Dear Protege

Dear Protege …

My heart is heavy and I’d like to get a few things off my mind.

You might not like what I’m about to tell you, but you know me, I’m gonna keep it real.

I know it’s not easy. The economy seems to be going in one direction and people younger than you seem to be hammering; I know you look at mentors and role models like Alibaba, Leke Alder, Fela Durotoye and want their stuff, but hold on a second, don’t be in a hurry to drive their cars and earn their pay checks.

Can you pay the price of their success?

I know what you’re thinking, ‘it’s easy for you to say, Steve. I’ve heard your gist too’.

Dear Protege,

I know you've seen the successes of GenerationNOW like Bankole Williams, Jimi Tewe, John Obidi, Steph Obi, Paul Foh, Remi Owadokun and Maureen Iyasele, but can you pay their price?

Do you know that Bankole Williams left his well paying job at GTbank and took a 50% pay cut to pursue his dreams? Can you imagine how hard it was for him when he wasn’t able to buy stuff he was previously used to?

Try doing that for a year.

Ask Bankole Williams how many times his laptop went off when NEPA struck and he didn’t have 15k to buy a new battery.

Ask him how many times he wanted to go back to paid employment because he couldn’t pay his bills; he has paid his dues.

Now you see Bankole Williams rock Designer clothing and travel on holidays and you’re beefing him?

You've got it all wrong.

I could tell you about my friend, Paul Foh; he’s one crazy guy who inspires me daily.

Paul Foh keeps it real – a man from a humble background with an insatiable thirst for knowledge. I met Paul Foh seven years ago when he came to visit Fela Durotoye in Port Harcourt. He came with a huge ‘Ghana must go’ bag of books.

Five years ago, Paul Foh took a risk and hopped into his SUV and relocated his wife and two sons from PH to Lagos not because he wanted to 'hammer', but because he had value that would be better expressed in Lagos. They slept on the floor in a friend’s apartment for weeks.

Thank God for the good women in our lives who believe even if they don’t understand us.

Vision is personal to the visionary.

I know for a fact that Paul Foh reads at least two books a week and is up daily from 3am to 6pm learning and honing his craft. So when you see Paul Foh in Dubai or SA speaking or selling thousands of his books in one cheque, don’t knock his hustle.

I can’t even begin to talk about my bro, Jimi Tewe who was a Senior Manager in a bank in his early 30’s and left all; he already owned his house and decided that the call was too great. So he left the job and sold off the 5 Bedroom Duplex and moved into a small 2 bedroom apartment; his wife thought he was nuts.

But thank God for good wives, she supported him even though she didn’t understand him.

Dear Protege, there are more I could mention like Remi Dairo, Dr. Tylor, etc who have paid prices greater than you know; don’t be fooled, it’ ain't all glitz and glam.

In the words of Jude Abaga (MI) #mesefIbehumanbeing.

Dear Protege, don’t be in a hurry to ‘blow’ or ‘hammer’.

There is a price and it’s heavy!

While it seems there’s a cabal of tight knit friends Bankole Williams, Jimi Tewe, Iheanyi Ejiogu etc., don’t be fooled, we are bonded by sacrifice.

Admission into that ‘cabal’ is the price of sacrifice.

The rubber’s hit the road, the shit hit the fan, but we kept walking.

Are you ready to serve like Elisha or turn around to take my gold like Gehazi?

Don’t be fooled, I know which one you are.

#DearProtege, don't even dream of asking me for money. You do that and you automatically go to the back of the line where the groupies who have no access to me are! It is my prerogative to give money to you, if and when I want to. It is not a right to be demanded.

‘Mentoring’ is not by mouth, ‘serving’ is not by asking.

What value do you bring to the table?

Ask Maureen Iyasele who left a lucrative career as an Engineer in Mobil to answer the call to help graduates get jobs.

How much can graduates pay Maureen Iyasele compared to Mobil? Yet she's self funded the JobMag Centre; she inspires me!

Even I volunteered with Fela Durotoye for 5 months without pay coming from Iyana Ipaja to VGC.

I know you’ll tell me you have nothing to offer.

Yes you do.

Your mentors have PROBLEMS or DESIRES.

Can you solve them?

Put yourself in our shoes.

Everywhere we go, people ask to work with us or ‘serve’ us.

Why should I choose you? What’s your USP?

And if you don’t know what a USP is, see why I can’t mentor you? You don’t speak my language.

Your mentor speaks a language.

Leke Alder speaks branding, Fela Durotoye speaks nation building, Jimi Tewe speaks Career; if all you speak is skelewu or shoki, they can’t help you and neither can I.

Don’t say you wanna ‘serve’ and then ask me to pay your “TFare”.

Sacrifice will cost you something!

Dear Protege, to be honest, sometimes I’ve had it up to ‘here’ with you.

And I’m gonna tell you.

How you invade my privacy, look me up with TrueCaller, flash me and say “Sup” on WhatsApp, get my BBpin without permission and then have the gall to start a conversation by a "PING!" or even worse, give my number to your friends without asking my permission

You've gotta be kidding me!

Alibaba, Tonye Cole and Leke Alder are role models to me, while I may have access to them; I’ll never reach out without their permission. I never call them off the cuff, I'd send an SMS requesting their permission to call them.

It is the prerogative of the MENTOR to reach out to the protege and not the other way round.

Respect BOUNDARIES.

Having my CONTACT doesn't give you ACCESS.

I have contact with Alibaba, Leke Alder and many celebrities and people of influence; ACCESS is their right to give or deny.

Even when you have ACCESS, don’t take it for granted.

I’ve known Fela Durotoye for 13 years. He’s not ‘my guy’ even though we’re very close. I respect his authority over me.

Don’t come with a chip on your shoulder.

Don’t presume you know more than I do.

Respectfully suggest, don’t instruct me.

I probably shouldn’t ‘send’ you.

I’ve been told by some folk to let you make your mistakes, so you can crash and burn, but I can’t.

I know you see me as your competition.

I’ve got a red dot on my chest and your bullet with my name on it.

Dear Protege, so while you ‘serve’ me and plan to betray me, don’t forget that you reap WHAT you sow, not WHERE you sow!

So, all I’ve said, it’s been outta love. I’m not here to stifle you.

This job is harder than it looks!

I can’t tell you the number of jobs I lost because I didn’t give a bribe and I didn’t have food at home.

When your time comes, will you fail the test?

When the ladies are winking at you, HARD AS IT IS, will you be MAN ENOUGH to say NO, and be called a SLACKER ?

I’m not saying that I’m perfect, cause me sef I be human being o. ‘Cause’ when the blood flows ‘down’, your brain shuts up.

Stay accountable.

I have men I listen to and can keep me straight and narrow and won’t soothe my ego.

You need such friends; you need your THREE!

Even Jesus had Peter, James and John. I have Jimi Tewe and Iheanyi Ejiogu

Dear Protege, I haven’t always wanted to do the right thing. I haven’t always done the right things either, WHO HAS?

But I’m trying.

I’ve got ONE QUESTION for God when I meet Him in person.

Why does doing BAD feel so damn GOOD?

So before you judge me, look in the mirror.

Do you know how many times I got offered sums like N3M to do a N6M job that my company sent me to bid for that I turned down?

That means the CLIENT offered to PAY ME N3M to do it myself instead of paying my company 6M and my salary was 300k!

What would you do if you were me, knowing your company would NEVER KNOW?

Honestly, no B.S.

Dear Protege, I've poured my heart out.

So even though you know the throne has been promised to you, can you resist the urge to sit on the throne before your time?

Cause killing the KING is an act of treason. #Kingslayer (don't do a Jaime Lannister...)

Don’t take the throne. It must be GIVEN to you.

Serve your time faithfully.

And perhaps one day, you can be a better King than I ever could be.

 - Steve