The final stage of being a man is understanding your father. You get to 23 and you start to realize that every single thing the guy told you was correct. There wasn’t one thing that he was wrong about. That moment of realization is when you start to appreciate him more. Fathers deserve so much more love than they get.
I've been thinking about this almost every day.
What would it actually take to ensure every single child in the South East is in school?
I don't mean reducing the number of out-of-school children.
I mean ZERO.
I'm setting myself a target:
Zero out-of-school children in the South East within the next 24 months.
And within 4 years, I want us to drive illiteracy as close to zero as possible.
I know it sounds ambitious.
There are children out of school because of poverty. Some because of culture. Some because of religion. Some because they have to work. Others because there are barriers we've not even identified yet.
But I genuinely believe this is a problem we can solve if we stop treating it as someone else's responsibility.
So I'm asking for your help.
If you had to achieve this, what would you do?
I want practical ideas. Bold ideas. Crazy ideas. Lessons from other countries. Community-based solutions. Technology. Policy. Anything.
I'll read every suggestion.
If we can solve this in the South East, we'll create a blueprint that the rest of Nigeria and maybe even Africa can learn from.
My office is in a plaza with several other businesses, and we have a security man who looks after the entire place.
This morning, he came to me and asked if he could use my bank account because someone wanted to send him money. His phone had fallen into water days ago and he hadn’t been able to repair it, so he couldn’t access his account. He explained that someone wanted to bless him because today is his 65th birthday.
I shouted in excitement, “Papa, today na your birthday?” Then I gave him my account number.
When I got into the office, I told everyone it was Papa’s 65th birthday and suggested we appreciate him because he’s always looking out for us. He washes some people’s cars, helps us drain floodwater from the plaza after heavy rain so we don’t have to step into it, and he’s friendly to everyone. He never fails to hail people with a smile.
We called him into the office, sang “Happy Birthday” to him, and then the donations started. 10k from this person, 20m from another, 5k here, 5k there. The office opposite ours joined in too.
By the end of it all, we had raised 214k
Happiness nearly overwhelmed the old man.
He borrowed my phone to call his wife. I didn’t hear their conversation, but shortly after, she sent me a message with four account numbers. Papa told me to send 60k to the first account, then 40k 40k and ₦ 20k to the remaining three. I sent the balance to a POS agent and she gave Papa cash.
Less than two hours later, he came back to show me two pairs of rainboots he had bought. He smiled and said they were for his wife and his last child because the road they take to the market is always flooded, and he didn’t want them stepping into dirty water every day.
I asked him, “Papa, you never repair your phone that fell inside water oh?”
He smiled and said, “Once I collect my salary by month end, I will do that one.”
As I was leaving the office this evening, you needed to see him moving around with so much joy.
That moment reminded me of something… Fatherhood is a lifetime of putting everyone else first. Even when he finally had money in his hands, his first thoughts were his wife and children, not himself.
If your father is still alive, don’t ever forget to appreciate him.
Ije nwoke siri ike makachukwu!
Just to remind you all that anything shuttle bus and mini trucks is available....
Direct from Japan....
Sound engine.....
My potential customers full your TL.... Please retweet make I sell market na me be bread winner for my family ooooo.
All getting ready to be shipped down to Nigeria from Japan.
Remember I'm your surest plug whenever it comes to anything shuttle bus and mini trucks.
A retweet is always appreciated.
Your own no go ever spoil.
Dear Alex Onyia @winexviv,
Concerned Nigerians have read your recent tweet where you said the Ministry of Education is demanding total handover of the Olympiads portfolio so they can sponsor them with government funds.
Please don’t fall for the illusion that the federal government is selling you.
They didn’t care about these Olympiads for 7 years. Now that you’ve single-handedly redefined education and put the finest brains among our teens on the global map, they suddenly want to “sponsor” everything.
Don’t let them politicize your hard work, which they will definitely do if you emotionally allow them.
They will introduce tribalism, disqualify the best students, and push incompetent ones forward just as they’ve always done.
Look at our athletes under government sponsorship. How many times have they missed international appearances?
This is classic Tinubu and APC style.
Please protect what you’ve built.
Our children deserve merit, not politics.
RT by Lending your voice 🙏
The wait is over.
We have 2 golds: Chimdiebube Onwubiko and Don Anele Munachimso.
We are the best in the world!
Egejurum Onyedikachi’s name was omitted. He should have a gold.