Sunday, October 28, 2012

What They Won't Tell You: "Logical Truth"

I believe people lie everyday, that's if you considered 'half truth' as lie. If not lies, then it's simply deception. In law, it could be regarded as tampering/falsifying evidence. Yes, that's a better way to frame it- "People falsify evidence everyday"- especially so-called motivational speakers. They use words to convey intentions that YOU could drive yourself to success and in most cases use stories of others to inspire. Using people they attempt to make you believe were just like you, in the same position, but were able to overcome using principles or ideas they suggest. What I noticed was they do not tell you the whole story. I believe a complete sentence should have all the grammar requirement AND a 'logical truth', the later was what most people either forget or intentionally ignore.


I remember as a kid when I want report my peers to the teacher, I make statements like "He/She pushed to the floor". The logical truth in this context would be the reason I was pushed. I attempt to exonerate myself from every wrong. The same goes for the girl that complains her boyfriend cheats on her and the worker that claims his boss hates him. They complain/nag but will not let you know how it was their fault.


Back to our "Motivational Speakers". They stand on the stage and throw adjectives around and successful stories about prominent people in the society, carefully omitting the logical truth.


I attended a church programme where a guest speaker, Pastor Ituah Ighodalo, talked about success...following your dreams, those sort of things and decided to use a prominent woman as an example. A woman he claimed to have a personal relationship with. He mentioned she was an accountant, graduated from the University of Lagos and they worked with PricewaterCoopers. After a few years she left the company for an oil service firm to still work as an accountant. She wasn't with her job few years later and quit. She went home and fasted for 7 days while praying to God to direct her path. On the 8th day she slept and dreamt of walking into University of Lagos where she saw used pots and pans and a voice told her to wash them, which she did. She woke up and prayed to God may her direction not be to wash pots and pans, a whole University of Lagos graduate. The following day a similar dream occurred and she prayed against it. She entered her kitchen, opened a shelf to see an old cook book she had. She decided that was her calling...to venture into the food industry. Her father offered the room used by the gate man to start her small shop. She began to bake and supply to companies including UAC (owners of Mr. Biggs). Her business grew and expanded by opening a 'small shop' on Victoria Island. "That woman is Kehinde Kamson...and her business is Sweet Sensation" he said and the congregation got excited and clapped (except me of course).

The guy was a pastor and that's why I understand his emphasis on fasting in Kamson's story, BUT why did he make it appear following one's dream was enough while ignoring the logical truth. Let's be honest...
• Kehinde Kamson came from a wealth family with connection.

• Kehinde Kamson had no business with unemployment. She worked with a top account firm as well as an oil service firm while most people today will be lucky to have one.

• Kehinde Kamson was rich enough to quit and follow her dreams.

• Kehinde Kamson's dad offered the gate man's house to start her first shop, how many people could boast of having a gate man not to mention having a place for him.

• To supply confectionery to a company as big as UAC isn't because yours tasted better, that's some serious connection at play.

Pastor Ituah Ighodalo should have started with, "I know a woman from a wealthy family with connection..."


There are few prominent motivation speakers in Nigeria yet so many things they won't tell you. One talked about Aliko Dangote and his rise to become one of the richest men in the world. He focused on his hardwork and humility...how he had a business acumen at an early age. Good, I have no problem with that BUT he paid little regard to the truth Dangote was born into a wealthy family and at age 21 received a ₦500,000 business loan from a relative. That was in 1978 when the Naira had real value, the Naira even had more value that the US Dollar (₦1:$0.606). Today the Naira had obvious depreciated with ₦1 close to $160, yet, how many can people obtain a ₦500,000 business loan from a relative. This piece of information was the logical truth that would have made Aliko Dangote's story short of inspirational. It would have made the audience aware, if you want to make it like Dangote forget it, find your own way.

There are also people who find motivation in the success of people, totally ignorant of the fairytale story behind it. I know people who dropped out of school to become the next Mark Zukerberg or Bill Gates. All they know was they dropped out of school and made billions off computers. But... "Zuckerberg began using computers and writing software as a child in middle school. His father taught him Atari BASIC Programming in the 1990s, and later hired software developer David Newman to tutor him privately". How many of our software developers in Nigeria was tutored privately by a software developer & had parental support?

And Bill Gates, I read this hoax about Bill Gates in a restaurant with his son, he offer $2 tip while his son tipped $500. The waiter asked why and he responded, "I am the son of a wood cutter while my son had a billionaire father". But that's a lie
"His father was a prominent lawyer, and his mother served on the board of directors for First Interstate BancSystem and the United Way. Gates's maternal grandfather was J. W. Maxwell, a national bank president."
Bill Gates wasn't a stranger to wealth. When he was young computers were very expensive and he still had access to one to tune his skills.


Maybe it was laziness to find out more or we get satisfied after hearing what we want to or sounds positive to us. I've seen a 3rd class university graduate get a job reserved for second class upper and first class graduates. The person claimed it was God's grace or pure luck. What the person won't say during her testimony was she slept with the manager for the favour. She would deceive the congregation they could also make it if they prayed like her.
Or a woman that had her first issue after 10 years in her matrimonial home, she won't tell you had problem conceiving after multiple abortions in school and she got pregnant after cheating with her secondary school sweetheart.


I know we humans are hungry for something to believe in...to give us hope. And probably that's why religion play an important role BUT we should know there was a 'logical truth' to all that we see or inspires us that if we knew would guide us to a new direction...a better one.

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