@usmanade_ Wrong generation!
No time for religious lectures, not even online. For everyone who was present in that session, I sincerely pray that none of their future offspring ever cross paths with any of my children, Insha’Allah 🤲
LAPO BABIES (a play on “LAPO” Lift Above Poverty Organization):
These are children from poor or underprivileged backgrounds who had no access, no legacy, no connections but had to hustle, break barriers, and often bear trauma to succeed!
NEPO BABIES (short for “nepotism babies”):
These are people who benefit from family connections to gain access, success, or visibility in a field. The term exploded in pop culture but applies broadly to entertainment, politics, tech, etc. Think of children of Politicians!
We don’t hate your name.
We just want our work to mean something too.
In the end, it’s not a talk between NEPO and LAPO.
It’s a conversation between truth and denial.
Access and exclusion.
Entitlement and empathy.
6/N
You’re building what no one handed you.
One day, they’ll call you the system.
When they do
Don’t forget how it felt to be locked out.
We don’t want pity.
We want policies.
We don’t want your guilt.
We want ground that isn’t rigged.
5/N
To NEPO babies:
You don’t have to apologize for your background.
But you do have to acknowledge it.
And maybe use it to hold the door open, not slam it shut.
To every LAPO baby reading this:
You’re not less because you started with less.
Your background is not your boundary.
4/N
Privilege is not the problem.
Weaponizing it to gatekeep is.
What we hate is not your success.
It’s the lie that says:
“We all have the same 24 hours.”
“If you work hard, you’ll make it.”
No.
Some of us work hard and still don’t eat.
3/N
One learns to swim in a pool.
The other is thrown into the ocean.
No life jacket. No applause. Just survival.
One gets a mentor.
The other is expected to be the miracle.
One has networks.
The other sends cold emails no one opens. Still, it’s not evil to be a NEPO baby.
2/N
No hates on NEPO babies.
We’re only fighting a system that confuses access with merit, and hustle with destiny.
A NEPO baby fails, and gets a second chance.
A LAPO baby fails, and they get a label: “irresponsible,” “unserious,” “unworthy.”
1/N