Part of the things that my Dad equipped our big living room with in those days include; a Kenwood Amp, four medium speakers, a Turn-table, a Sony System, and a shelf of records. Every Saturday morning he would play Juju musicians like Ebeneezer Obey, King Sunny Ade, I.K. Dairo, and others I can no longer remember.
In those days, songs used to be instructive, proverbial, corrective and abusive. Today, one of those songs replayed in my mind, a song by I.K. Dairo, a legendary Juju musician who died in 1996 which he titled, “Ise Ori Ran Mi ni Mo n Se Eni ba jale lo bomo je” meaning; “The work I am doing is God-ordained, stealing is what degrade the Child”. I think I tried with that interpretation. The song was meant to create work consciousness and diligence in people
Here is what am trying to pull out of this; work, love your work and be very diligent at it. Be unapologetic and unashamed about your work. Why? Work is life. There is dignity in labour. It is demeaning to beg. It’s against divine ordination. A labouring hand is more dignifying than a begging hand. The nature of your work does not matter, so far you are not into fraud. Your work does not have to be white-collar job. Most Nigerians that have ‘Japa’ understand this. The one that is sending money from abroad is doing two jobs, the one fleecing him here is on social media all through the day.
The culture of soft life and parasitic living must be stopped. Using spirituality to cover laziness must be addressed. Desiring someone’s lifestyle, without the readiness to embrace the work ethics that produce such result is pure insanity. Whenever you see grass that is green on the other side, someone is watering it. You must learn to water your own grass. Focus on your own work and life. Invest energy and time in that small work and watch it grow. Work is the cure for lack and penury.
Our work ethics in this part of the world cannot translate to a great nation. We have a culture of convenience. The teacher who is paid to teach only teaches half of the curriculum. People want to be tipped to do what the are employed to do. If you are working for someone, do it as if you own it. Shift from employee’s mindset to owner’s mindset. Those who work with an owner’s mindset are the only set of people that can succeed when life give them their own.
Work hard, but more importantly, work smart. After you have prayed, go to work, the only thing God blesses, is the work of your hand. The destiny of every diligent person is stardom!
Seest thou a man diligent in his business? He shall stand before kings, he shall not stand before mean men. Proverbs 22:29.
Today, Be passionate and positive about what you do. Work with joy and excitement.
Remember, The destiny of every diligent person is stardom!
I am Pst Femi Ajayi