The other side of Olajumoke story

EITHER out of a desire not to rain on another person’s parade or sheer hypocrisy or crass selfishness, commentators and others  have missed the opportunity to profitably interrogate the Olajumoke phenomenon.  Those who should know better, having attained great professional heights through the dint of personal application, have only been interested in the role of fate or providence in success that shot up Olajumoke from being a bread seller to a role model. They have become like big businesses that are only interested in the bottom line and leveraging  on Olajumoke to make more money.

Yet, for the sake of the impressionable younger generation, we must beard the peril of being declared fossilised and rescue the Olajumoke story from the now familiar mould of instant change from  poverty to stardom. In the light of the enthusiasm that greeted the Olajumoke’s  fortuitous change of circumstances, everybody  seems to agree that this is the model of success to adopt –  as a nation and individuals- we must wait for the right opportunities to snatch us from hardship and propel us to success.

But the history of humanity is replete with the evidence that this is not the best model for success. This is why nations and individuals who wait for success are consigned to the backwater of development. For to attain success as a nation or individuals, conscious efforts must be made towards it. Successful nations make plans for 50 to 100 years just as successful individuals make plans for the whole of their lives- from when they are conscious of their responsibilities to when they would die.

That some of these plans sometimes do not succeed as envisaged  is immaterial. What happens in most cases is that in the journey of life, some of these plans fail in order to be replaced by better ones. It is true that Olajumoke is not being celebrated only by Nigerians. But the fact remains that a common streak that runs through the celebrations by Nigerians and others who are wishing to replicate her  fortune is simply that we  are enamoured of instant success,  of a life without the application of physical or mental efforts.

This is the problem we face as a nation. Because it takes so much effort to plan, to wait, all our politicians go after is immediate profit. They do not spend their time on any project that would not confer an immediate benefit on them. This is why they do not consider the next 100 years and sow the seed of the nation of the next century. All they are concerned with are things that need little or no imagination like the wardrobe allowances they need to wear baba ringa and appear more beautiful than the hungry and ill-clad citizens whom they are meant to serve. While models may have their own uses in the entertainment world, can nations give the reins of their leadership to the Kardashians ?

Of course, by becoming a model, one may be shot not only into stardom but also into wealth.  This is the credit side of such a life .The debit side includes living a life that you genuinely do not wish for. You are not living your life; you are living to please others . The trajectory of your existence at every given point in time is determined by the approval or otherwise  of  others . This is why people in the entertainment industry spend fortunes to acquire the appearances that their fans want . And eventually having spent their fortunes to please their fans, they end up dying in penury.

This is the fate that befell  Michael Jackson who did many facial surgeries in order to be acceptable to his fans . And this has also been the lot of soccer stars. Yet, to be genuinely happy in life, you do not need another person to tell you  that you are beautiful or ugly. After all, the Creator has not offered you any apologies for the way He has made you. So why are you apologising for your looks and  seeking others’ approval?  It is people who believe that their existence is dependent on the approval of others who feel  miserable when that approval is no more there. In extreme cases, these people end up taking their own lives.

It is good that Olajumoke has escaped from hardship. But for the millions of other Nigerians and others in different parts of the world, they must take cognisance of the fact that they can triumph over hardship. Indeed, most of the memorable achievements of humanity  have been forged in the furnace of hardship. Think of the great works of literature that were produced by Charles Dickens in the midst of hardship. Consider the hardship in which Karl Marx , Friedrich Nietzsche and Thomas Paine wrote . Yet, their works were so great that they shook the existing ideas of  their generations to their foundations. Even Adolf Hitler produced in prison  his Mein Kampf in which he articulated his political ideas  just as John Bunyan wrote The Pilgrims Progress in prison.

We cannot be enamoured of instant wealth and fame and at the same time sincerely complain about the falling standard of education. If by releasing a single album or making one endorsement , one can make millions why should one strain oneself to read a book? After all, no matter how many books you read, you are not sure of employment. Still, we must emulate nations that have become great through a clear template of planning and purpose. When nations which are built on such values abandon this template, and take the route of instant gratification , they end  up wretched . This is the fate that has befallen  Nigeria. Think of the discipline, the sense of purpose of  the  founding fathers  of modern Nigeria- Herbert Macaulay, Alvan Ikoku,  Nnamdi Azikiwe, Obafemi Awolowo,  Ahmadu Bello, Tafawa Balewa, among others – and the point becomes clear. Also consider the founding fathers of the United States – George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison , Alexander Hamilton, James Monroe, Benjamin Franklin, among others. Were these people  entertainers?  No, these were people who spent hours exploring the  answers to the problems of their societies. If our nation must develop, and if we must grow in our individual lives, it is the path of rigorous hewing to the plans we have made that would take us there.  We must not rely on accidental interventions of mercurial fate to make our fortunes.