“YOUR LUCK IS IN YOUR LEG”

This is what my mum will always tell me whenever I complain about how fucked the Nigerian system is. Crazy statement right..?, trust me I have always thought it was ridiculous and overly dramatic ( or maybe it’s the way my very African mum says it, that made it seem dramatic).
After my National Youth Corp Service, just a week after I passed out it hit me that I have become a statistic of unemployed youths and it broke me (yeah post service blues is real). I was depressed I guess, always sad and angry mostly because of the house girl duties I assumed and the thought of no longer earning money ( being broke messes with you in ways you can’t imagine, I am sure you can relate).

My mum noticed my mood and was concerned, she called me one day and asked what was wrong, I just started crying hysterically then I told her. All she said was “your luck is in your leg”, that was obviously not what I wanted to hear but it was probably what I needed to hear.
We all know that in Nigeria, having “long legs” is very important even to get a GOOD job. So there was no hope for me because I was obviously a dwarf, I submitted my C.V. to a number of establishments but was never called.

I finally got a job as a Co-operate relations executive ( just a decoy for marketer) so I got to visit new places, the job made me discover places in 3 months that I didn’t know in over 20 years of living in Abuja. I broke out of my tough shell, I developed the courage to walk up to strangers knowing there is a possibility of being embarrassed ( damn Nigerians are angry people).

Unfortunately the company I worked for was about crashing, I was about being jobless again. I told one of my client’s about my soon to be jobless status and he said “ I was going to tell you to come work for me. The day you came and talked about your products, I told my partner that you sounded too educated for your present job”.

Today I am the P.A. to a very successful businessman, I learn a lot from him everyday. Then I remembered my mom’s statement “ your luck is in your legs”.
Basically the statement, from what I understand is you have to create opportunities for yourself, your success lays with you. So me going out for marketing created my own opportunity. So write that proposal, start that business, if you have a problem talk to someone, you never know who is listening. Opportunities don’t come knocking on your door, you have to go find it so go out more. The statement isn’t overly dramatic after all.

Like I promised, my favorite sound this week is 6lack. He recently released and EP called “6 PC HOT”, it has 6 beautiful songs but my best has to be “outside”.

Yours truly coco