feature-film. But we can’t do it alone.
Everything so far has been made from nothing but passion, sweat, Grace, and sacrifice
Iṣè Béré (Work has Started) 🏔
We are a team of creatives trying our best 🤍 And today, @xane_studios in collaboration with @spencerzill and @garagefarm :
We present to you - The Official Trailer for Moji (The Animated Pilot) 🍂
A thread 🧶
Exactly 869 days ago, we were inspired to create a Project 🍂
A Project that would Grow… Bigger than us
A Project that would tell Our Story - We as a People 🌱
In collaboration with @spencerzill and @garagefarm
We proudly present to you : Moji
/moʊd͡ʒi/
A thread 🧶
Exactly 869 days ago, we were inspired to create a Project 🍂
A Project that would Grow… Bigger than us
A Project that would tell Our Story - We as a People 🌱
In collaboration with @spencerzill and @garagefarm
We proudly present to you : Moji
/moʊd͡ʒi/
You have to develop a style of interviewing that is interesting. Don't ever say," Tell us about yourself". Say something like, " You changed from Oceanography to studying Banking. Was it stubbornness or fondness that made you leave the river banks for the financial banks?