There’s this saying that overly righteous, God-fearing Nigerian parents used to drum into the heads of my generation back when we were kids growing up
“A good name is better than silver or gold”
Honestly, I have to say… there’s something about it that
suspiciously felt like moralistic bullshit to me. It almost always felt like you
HAD to choose between one of the options i.e a “good name” OR “silver and gold”.
Somehow, it also always seemed to come from the poverty angle and to me, it sometimes
felt like it was coined to try and justify the fact that poverty was nobody’s
choice and there was something noble about the insane suffering you encounter when
you are poor. (Truthfully, it might just be that they were urging us not to
engage in any financially enriching activity that would put the family name
into disrepute)
Bruh, there’s absolutely nothing noble about poverty o…
especially when the suffering comes about from decades of deliberate
mismanagement and plain evil greed of leaders who would rather die than see their
fellow countrymen and country progress. There’s also nothing noble about
poverty when the people spouting this saying have not done anything positive to
try and improve their own lives by working hard and doing their own individual
best to better themselves and again, I have to stress that poverty absolutely
does not justify any form of criminal behavior in the cause of trying to get
out of it. (Fraudsters, yahoo, 419ers, criminals, Nigerian leaders so far… na
thunder go fire una generation)
But, why can’t I have both?? A good name AND silver
or gold or Bitcoin or forex (lots of it) or …anyway, you get the gist.
Anyway, this post is not about poverty or suffering.
The aforementioned saying popped into my head once or twice
over the last couple of weeks and on reflection, I recall Nze (God rest his
soul) occasionally saying something similar. In truth, we have all seen and
have been beneficiaries of the goodwill generated just by being associated with
the Ibemere name and this can be solely attributed to the fact the Nze Cosmas a.k.a
Cossy Gee was a very good man during his time here with us. In fact, the best of
men.
Anyway, it turned out that my cousin Confidence just
finished her service year and needed to get a job asap. Now, I have a very soft
spot for all our extended family (at least the ones I know) but the Akalonu
kids have a very special place in my heart. Their family has been so generous,
kind and loving to everyone and to me especially. I practically lived with them
for large parts of my life back in my youth (honestly, one of the best periods
of my life) and Its been very satisfactory watching them all grow up to become
well-rounded amazing individuals who have the same set of positive values we
were all raised with.
So, I placed calls back to my folks at Nairabet and that’s when
I realized that having a “good name” really has value as an asset. There was no
hesitation about assenting to my request and as a matter of fact, they even bent
backward to make sure Confy got the spot all because it came from their dear
Mr. Okey.
Wow.
The best part of it is that Confy is a fantastic asset in
her own right and would make a brilliant addition to the team. So, a win-win
all around.
Now, I’m not going to start the false humility bit because I
know I really put in the work back then and helped so many people during my
time there but it was still a very pleasant realization to know that I have massive
goodwill from so many people, further evidenced by all the positive comments
which Confy mentioned have been coming to her because they found out she’s related.
Well done Okey! You did something good back there. (*plucks
flower and hands myself)
Anyway, folks, the moral of the story is to help others as
often as you can and ensure you make a positive impact on everyone you work or
interact with by leaving them much better off for having known you.
Also, I think I’ll put my own spin on that saying….
“A good name is
better when accompanied by silver and gold”.
Yes, thank you.
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