by
Patrick Ogungbola
MD/ CEO, BLUEHEDGE REALTORS
We welcome you to the beautiful month of November 2020.
Hmmm… October 2020 was indeed a special month that can never be forgotten in the history of our dear country. The most striking event being the #Endsars protest and how the ‘peaceful’ protest was hijacked by hoodlums and the aftermath was the nationwide looting and destruction of properties.
We cannot also forget in a hurry about the shooting at the Lekki Tollgate by the military as well as the lives that were lost. We must also make mention of the several properties that were set ablazed and others that were looted and destroyed by hoodlums, including the COVID-19 palliatives. At the beginning of October, we didn’t see this coming.
Hmmm!!! … and the question is, ‘What else is yet to come?’
At the beginning of the year, we were all very hopeful and optimistic about the New Year until COVID-19 was ‘imported’ to Nigeria; we spent several months at home due to the lockdown, and when we thought things have started to return to normal, the Endsars protest set in. Well, the corona virus incidence was a global pandemic which didn’t only affect Nigeria; but how about #Endsars, it’s a kind of internal conflict, which could have been prevented if prompt measures and actions had been taken.
Well, that is late now, the deed has been done! Lives have been lost and properties destroyed. So, what’s the way forward, for you and I? What lessons have we learnt from all of these?
The most important lesson in all of these is the need to ‘strive’ to stay alive and be safe’. The word strive was emphasized because to stay alive may no longer be a norm or what we leave to chance, it now requires deliberate and conscious efforts. The year 2020 is a very unlikely year, what can we really lay our hands on to have achieved this year? They may not be much, but the most important achievement at this time is to be alive, hale and hearty. Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba Group also confirmed this when he said:
“For people in business, 2020 is really just a year for staying alive. Don’t even talk about your dreams and plans. Just make sure you stay alive. If you can stay alive, then you would have made a profit already”.
Staying alive, most especially in a country like ours is a serious business, a profitable one at that. Recently, someone humorously said he doesn’t have a job, but he is gainfully engaged as his occupation is living in Nigeria; according to the fellow, to live and survive in Nigeria itself is work.
Since we now know that staying alive is a big deal most especially in our country, how can we ensure we remain alive and safe? Below are 10 points to achieve this important goal (note, the list is inexhaustible):
– Stay out of trouble. It seems very easy to get into trouble in this country most especially when you decide to join the bandwagon or when you deal with people. The advice here is to choose those you associate with carefully and wisely. ‘Show me your friend and I’ll tell you who you are’ is a timeless popular saying. Endeavour to stay out of trouble so as not to get your fingers and even your body burnt. Trouble should not be your work when you’re not a Lawyer.
– Choose where to live. Where you reside matters a lot. Some areas can be termed as ‘high risk zones’ while some others may be relatively safer. Before now, living close to a police station used to be preferred for better security, but with the recent occurrence where several police stations were looted and burnt, one needs to think twice. The question to ask is where else is safe? Generally, it is always better and safer to live in an organized estate manned by security operatives, if one can afford it.
– Live a moderate lifestyle. Permit me to say that ‘moderation is the spice of life’; there’s indeed beauty in simplicity. Manly Hall once said that, ‘Moderation is the secret of survival’. Unregulated flamboyant lifestyle can easily attract ‘unwanted visitors’. KISS is the keyword here, that is, ‘Keep It Simple and Straightforward’.
– Stay informed. Information is the fuel of the modern era, it now travels at the speed of light with the aid of social media. You should be aware and enlightened about the local, national and global happenings. Use available information to your advantage. A word of caution here – don’t allow negative news to get to your mind and verify all information before acting on them.
– Be occupied. Nature abhors a vacuum. Truth be told, staying alive in itself is not work, we must be properly and productively engaged; an idle hand is the devil’s workshop. A man (or woman) must be known to be doing something worthwhile in order to be relevant. Someone once said that ‘successful people wake up early, talk less, stay laser-focused, don’t waste time, live healthy and ignore nonsense’.
– Control your temperament. Don’t allow your emotion to override your sense of reasoning. An uncontrolled emotion or temperament is like a car without a braking system, it’s an accident waiting to happen. When you can’t control what’s happening, challenge yourself to control the way you respond to what’s happening, that’s where your power is.
– Rise above materialism. We live in a materialistic world where you’re judged by ‘what’ you have and not by ‘who’ you are. God forbid, but what would be your reaction if ‘your enemy’s’ house is looted, vandalized and set ablazed? Many innocent families experienced this situation during the EndSARS protest. Once again, I say God forbid, this won’t happen to any of us, but even if it does, it’s not the end of life; our lives are far more important and much more precious than things.
– Eat right. ‘You are what you eat’ goes a popular saying. Don’t just eat what you see, eat what is good and beneficial to your body. Plan your diet. Most people have died untimely due to the effects from certain hazardous ‘foods’. Let’s watch whatever goes into our body.
– Give. We are blessed to bless others. It is more blessed to give than to receive. Honestly, it is giving that makes the world to go round. You may ask, ‘What has this got to do with staying alive?’ Giving refreshes, but receiving without giving back stinks. The Dead Sea stinks and can sustain no life because it only takes water, but gives nothing back. In the same vein, what you give to yourself dies; but what you give to others lives forever even after you’re gone.
– Love yourself and others. This is the last but not the least point. Love is indeed the greatest commandment. ‘Love your neighbour as you love yourself’ presupposes that you must first love yourself before others. As a matter of fact, you can’t love others until you love yourself. In an aeroplane, we’re always advised to first put on our oxygen mask before helping others. Let’s imbibe the virtue of true love in our relationship with people. It’s the lack of love that has caused most of the problems in the world. If we love our fellow human beings, there won’t be need for #EndSARS.
To stay safe and live longer is not completely in the hand of God, it is also in our hands. You can be affected by what you do or don’t do, and wisdom is knowing what to do when you don’t know what to do. You have many roles to play to live longer,
it is your decision; no wonder Brian Tracy advised that we should ‘make a decision that you are going to live to be eighty’. It is indeed a decision, your decision, because as far as God is concerned, ‘you shall not die, but live’.
We wish you the very best in the month of November 2020.
As usual, we want to remind you that we care so much about you, and that when it comes to your real estate investment and advisory, we are always here to give you the very best service you can never get elsewhere. This is our promise, and will always be.
Meanwhile, please find below the powerpoint presentations of our current properties for sale in Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt, Nigeria.
Thank you.
Affordable Properties For Sale in LAGOS, Nigeria
Affordable Properties For Sale in FCT, ABUJA, Nigeria
Affordable Properties For Sale in PORT HARCOURT, RIVERS STATE, Nigeria