You Grow When You Allow Others To Grow
We were having our monthly review session one morning around 2010/2011 when something suddenly dawned on me. I looked around the small meeting room on Ahmadu Bello Way, Victoria Island, Lagos, and realised that about five people seated around that table had once been my Relationship Managers. Now,...
Leadership and Legacy: How to Live Forever
One of the greatest abilities of exceptional leaders is their capacity to build for the future. A true leader always thinks in terms of tomorrow even though he lives today. The present is too little to contain exceptional leaders. Their realities may be in the present but their sight is set...
Five Leadership Lessons from a Farewell Message
On November 11, 2015, I marked my last day at work at my former organisation. As I prepared to leave, I sent a valedictory email to my team. It was a truly emotional experience. Today, more than 10 years later, I’m sharing that message again. How time flies! My dear South West 1 Team, This is a...
The Power of Generations Working Together: What Elisha and Joash Teach Us About Winning in Life
One of my favourite portions of scripture is 2 Kings 13:14–19. I love that passage so much and I am inspired each time I meditate on it. “14 Elisha had become sick with the illness of which he would die. Then Joash the king of Israel came down to him, and wept over his face, and said, “O my...
Why I Want to Buy My Pastor a Private Jet
If God blesses me, I will buy a private jet for my pastor. Maybe even more. Here's why: When I started attending my church in 2001, my pastor owned a Volkswagen Beetle. I still remember how we used to wait till he was ready to go home after service so that we could help him push the car. My pastor...
The Hidden Burdens of Pastoring: Real Stories from the Frontlines
In August 2020, I saw a pastor who buried a member of his church in the morning. I attended the funeral because the person who died was my friend. As we left the funeral, he received a call that another member just died. The same pastor buried the other member that evening, the same day. I was at...
7 Commonsense Rules For Finance and Investment
Some years back, one of my mentors called me. He wanted to assist a family member, but he didn’t want that person to know that the funds were coming from him. He had prepared an agreement bearing the name of a third party providing the funds, which the family member was to sign. I was to stand in...
When the Sacred Becomes Common: A Lesson from the Courtroom
I still remember the incident very clearly. I was the President of the Students’ Union Government that year. We had a coaster bus then called ‘Aluta Missiles’. On that particular day, the General Secretary of the Union (now a professor at a university) drove the bus while I sat beside him. We were...
How to Access Life-Changing Opportunities Through Your Mentor’s Network
I was in Kigali, Rwanda for my annual vacation that year. I posted a few pictures on social media and then I got a call from the PA to my mentor. She asked what I was doing in Kigali. Coincidentally, my mentor was in Kigali at the same time and I didn’t know. She gave me his Kigali number...
The Network Advantage: How Mastering People Skills Can Take You Far
One of the things I always tell younger colleagues anytime I have the opportunity is to never neglect building their network and improving on their people skills. No matter how brilliant you are, your inability to network or build people skills will limit you. After I finished my National Youth...