How To Get Rich In Today’s Climate
Written by Adamu Ephraim
Like many Nigerians who grew up under a Nigerian dad I got the usual share of the parental advisory pack of stories. You get exciting tales about how many things they can see underground that you cannot see while on a plane, stories about how hard they had it in life growing up, how many miles they would walk just to get to school each day, living in homes without electricity surrounded by illiterate relatives, and how under all of these circumstances they still managed to come out tops in class and proceed to ‘make it’ in life. Like most people who went through the experience of these pep talks it helped to build this image of our parents being gods compared to us.
“Who are these people?”
“How were they able to achieve so much with far less opportunities than we got?”
Or so I thought.
On closer examination, I realized that that isn’t exactly the case. Sure my dad grew up in below-average conditions; that explains his drive to seek better but at that time, the government was more than ready for people like him. Nigeria was then in its early years of progress. The education system was still very vibrant. Education was free and scholarships were bountiful. An honest man from that era once boasted to me about how some of them were “paid to go to school”. Of course I’m sure he was speaking about the allowances given to students by the government. Oil money was reeling in; sectors such as agricultural, textile and others were booming. Workers were very much needed to participate in these industries so in those days, all one had to do was finish school and an economically guaranteed job would be waiting by graduation day. A relative of mine would tell about how starting allowances at most of these jobs were so enormous that most were able to use them to secure accommodation, a mid-level car and be able to bankroll their weddings all with a little to spare at the end. I still recall vividly an interview of Nigerian Billionaire Femi Otedola where he described his early business years. He divulged how at one point, interest yields for fixed deposit accounts at Nigerian banks were so high (as high as 30%+) that he decided to put huge chunks of money in accounts and “live off the interest”. It wasn’t until his daughter started referring to his career with the term “sleep at home” that he decided to start finding a business to engage himself in. Today’s fixed deposit yields are about 4–7% while business enterprise return on investments are reportedly at about 36% give or take. You see the difference? So if at that time bank interest yields were over 30% how much were returns on investments from actual business operations? Honestly I feel anyone from that time who WASN’T rich was so by their own choice.
Whichever way you choose to look at it, the fact of the matter is that making money in today’s Nigeria has become much harder than it was in my Father’s time. The oil prices aren’t that high anymore, most of the supporting industries are dead so the jobs are no longer there. The concept of being an entrepreneur in this Nigeria without having to face brutal and severe roadblocks does not even exist anymore. As for the “safe” investments; Fixed deposit yields are low, the best safe and available investment yields are 1-year treasury bills at about 14–15% right now and with recent inflation numbers spiking to 16.5% one cannot consider them to be attractive enough to survive on, much less sustain a decent family like Otedola did. I may not have walked the many miles my father did to get to school, but at least he was sure that after going through all that success would be guaranteed down the road in the form of jobs. All he had to do was sit tight and graduate. For me it’s very different. I cannot at this stage begin walking miles around the streets of Abuja with determination in hopes that I get a job because sweat and dusty shoes alone cannot guarantee me a job in this economy no matter how sad my story is.
So.
For those asking “I thought this was about getting rich? Why is he wasting my time on some history lesson that I’m actually starting to enjoy??”
To be honest I may have exaggerated the topic a bit. No one can tell you step-by-step procedures on how to get rich. What I CAN talk about is how the current economy is in shambles. This is causing chaos everywhere and with chaos comes loopholes and opportunities. At times like this it becomes more necessary than ever for one to be able to identify these opportunities early enough. There’s a lot of information out there about going into agriculture and other agro-allied businesses as the next ‘frontier’. But the truth is that almost any industry can still be good enough. Nigerians tend to flock to industries where they can “make a quick buck” and if not then nothing else. Most times they flock based on tales of the success of others forgetting that there’s always going to be different strokes for different folks. Things won’t automatically work fantastically for you just because they did for others. Besides, too many people rushing to one particular industry may just lead to a bubble. And bubbles burst. Just like our oil industry did in the 80's, like it did in 2014 and most probably might again in future. The best advice anyone can tell you is this: Find what you love. If it is the same with what you are good at then you are blessed. Stick to it like your life depended on it regardless of how much you can rake in from it. Why? Because your life really does depend on it.
At times like this it becomes more necessary than ever for one to be able to identify these opportunities early enough. There’s a lot of information out there about going into agriculture and other agro-allied businesses as the next ‘frontier’. But the truth is that almost any industry can still be good enough. Nigerians tend to flock to industries where they can “make a quick buck” and if not then nothing else. Most times they flock based on tales of the success of others forgetting that there’s always going to be different strokes for different folks. Things won’t automatically work fantastically for you just because they did for others. Besides, too many people rushing to one particular industry may just lead to a bubble. And bubbles burst. Just like our oil industry did in the 80s, like it did in 2014 and most probably might again in future. The best advice anyone can tell you is this: Find what you love. If it is the same with what you are good at then you are blessed. Stick to it like your life depended on it regardless of how much you can rake in from it. Why? Because your life really does depend on it.
In their heyday military personnel were in charge of all sensitive arms of government. They were men to be feared. Which opened doors for corruption and led to a state of events whereby being within the military or even being associated with the military became synonymous with financial success. Those who signed up at the heels of the early generation of military personnel searching to experience the same level of success were probably met with a burst bubble from 1998 as Nigeria’s governmental approach took a permanent turn towards democracy. Now when we think of the military it’s mostly in the line of Boko Haram fighters or in reference to skits on Instagram involving someone getting slapped.
I can say the same for key players in Nigeria’s entertainment industry from the musicians to the prime generation of actors and even the likes of entertainment blogger Linda Ikeji. These are examples of people who went into their respective industries clearly disinterested in the absence of sizable fortunes only to revolutionize their respective industries into money making giants. If there’s anything these people have taught us it’s to stop chasing money, do what you love and wait your turn. Keep at that and eventually it will be the money that won’t stop chasing you. In the worst case, if it doesn’t then at least you get to live life as a less-rich but much happier person. And ultimately, when you really think about it, what’s richer than true happiness?
