Muhammad

[Gimba Kakanda @gimbakakanda]

As long as the Land Use Act retains governors as custodians of our land, a power not even the President can contest, no capitalist in this country will ever hold the advantage over a governor. It is a different form of power, and Cersei Lannister settled this argument years ago when Littlefinger told her that knowledge is power. She had her guards seize him, called them off, and then told him, “Power is power.” Everything else is negotiation.

Yahaya Bello shut down the Obajana plant, Dangote’s largest cement facility, just a few years ago, with the state assembly backing him. A plant of that scale sat idle for months and the richest man in Africa had to run to Abuja for cover, pleading for intervention, and the truth is that if Yahaya Bello had set out to play dirty, and with the Land Use Act on his side, it would have been something else entirely.

Only a few months ago, the head of a single regulatory agency got Dangote visibly rattled in public, and that is someone in an appointive position. Now imagine the Governor of Lagos State, where his investments are based, moved against him. Imagine a governor revoking the certificates of occupancy on the land carrying the refinery, the fertiliser plant and the port, citing overriding public interest, which the Act permits. That would be the end of an empire.

Yes, political power ends. So does money. Politicians have buried plenty of billionaires whose names mean nothing to anyone under thirty today. But enough of the worst case scenario. Dangote is an asset of this nation, of the continent, and of the Black race. We should pray that he is never tested by political power, because we already know how that test ends. 😄

[Wale Adeyemo @ceo_wale]

As someone who ‘sponsored’ a few candidates for student elections (departmental & SUG elections) during my Uni days, I can tell you for free that Dangote is very powerful.

There were names (called stakeholders) who determined who became what, who won, and who didn’t. Without them, you can’t become a departmental union president, let alone a SUG president.

A few of these persons were popular on campus, most were not. Some were students of the school, some were in other schools (yet influencing what happened in my school), some were not even students at all.

There was a name, that no matter what happened or who was in power, had shop spaces in Aluta Market, and at least 2 bed spaces in all the hostels (including the girls' hostel).

Most times, ‘titled politicians’ are only a front, the real powers reside in the shadows, with the likes of Dangote.

It takes power to accumulate wealth. It takes power to keep wealth. It takes more power to pass it down from generation to generation. Dangote’s family has done it for generations yet people still think he’s just a man with money.

I doubt that a governor can just wake up and go after him, it won't even get to that point before ‘someone’ calls him (the gov) to ‘order’.

A and B are NOT mutually exclusive in this case .. in fact, the probability of both occurring together is almost =1 in this case….especially in capitalistic societies like 🇳🇬, 🇺🇸

The most powerful house in Game of Thrones was the Iron Bank.

[Olúwatósìn Olaseinde @tosinolaseinde]

“Whatever path you choose, the goal is to keep increasing your leverage and creating opportunities for outsized outcomes.”

[Afropolitan 🅰️🌶 @afropolitan]

With conversations about broken partnerships everywhere right now, it’s a good reminder that the strongest ones are rarely built on talent alone.

In this episode, Tony breaks down three things every successful partnership needs to last.

🎥The Afropolitan podcast

[Michael Taiwo @AskMichaelTaiwo]

It was when I was tasked to build the Hydrogen business for Shell in North America.

I worked, on average, 100hrs per week.

I would work Europe hours and then California hours.

But it wasn't even the time logged that was the issue for me...it was the executive responsibilities on my shoulders.

I was deciding how millions of dollars should be spent, lobbying members of Congress for favorable policy, advising national governments on Hydrogen strategy, writing industry standards, negotiating acquisitions and so on.

And then I still have to do the engineering, operations & maintenance, commissioning, etc.

I would get calls at 2am that a Hydrogen Station is down and start troubleshooting. Then by 5, take a Zoom call with folks in Europe before getting ready to meet a Senator at 10 to talk about the wonders of Hydrogen.

I loved it all. And obviously, I did it well.

But it also occurred to me that if I run my own business, and I treat it the same way, the payoff would be much more.

Also, by this time I had built the MT Scholarships as an organization with a reputable brand.

So, I had two data points:

1. I had built a thriving business inside a big company
2. I had built a successful non-profit from scratch

These two, in part, gave me the confidence that I can build businesses.

[Muhammad @_mhabdul]

@Officially_Kriz I was doing this for 3 years plus, it’s not quite sustainable in construction industry.
I almost lost my mind last year, both stretched me to a new level.

[Habu Sadeik @HabuSadeik]

Corporate life.

You can be asked to do something that both you and your boss knows its not going to fly, yet you have to do it and deliver so that the thing can fail and then you come back to drawing board to plan on how to actually execute it.

This usually happens because leadership doesn't want to hear NO from an employee but prefers to see the NO crystallise in real life before accepting that it won't work.

[Muhammad @_mhabdul]

@Toye234 That’s my current read

[Leo Dasilva @SirLeoBDasilva]

Every new administration we have in Nigeria births a new young real estate company that springs out of no where and has many projects all of sudden across Abuja and Lagos.

[Kharis @kharis_micheal]

Women don't apologize, they reframe the story until your reaction looks worse than their behavior.

[Onile Olona. @alpontif]

At a Point, I was begging a descendant of the Lebanese community in Nigeria to loop me into their network and business community... That's how much I realized the power of community and collaboration in how the Indians, Chinese, Lebanese do business. Unfortunately, outsiders are not allowed. They will rather import yet another member of their race than allow what I proposed.

To grow, the black man has to understand how to do serious things together.

[Pablo Alakobar @the_popemichael]

Consider changing your career path to lean more towards the revenue-generating side.

[S.🎧 @1ssve]

The longer I work in corporate, the more I realize... they will make you feel lucky to have the job while underpaying you to do three jobs.

[Nathan| Brydge @iamprincenathan]

A U.S. food processing company selling on Amazon needed a reliable supply of hibiscus from Nigeria.

Their requirements were simple:
✓ Source suppliers
✓ Verify quality
✓ Handle payments securely
✓ Manage documentation
✓ Coordinate execution end-to-end

They created an RFQ on @insidebrydge.

Multiple suppliers submitted quotes through the platform. The buyer selected a supplier, funded the transaction through escrow, and we took it from there.

The hard part?

Hibiscus is currently off-season. Quality issues, contamination, breakages, and grading inconsistencies are common.

Our team worked with suppliers to inspect, clean, verify, and prepare the shipment to specification.

Every document was uploaded, reviewed, and approved before funds were released.

What started as a sample order is now expected to scale into multiple container loads.

This is why we built Brydge.

Not just to connect buyers and suppliers, but to make sourcing from Africa predictable.

If you're sourcing commodities, manufacturing inputs, or industrial products from Africa, let's talk.

https://t.co/c8bYiU19IP

[Olúwatósìn Olaseinde @tosinolaseinde]

Conversations compounds. I am in a group and we all repeatedly spoke about investment opportunities back to back for over 2 years, guess what? The conversation pushed us to action. Where am I going? Look for a place that they are discussing what you desire and one day, you would be one of them.

[Muhammad @_mhabdul]

Never put yourself in a position where you will have to apologize for not being ready

[AK @akthawicked]

Take my word for it, if you stay consistent on a path that you are really good at and has clearly shown you some results, you will “always” win big in the end, what will likely throw you off is how long you need to wait.

[Kelvin Novo @KelOnovo]

4 years ago I was living in a flat, paying 250k.

I was so comfortable that if my landlord blinked, I would pay the rent.

But I needed a push. When my wife suggested we move to an environment where rent was 1.6m omo, I had the money, but I was scared. What if?

I was like, 'Why is this woman pushing me like this?' but she said, 'Babe, what’s the worst that could happen? Highest We just start fresh.'

Guess what. 2 years after moving into that 1.6m flat, I am now living in a 5-bedroom duplex.

Why did I write this? You can never grow in comfort.

If I tell you what I have achieved since moving to a place where the rent was not easy to pay, you won’t believe it.
Don’t be like the old me.

Sometimes you need to push yourself to grow.

[Chibuzor @ChibuOnwurah]

My dad once followed a hotel porter down two flights of stairs over a bottle of water. It became one of the most important money lessons of my life growing up.

Years ago, he traveled to Abuja on a business trip and lodged at a hotel. He got thirsty in his room and called downstairs for a bottle of water.

A porter brought it up, Ragolis, and handed him a bill for ₦2,500. My dad looked at it and asked why water cost that much. The man explained that the water was ₦500, and the other ₦2,000 was the flat service charge for bringing it up to the room.

My dad handed the bottle back and told him to take it away. Then he got up, put on his slippers, and followed the porter all the way down to the bar.

When they got there, he picked up the same bottle himself, dropped ₦500 on the counter, and walked back up to his room.

He wasn't broke. He just wasn't going to pay four times the price of something because someone else could carry it up a flight of stairs. That was how he taught me, through a story where he dramatized the march downstairs to the laughter of the entire family, that you don't spend money just because you have it.

Two weeks I was at the mall with my son and he wanted water. We were in front of a restaurant selling it for 10 dirhams and he pointed and said let's get it here. I told him we were going to walk to the Carrefour a few meters away in the same mall instead.

He asked why we couldn't just buy from the first shop, and I told him he would find out when we got there. We got there and he was surprised to see the same bottle going for one dirham.

I can afford the 10 dirhams. But when two shops are almost side by side, why pay ten for what costs one?

We don't waste money or spend just because. If it were an emergency or the only shop around, that's a different thing. But it wasn't.

Sometimes you just walk the extra hundred meters.

[Kpaxs @Kpaxs]

High-agency is contagious. You spend time around someone who just does things and suddenly your own list of "impossible" tasks starts looking suspiciously possible.