We hear the phrase, that young man or young lady is doing well, what does that mean? When someone is said to be doing well? In some 100 years from now, every one of us will be dead, this is not a threat, it is reality. Ultimately, we are left with the question of what matters afterward.
Madam Ugboaku has two sons, Chike and Chukwuma, they are both in their late 30s. Chike owns a shop at the motorcycle spare part market in Nnewi, he ships 40 feet truck of goods monthly, he is one of the big boys in Nkwo, and he is married with 2 children. He also owns a duplex at St. Peter Claver road, furnished with all the modern attributes there is.
His elder brother Chukwuma is a school teacher, while his brother chose to do business; he studied education at Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka. During his national service, he discovered his passion for mentoring teenagers to find appropriate career paths, he has done that for 10 years now and has impacted the lives of over 100 students in the community. Some of them are painters, lawyers, musicians, doctors, writers, and academicians at different levels. He is a happy and fulfilled man.
We see that Mrs. Ugboaku is not particularly proud of her firstborn son Chukwuma, but for Chike she always says- My son is doing well, when asked about her other son- she will hiss. Countless times she has told him to do “What his mates are doing” which includes stealing, rituals, internet fraud, anything.
Taking a critical look at both of them, Chike is comfortable, he funds his family, he has money to throw around at parties, while Chukwuma is a simple family man, creating wealth through empowering young minds, creating a better society, creating value.
Our society has to understand that there are values outside money, someone might have millions of naira to their name but if they do not create value asides throwing money around, they will die and be forgotten. There is no “richest man forever”. Regardless of how rich you are, there is someone coming to take your spot in a few years.
What do we leave on this earth when we die, what would we be remembered for, the lives we have impacted or the money we threw around at weddings, or the vacations we took our families to and fed fat. Impacting lives is always more valuable than accumulating wealth, more so, ill-gotten wealth.
Mothers, fathers, society at large has driven countless persons to unholy grounds to get wealthy because they are seen as failures if they do not. Once you find yourself comparing two persons and demeaning one because he has less money, you are an enabler.
As a parent, if you constantly compare your children to their mates, you are an enabler. As a person, if you disrespect someone on the grounds they have less money than you, you are an enabler. There are other values asides from money.
There is no society without education, no matter the amount of money people have, if they lack the basic civilization provided by an organized society, they are destined to fail. A shoe cobbler down the street is creating value, so is a military man, so is a school teacher, so is a kiosk owner. What value you create is just as important, if not more important than your bank account.
The worship of money in today’s society is appalling; fathers, mothers, noblemen, and women lose their honor on the altar of money. Yahoo boys shower their parents with money, they go to church and make donations, and nobody asks questions, everyone turns a blind eye. That is gross decadence.
When will mothers start to ask their sons where their money comes from? When will fathers reject wealth that is unexplainable, when will the society treat people with ill-gotten wealth differently? The worship of money has ostracized our conscience. Ask yourself, this man I am in awe of the way he made his money, if I am his victim, would I have this reverend towards him.
If I am a victim of his blood money, if any of my nephews had to be used as sacrifice, if my relative in the US was scammed off millons of Naira and he and his family committed suicide will I still be in awe of this hero of mine?
Money is made for man’s consumption, not the other way around, but ultimately, that’s what it seems. We have to teach the next generation, which are children that success is not measured by wealth, success is measured by impact and this has nothing to do with wealth.
Do not be a fan of people whose source of wealth is questionable; neither should you keep them close, openly, and privately criticize scammers, internet fraudsters, ritualists, or any related.
Inspired by Prof. Ben Aghazu
Post Disclaimer
The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the author and forum participants on this website do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of Anaedo Online or official policies of the Anaedo Online.
