1. Get your manuscript written in your area of expertise.
2. Publish your physical book without needing to pay publisher.
3. Use the book for zero-cost business marketing that boosts your name/brand recognition, and attracts MORE/better paying clients.
4. Earn passive income from its sales on and off the web.
5. Order copies at cost price from the US based publisher.
LEARN MORE BY…
1. Attending my FREE 1 Hour Talk
OR
2. Requesting FREE 9 Page PDF Report
Simply send SMS with your name and email address to +234-803-302-1263 or +229-66-122-136 or fill and submit the form at http://tayosolagbade.com/contact.htm
[Tagline: If it can help your farm business, you’ll find it in THE FARM CEO™ Newspaper ]
Preview:
This week, I feature an exciting new addition to the family of commercial livestock kept in Africa, that is really making big waves. Most people know what kinds of birds are called BROILERS. But not many know about KUROILERS…yet! Believe me, that’s no typo. The Kuroiler is a hybrid chicken breed developed in India by either:
a. crossing “coloured broiler males with Rhode Island Red females
b. crossing White Leghorn males with female Rhode Island Reds.
And it’s a wonderful producer of both meat and eggs while scavenging under free range conditions typical of subsistence backyard systems prevalent in rural Africa.
……
And I also feature a story about Rabbit’s urine being used to fertilize crops in Kenya…wonderful innovation by our African brethren!!!
******
Here are the headlines, reviews – and links – for this week’s featured news items:
[URL] Winged Victory: A New Chicken Brings Hope to Africa – Meet the “Kuroiler”! P.1
[FREE Magazine & Website] Poultry Focus Africa P.2
[URL] Rabbit Urine Fertilizes Crops, Bringing More Income to Kenyan Farmers! P.2
You Can – and Should! – Attract More Clients & Make More Money With Less Effort?!
In this article I describe a strategy you can use to achieve a "smart-marketing" HIGH, so that you hit the ground running on a regular basis.
The solution I propose will enable you BOOST your marketing reach and impact, at VERY low to zero cost, so that you attract more buyers/clients with less stress, have more fun, sleep better and LIVE longer!
Here’s what it entails
1: A custom Web Marketing System (comprising a Website, a Blog, an Official Facbook Business page, as well as an Automated Email Newsletter Manager – ALL branded with custom images for your company, and ALL linked to automatically publish your new marketing content when you send it out.
2. A physical book on a subject or topic relevant to your business, written by (or ghost-written for) you, and published using ZERO COST Print-On Demand publishing, for delivery to ANY buyers worldwide, or to you, the author at cost price
..
Information Products are weapons you can use – like I do (see my store here) to attract attention as well as sales from a global paying audience.
I’ve done that for myself for years.
I’m on a mission to help MORE CEOs setup a similar system for themselves, with my help.
Business owners who are published in their fields get readily accorded expert authority status as industry thought leaders.
When you’re known as the author of a book in your field, it makes potential clients, and even media houses looking for expert opinion inlined to seek you out ahead of others who do what you do.
It’s a natural human logic driven instinct to assume that the Financial Consultant with a published book on Business Finance, for instance, would have more value to offer than one who has no publication to his/her name.
The system I use, and which I recommend you adopt, makes it possible for ANY competent expert, in ANY field, to get a physical book – based on his/her expert knowledge and experience – written and published to international print quality standards.
But the best part is you can do it ALL without writing a single word!
YES…
You’ll simply talk, often in answer to questions I’ll ask…and I’ll do the rest.
In a few months, your book can be in your hands – printed/delivered to your doorstep in a box from the Print On Demand publishing company.
A book that…
a. speaks to the needs of your target clients/buyers
.
b. gives you credility as an authority/thought leader in your field.
c. sets you up for national – and even international – name/brand recognition.
That’s the kind of book you need.
An example is my popular Livestock Feed Formulation Handbook (click to see) which I’ve been selling to Farm CEOs within and outside Africa for over a decade now.
No matter how busy you are, or how far away we are from each other, I can help you.
I have tools and resources I use to get what I need to progress the required work, from clients, regardless of their schedules or location.
We all have our gifts. You know yours. I know mine.
One of my greatest strengths is that I’m adept at indepth LISTENING, and probing interview question-asking.
In addition, my conversational skills and ability to extract otherwise hidden insights from what you tell me, as well as superb research skills, enable me WOW my clients.
The result is that I end up with life long frienships – in addition to referrals and repeat business!
My versatility enables me effectively create appropriate content for each project, using material I obtain from interacting with each client.
Click the link below to read what a Legal Jurist Expert & CEO of a Multidisciplinary firm whose project I finished last year had to say, when ordered copies of his books were delivered to his office in Benin Republic’s Cotonou…
Don’t stop there, take a step further and call to book a FREE 15 minute Needs Analysis Session with me, in which I’ll ask you a few questions, and use your response to suggest – for your consideration – possible titles, themes or subjects you can write a book about, that can boost your client/customer attraction. No strings attached.
Notice my emphasis on helping you get a book written with a TANGIBLE purpose in mind i.e. INCOME earning?
In other words, if I work on a book project with you, it will be with the primary purpose of enabling you generate additional streams ofincome via direct and indirect channels outlined above.
If that sounds like something you want, click here to book a FREE 15 minute consultation session with me, in which I’ll ask you a few questions and use the responses you supply to craft possible titles for an income generating information product we can work on.
I’ll end by saying this:
I have a vision to get more CEOs in Africa to realize the importance of writing articles on their areas of expertise for use in zero cost business marketing via their websites and blogs.
It’s the smart way to go.
If the feedback I’m getting from clients I’m working with is anything to go by, then I’m not doing badly on that front.
The following verbatim excerpt (edited for clarity) from a current client provides useful insights, and a fitting ending to this piece;
Tayo,
I really commend you effort. I agree with you practice makes perfect.
For me, its been a while and not a hobby nor area of core competence though multi-skilled somehow…..lol!
Thanks for helping me sit down and do some writing. I appreciate.
Imagine having new buyers/clients regularly discovering (and reaching out to you), without your spending on adverts, fliers or paid business promotion channels in general?
I’ve done THAT for YEARS in selling my unique range of products/services to high profile buyers in and out of Africa.
See proofs (photos and screenshots) along with tips you can use, in the rest of this article.
[HINT: This newsletter issue features 2 TRUE, and very recent/interesting stories. But it’s a bit LONG. Don’t have time to read online? Request a FREE downloadable PDF version by sending email to me with “ROBOCOP” as the “title” via tayo at tksola dot com]
Date: Monday 2nd November 2015No: 217 Title: Attract More Buyers at ZERO COST Even While You Sleep [Hint: I Meet A Past Online Buyer in Lagos Face-to-Face; This is Like Having ROBOCOP On Steroids as Your 24/7 Business Marketing Manager]Author & Publisher: Tayo K. Solagbade [Tel: +234-803-302-1263 (in Nigeria) or +229-66-122-136 (in Benin Republic) ]Blog URL:http://www.tayosolagbade.com/sdnuggetsLast Week: Read articles published on my blog hereNewsletter Archive (E-mail version started 14th May 2012): Click here to viewIs this email not displaying correctly?View it in your browser.[Click to view Archives]
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NB: This newsletter is published every Monday. Point your browser to www.tayosolagbade.com/sdnuggets to read at least ONE new post added to my SD Nuggets blog on a different category from Tuesday till Saturday (sometimes even Sundays) in line with this publishing schedule**********
WHEN YOU BUY BURT DUBIN’S SPEAKER MENTORING PRODUCTS/SERVICES – LEARN MORE HERE!
1 of 2: PUBLIC SPEAKING –Attract More Buyers at ZERO COST Even While You Sleep [This is Like Having ROBOCOP On Steroids as Your 24/7 Business Marketing Manager]
Imagine having new buyers/clients regularly discovering (and reaching out to you), without your spending on adverts, fliers or paid business promotion channels in general?
I’ve done THAT for YEARS in selling my unique range of products/services to high profile buyers in and out of Africa.
See proofs (photos and screenshots) along with tips you can use, in the rest of this article.
[HINT: This newsletter issue features 2 TRUE, and very recent/interesting stories. But it’s a bit LONG. Don’t have time to read online? Request a FREE downloadable PDF version by sending email to me with “ROBOCOP” as the “title” via tayo at tksola dot com]
ONE EXAMPLE: Just yesterday (Sunday 1st Nov. 2015), I met for the first time with a Farm CEO – Mr. Tunde O.<surname removed for privacy>- who bought my Ration Formulator Software and Handbook bundle (for N20,500.0) about 4 months ago.
That happened at a Feed Mill in Oko Oba area of Agege, owned by Engr. Olopade (an elderly but very knowledgeable man) – who I’d also NEVER met before that day!
[NB: The photos of the 3 of us – shown below were taken, at my request (after the session ended) by Tunde’s “madam” who accompanied him in his car to the venue]
If you’re a regular reader, you’ll know I’ve been connecting with past buyers of my Feed Formulation Products so they can attend my on-demand FREE workshop
But it’s not been easy to put things together.
Many of those who’d indicated interest had chosen widely differing dates, making it virtually impossible to get the minimum of 5 persons required to justify doing a run of the group training/workshop.
So, I decided to offer them the opportunity to come down on an agreed date for a one-on-one session (still FREE) and/or to buy my Home Study Feed Formulation Video Tutorials DVD.
Most of those who’d indicated interest chose the DVD option. One is yet to get back to me.
But Tunde O.
made it clear he wanted the one-on-one option, as well as the DVDs.
So we agreed Saturday (31st October 2015) which he’d chosen.
However, when I called him on Friday (30th October 2015) he told he was at the time in Portharcourt, and would be taking the next flight back to Lagos, but that he had an unexpected change of plans, and so would not be able to make it for Saturday.
In case you wonder, we were trying so hard because he’d told me he would be going on an overseas trip (he’s a Geophysicist and runs the farm part-time with help from relatives and trusted hands), so this FREE window was the best shot we had – and we’d been planning this for close to a month!
Knowing that, I was not ready to let all our hard work go to waste…:-))
We talked a bit more, and eventually agreed to try and see if we could meet for a short version of the session on Friday by 1 p.m. Our projection that his 45 minute flight would end before then if it took off on schedule.
Unfortunately, by the time his flight arrived from PortHarcourt, where he’d gone for an event, it was already 3p.m – and we were not too keen on braving Lagos traffic to the Oko Oba end, where the feed mill to be used as venue is.
So I began making calls to CEOs of feed mills in the area to ask if they opened Sundays.
They all said NO.
I’d known that would be the likely answer…
But I’m always a never-say-never kind of person. So I began calling feed mill CEOs to ask if they would consider opening briefly & explained our peculiar need.
It took almost all day as I did other work, but last night at 10p.m, I finally reached one CEO (Engr. Olopade) who graciously accepted to personally open the feed mill for us at 4p.m the next day – Sunday, since the mill would naturally NOT be open for work, and the staff would not be around!
I recall telling Tunde – and Chuks – another past buyer that I’ve met once that I’d resolved to find a way to thank Engr. Olopade, for being so flexible minded and obviously humble/unassuming. His kind are truly rare in my experience.
It might interest you to know that I called up to 15 CEOs whose numbers I got from online directories, but NONE said YES to my outrageous proposal…
My never-say-die attitude kept me going despite all the blunt refusals I got from each person I spoke with.
THEN I got to Engr. Olopade…whose mobile number I also picked off an online directory of feed mill business CEOs in Oko Oba…and the story changed…!
It was about 10p.m when we spoke. I requested that he allow me use his Feed mill for a one-on-one training for Tunde, explaining the peculiar circumstances.
Note however that before I called him, we had NEVER heard of one another, talk less of speaking.
In other words were 3 total strangers agreeing to meet!
With the exception of Tunde, who had at least seen photos of me from visiting my website, I and Engr. Olopade had no idea what the person we were to meet looked like.
In fact a funny incident occurred when Tunde parked his car at the Abattoir bus stop outside the Police Station, to wait for me.
When I got there, I began trying to call his number to ask where he was parked.
But I kept getting a busy signal. So I had to redial repeatedly.
While doing that my eyes periodically caught an air conditioned blue Honda parked just beside me with a tall heavyset man at the wheel, and a female passenger next to him.
But each time I dismissed the idea of knocking on the window to ask if it was him, because I could not see him holding a phone to his ear. It was only when my call went through and I told him where I was standing that he looked round and our eyes met.
Then we knew! (Hint: Apparently he’d been using the hands-free feature during the previous call he’d been on!)
Long story short, 24 hours later, we were talking like old friends inside Engr. Olopade’s (he’d driven down in a 4-wheeler) feed mill – which turned out to be equipped with a VERY impressive modern milling system, complete with an extruder etc.
Before leaving, Tunde had taken Engr. Olopade’s business card, promising to get in touch (regarding milling his feeds there), while I stayed back to discuss several areas of potential collaboration with our host.
Believe it or not, we (Engr. Olopade and I) were together for well over an extra hour, sharing experiences and exploring possibilities!
See how the power of intuition and intelligent use of the web can combine to connect you with your target audience of buyers and potential partners??!!
Among other reasons, I share this story as an example of how not giving up/keeping an open mind/thinking outside the box can enable one make progress to achieve one’s purpose when it seems most unlikely.
****Ends****
This story also illustrates the importance of getting your business online via as many platforms as possible.
If Engr. Olopade had NOT put up his company’s details on the directory I would never have found him.
It enables me earn over 80% of my income via online channels, selling my unique range of 100% original products/services.
Now I’m going to be helping Engr. Olopade setup and promote a branded Facebook business marketing page – at NO CHARGE to him – as my way of saying THANK YOU to him, for his generosity.
Later on a Web Marketing System will follow 😉
If you’re an independent professional (e.g. expert-who-speaks or consultant etc) looking to reach potential buyers/clients at low to zero cost, an intelligent Web Marketing System(WMS) is what you need
It is what has enabled me attract clients/buyers from places like Tanzania, Uganda, Canada, Benin Republic, UK, USA, Philippines, and across Nigeria (from states like Lagos, Delta, Kano, Gombe, Zamfara, Abuja, Oyo, Ekiti, Plateau etc) for my services as a Custom Excel-VB Software developer (especially my Farm Business Software), Freelance writer, Web Marketing Specialist, and Expert-Who-Speaks.
They come to me, without my needing to pay for ANY advertising, or distributing flyers etc.
Unless something changed really suddenly – and BADLY, you’ll see that at least 2 of the 10 results Google presents to you on the first page are about me – with respect to the same software i.e. my Ration Formulator.
BELOW: See the screen shots from the Google results page I generated for “feed formulation software” today – Monday 2nd November 2015 – at 14:48 Lagos-Nigeria time:
What you see happens because of the Web Marketing System (WMS) I use.
But getting found is just one way a WMS helps.
A well implemented WMS goes further to make you pop up again and again, when varying search strings are used, related to YOUR offering! That process in which you show up repeatedly then makes the “searcher” believe you are likely to be the one with the most value-adding solution s/he needs.
EXAMPLE [TRUE STORY]: Last night I got an email from Yemi A.<surname removed for privacy> a Farm CEO who’d contacted me via my website about my Ration Formulator back in August 2014 (i.e. over a year ago).
I was in Cotonou (my base) at the time and we’d spoken on phone for quite a while. In the course of our discussions, we found we had something in common. Around 1991, he’d worked in Guinness Benin Brewery, with a senior colleague of mine – Sola Adeniran.
I however arrived as a Graduate Trainee Brewer in 1995, by which time he – the Farm CEO – had left the company. So we never met. But Sola was still around and we ended up working together on several occasions. So as we ended our phone conversation, I responded to his query about how I got into software development, despite lacking an IT background, by telling him to ask Sola.
In order to help him understand, I explained that I enjoyed rapid career success for 7 years in Guinness mainly due to the recognition I got for developing custom applications to replace manual reporting systems, using Spreadsheet programming.
So, when we spoke on phone this morning, the CEO told me he’d attended an event 6 months ago with Sola. I did not ask, but I sensed he must have asked Sola. But this guy was NOT fully satisfied.
After I’d answered all his technical questions about my software, and feed formulation (note that I was – as is my usual habit – the one calling him – the enquirer – at my expense), he asked me to tell him how my app compared with others in the market.
At this point I laughed, and gently teased him saying: Why don’t you just Google “feed formulation software” – I’m sure you’ll get answers readily to that question. You see, I don’t compete. I simply tell people what I offer and leave them to explore available alternatives to make up their minds.
He replied that he’d tried Googling but most of what kept coming up included links to me, which was why he’d come back to me via the last emails we’d exchanged since August 2014 i.e. over a year ago.
That, right THERE, was proof of the power of a Web Marketing System when used the right way on a consistent basis!!
I told him I could not help him any more than I had, and explained that others had found me the same way – including international organizations.
PS: Burt Dubin‘s Web Marketing System Has Brought Him Clients For His Speaker-Mentoring from Multiple Continents for OVER 3 Decades!
Burt Dubin is mentor to some of the world’s highest paid speakers. And those who have learned from him, as well as those who continue to learn from him (including yours truly) found his via his own equivalent of what I call a WMS.
He evolved and refined it over MANY years to the point that it began generating VERY comfortable passive income streams for him. It was by studying systems like Burt’s that I developed what I call a WMS today.
If a veteran like Burt can use a WMS, it goes without saying that you should as well!
experts-who-speak. Starting – Monday 13th April 2015 – it MORPHED in name and content served, to a 2 part Speaking/Web Marketing IDEAS newsletter, to better serve them. You just read the “Public Speaking IDEAS” part above. What follows below is the “Web Marketing IDEAS” part.
*******
Burt Dubin works with people who want to be speakers, and with speakers who want to be masters. Click here to visit his website NOW and submit a contact form message telling him what challenges you’re facing, and how
you’d like him to help you. Tell him I sent you, and you’ll get a pleasant surprise offer from him.
“If you want to achieve sustainable success in business (especially in a volatile market place like Nigeria), it’s in your best interest to develop interest in
current affairs and politics, because those are the two key ingredients that really keep this country from having a stable sociopolitical climate. And for as long as that stable sociopolitical climate does not exist, every person running a business will probably have to sleep with one eye open.” – Tayo K. Solagbade
It’s FREE for all my Web Marketing/farm business clients, and ALL members of my Inner Circle as well as for ALL subscribers to THIS newsletter.
If you are not yet ANY of the above, just send me a message here to let me know. If you want me to send you the full MP3 recording, just say so in your message. NB: If you’re already a client or subscriber, email me via tayo at tksola dot com and let me know you want it Alternatively, click here to request the FREE MP3 DOWNLOAD.
******
SPECIAL OFFER TO READERS OF THIS SPEAKING/WEB MARKETING IDEAS NEWSLETTER
Did you know that as an expert in your field you can make more money by speaking professionally? Or do you already speak-for-money, but want to know
how to do it better AND/OR how to make more money even when you do not speak?
If you said YES to any of the above, THIS offer is for you.
Burt Dubin can teach you to do ALL the above and more. You can learn from him via direct mentoring (regardless of distance) or using the many home study
HERE’S AN ADDED BONUS YOU GET FROM ME, IF YOU BUY FROM BURT…
If you purchase $1,500 USD or more of Burt’s Speaker Mentoring Products/Service, and choose to promote your speaking business online, I WILL develop and implement for YOU, a Web Marketing System at 50% of my standard fee, and manage it for 3 months – at NO COST to you – as per my Promotional Retainership Offer (See http://tayosolagbade.com/uploads/wms-offer-retainership.pdf).
Burt helps those he mentors (experts-who-speak) to Position, Package, Promote, and Present* themselves successfully to clients (*He calls
them the 4Ps). That’s why it’s no surprise that on Burt’s website, considerable space capital is devoted to useful business marketing articles as well as products.
It might also interest you to know that MANY years back, Burt established himself as one of the best marketing minds in the world. To really put this FACT in
proper perspective, I’ll provide more specific details in form of an example.
A few years ago, Burt contributed an article to a powerful publication titled “The Most Effective Articles Ever – By The World’s Top Marketers“. That 574 page ebook features timeless marketing advice from 71 of the world’s top marketers – including Jack
Trout, Joe Vitale, Yanik Silver…and Burt Dubin.
That’s ample proof that (in addition to Public Speaking), Burt would be a great resource to learn business marketing from!
Full Disclosure: I represent Burt as Sole Agent for his products/services, which means if YOU buy from him, I get paid.
But that’s NOT the main reason I represent and recommend him. I have benefited in many ways by learning from Burt. Through his writing, his audio recordings,
and from directly relating with him.
Before we teamed up in 2011, I’d been studying his work and adapting it to succeed in my work from way back in 2002. It does not matter what part of the world
you’re in. If you know how to adapt them to suit your peculiar local needs, Burt’s ideas and strategies WILL work for you. I am living proof of it!
That’s why I never tire of CONFIDENTLY recommending him to others.
If you need help putting the ideas shared above to use, let me know HERE.
A live example, including a complete audio recording of a program Burt created from scratch–on a topic he knew nothing about and never, ever presented before!
See how you, guided by your personal Learning Guide, (Presentation Magic), can do this too and thrill audiences as often as you want.
Presentation Magic Manual with new pages added plus 3 audio CDs.
“(Tayo Solagbade) is amazing and I think he is going to produce some impressive results online…” – click here to read full comment by Patrick Meninga (US based 6 figure income blogger who gained fame for building a $2,000 per month adsense website and selling it for $200,000).
—————————–
“Tayo, I honestly believe you are one of those who will succeed at anything he does. Your commitment and effort has been outstanding….Thanks for all your hard
work since I’ve been here – you will be sorely missed. I don’t need to wish you good luck, you have the ability to make your own luck. – Andy”(R. Jones)* *Operations Manager, Guinness Nigeria Plc Benin Brewery, December 2001 (Handwritten comments in farewell/xmas cards sent to Tayo Solagbade following his resignation to start his own business).
Specialist and Multipreneur (i.e. a highly versatile/multi-skilled entrepreneur), with a bias for delivering Best Practice solutions to Farm Businesses and others.
various groups and organizations, including the Centre for Management Development, University of Lagos, Christ Baptist Church, Volunteer Corps, Tantalisers Fast Foods and others. In May 2012 he was the Guest Speaker at the Centre for Entrepreneurship Development’s Annual Semester Entrepreneurial Lecture at Yaba College of Technology in Lagos.
and workshops on his key areas of focus and interest to interested audiences (Email tayo at tksola dot com for details).
In a previous life, before leaving to become self-employed, Tayo served for seven years as a high performing manager in Guinness Nigeria. He rose from Shift Brewer, to Training
& Technical Development Manager, and then later acted in senior management roles as Production Manager and Technical Manager.
He is an Associate Member of the UK Institute & Guild of Brewing, a 1997 National Finalist of the Nigerian Institute of Management’s(NIM) Young Managers’
competition, a Certified Psychometric Test Administrator for Psytech UK, innovator of Spontaneous Coaching for Self-Development™ (SCfS-D™), and Founder of the Self-Development Academy Limited.
Visit Tayo Solagbade Dot Com, to download over over 10 performance improvement resources to boost your
personal and work related productivity.
==== [IMPORTANT NOTE:====
On 4th May 2014, Tayo’s 9 year old domain (Spontaneousdevelopment dot com), which hosted his website, was taken over by Aplus.net.
Within a few days however, Tayo used his advanced self-taught web development skills to build a SUPERIOR “reincarnation” of it the website http://www.tayosolagbade.com.
But updates are still ongoing to URLs bearing the old domain name in most of the over 1,000 web pages, and blog posts
he’s published.
If you experience any difficulties finding a page or document, email Tayo at tksola dot com.
The following 2 quotes set the tone for this piece…
1.
“Specialization is for Insects A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.” – Robert A. Heinlein
2. “Everyone always tells you to focus and choose a niche, but some of the most successful people “refuse to choose.” Steve Martin has always been a great example of someone pursuing more than one career focus. Among other roles, he’s been an actor, a comedian, a novelist, and a professional banjo player, often at the same time.” – “Chris Guillebeau, in his September 28, 2015 Facebook post featuring a link to a September 2015 New York Times article titled “Steve Martin Adds ‘Curator’ to His Wild and Crazy Résumé”
Chris Guillebeau is one of my role models in Location Independent Entrepreneuring. I’ve found he also has a bias for doing more than one thing at a time – which has been a way of life for me for over 2.5 decades(in both paid as well as self-employment, as I’ve explained in past articles linked below)
And through him, I learnt the great Steve Martin achieved globally recognized successes by doing the opposite of what majority believe and advocate to us right from our you: by being a “Jack of Many (not ALL) Trades”…or Multipreneur!
I’ve been criticized for my multipreneuring habit, yet my life’s achievements are proof that it works, for those who know how!
Indeed, I can tell you without any shadow of a doubt that had it not been for my ability as a multipreneur, I would NOT be succeeding as well as I am doing today.
That’s why I’m sharing the links offered in this post with you all. For those willing to look beyond the bias, and learn a new way, there is wisdom to be had from adopting this unusual lifestyle.
Below are links to 2 articles I’ve written to help those willing to listen understand why being a “Jack of Many (not ALL) Trades”…or Multipreneur… can be a viable way of life for those gifted with the aptitude for it.
“I always feel like all these things are linked…You might say it’s extreme to curate an art show and then do an hour banjo show, but it’s not that far off-center to me. And you apply the same principles to both — the first being, you do the best you can.” – Steve Martin in New York Times article titled “Steve Martin Adds ‘Curator’ to His Wild and Crazy Résumé”
Below are screenshots of the Rabbits Fact Sheets. The others have similar sections viz:
Here’s a brief preview….
PART 1 OF 4 – DIGESTIVE SYSTEM
When rabbits eat feed, it quickly reaches the acidic medium of the stomach and stays there for 3 to 6 hours, with little chemical change. Over time, the stomach’s contents are pushed down into the small intestine via stomach contractions, where they are diluted by bile, and pancreas juice.
By this time, food components more easily digested so they pass through the intestinal wall by the blood into cells. Undigested remains stay 1 to 1.5 hours in small intestine then enter the caecum, where they remain for 2 to 12 hours exposed to bacterial enzymes.
Up till this point, the rabbit’s digestive tract works more or less like that for monogastric animals (e.g man). But the difference is that the Rabbit’s proximal colon has dual function – depending on the time of day the contents of the caecum enter the colon:
PART 2 OF 4 – NUTRIENT REQUIREMENTS
PART 3 OF 4 – FEED INGREDIENTS (Trad/Non-Traditional)
[Tagline: If it can help your farm business, you’ll find it in THE FARM CEO™ Newspaper ]
Preview:
This week, I feature a generic message I’ve been sending out to representatives of organizations I’ve communicated with in the past. It’s about a new initiative I’ve decided to launch to be able to help more people with my Cost-Saving Farm Business Solutions.
As a Farm CEO yourself, you most likely belong to, and/or are familiar with farmer groups/bodies in your locality, including key members or decision makers.
That’s why I’m including this notice here.
Please take a look at the video intro linked below, and…
A. Let me know if your organization might like to join in as a partner.
B. Help spread the word if you think it would be worthwhile to do so.
==INVITATION TO PARTNER WITH MY PROPOSED NOT-FOR-PROFIT FARM BUSINESS SUPPORT CENTRE (FBSC)===
Dear <name>,
Hope your work goes well.
I’m sending you this to inform you/your organization about:
1. A video introduction available for viewing on my website:
Click the link below to watch a 20 minute video presentation I’m sending to Farmer Groups/Associations, Farm Support Organizations, Research Outfits, and Others.
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Here are the headlines, reviews – and links – for this week’s featured news items:
[VIDEO] INVITATION: Partner With My Proposed Not-For-Profit FARM BIZ SUPPORT CENTRE to Help Farmers! P.1
[PDF] Real Life Broiler Starter, Turkey Starter, and Caged Layer Peak Egg Production Feeds P.2
[FACTSHEET] Comparative Feed Values for Swine P.2
[URL] Understanding Fish Nutrition, Feeds & Feeding P.3
[URL] Formulating farm-specific swine diets P.3
Below: Screenshot of the cover for Issue No. 21 of THE FARM CEO (Monday 26th October 2015)
Subscribe to THE FARM CEO, and get this new issue, as well as ALL back issues, in addition to your full subscription of 48 weekly issues.
1) Useful feed formulation/other findings from trusted sources
2) Cost-saving ideas from farm visits as I travel across West Africa.
3) Ads by farm providers/suppliers of all genres.
4). Special promo price offers of my Software and Book products
“After a certain high level of technical skill is achieved, science and art tend to coalesce in aesthetics, plasticity and form. The greatest scientists are always artists as well.” – Albert Einstein
Despite agreeing with virtually everything else he said in his THIS DAY newspaper article on the recent NBL sponsored Maltina Teacher of the year competition, I TOTALLY disagree with the sentiment expressed in that piece (see quote below) by Olusegun Adeniyi, that suggests he considers science subjects more important than those in the arts, humanities etc.
Nothing could be further from the truth, as I explain in this PDF white paper…AND as the above quote credited to Albert Einstein himself indicates.
This report is meant for parents looking for guidance to help their kids get the kind of education that will equip them to arrive adulthood with the ability to function as happy, competent income earners, doing what they love doing in life.
Quick Take-Away: This week, I use the true story [see video below] of a “graduate Teacher Who Could Not Read Her Own Certificate”, to illustrate why – apart from your speaking skills – you also need proficiency in reading/writing to demonstrate competence as an expert-who-speaks.
Hint: Teachers are also ” experts-who-speak” (though most people don’t think of them that way). and that’s what makes THIS teacher’s story relevant to this issue of my Speaking IDEAS newsletter.
NB: This newsletter is published every Monday. Point your browser to www.tayosolagbade.com/sdnuggets to read at least ONE new post added to my SD Nuggets blog on a different category from Tuesday till Saturday (sometimes even Sundays)
WHEN YOU BUY BURT DUBIN’S SPEAKER MENTORING PRODUCTS/SERVICES – LEARN MORE HERE!
1 of 2: PUBLIC SPEAKING –To Excel, Be As Proficient In Reading & Writing, As You Are In Speaking [True Story]
Quick Take-Away: This week, I use the true story [see video below] of a “graduate Teacher Who Could Not Read Her Own Certificate”, to illustrate why – apart from your speaking skills – you also need proficiency in reading/writing to demonstrate competence as an expert-who-speaks.
Hint: Teachers are also ” experts-who-speak” (though most people don’t think of them that way). and that’s what makes THIS teacher’s story relevant to this issue of my Speaking IDEAS newsletter.
[Video] Graduate Teacher Who Could Not Read Her Own Certificate, Nabbed by Gov. Adams Oshiomole At a Screening Session to Unmask Teachers With Forged Credentials.
The 1st time I watched this video of Gov. Oshiomole and the teacher who could not read her own certificate at a screening event monitored by the former, I truly was NOT surprised.
Why?
Because for years in the course of coaching staff of some client companies to use software and websites I built, I’d noticed a shocking deficiency in reading, comprehension and writing skills in many of the individuals assigned to understudy me.
And this despite the fact that they readily brandished “certificates” as proof that they’d successfully completed programs in various disciplines.
I believe the reason we don’t often “see” these quacks till they get exposed as happened in Edo state is that we, Nigerians, often refuse to employ critical thinking.
Take that teacher’s case for instance. Everyone seems so focused on her. We seem to have all missed the fact that she could not have perpetrated this fraud alone!
For instance, some person must have interviewed and recruited her, before giving her a PAID teaching position. Who was that person, and what criteria did s/he use?
I argue that the recruiter(s) most likely was(were) an insider(s) who helped her get in.
There’s more…
According to reports, she’d been teaching for 20 WHOLE years!
That means she must have had colleagues, and bosses, to whom she reported to during that LONG period of time (??)
Are we to believe none of them noticed this serious deficiency she had in all that time?
Here’s what I think:
They knew…
But it’s likely many were no different from her. Each one had something(s) to hide.
Either that or she found a way to “bribe” them in cash or kind to keep quiet about it.
But what about the parents of the kids she must have taught?
One would imagine that one or two parents would have noticed inadequacies e.g. from checking through assignments given to the kids/talking to the kids, and even interacting with the teacher.
Yet, if we’re to believe what the reports say, in all of 20 years no parent ever complained!
Is that even possible?
I don’t know about you, but I’m tempted to believe it is…and here’s why…
Olusegun Adeniyi’s THIS DAY newspaper piece offers useful but shocking insights gained from his participation in the Nigerian Breweries Limited sponsored Competition to Choose the Best Teacher in Nigeria.
He mentioned how he, along with Prof. Pat Utomi, and other judges had to read through forms filled by contestants, which contents reflected poor reading, comprehension and writing skills on the part of many of the teachers.
Not just that, he said they learnt from interviewing the teachers that some schools were “miracle centres” where students routinely passed WAEC exams even when they knew nothing.
Using the above teacher’s story, you should be able to deduce how that is possible.
Simply put, teachers like the one Oshiomole found incapable of reading, would be the ones teaming up, often with similarly-minded parents (who probably also bought their own certificates), to cheat in the exams!
Yesterday, my 16 year old son and I visited a gentleman whose 6 month manual typewriting course he (my son) had attended at weekends back in 2011.
It turned out he’d suffered a broken ankle 3 months ago, courtesy of a hit-and-run Okada who ran into him from behind as he was walking along the street. As a result, he had been hobbling around on crutches.
We talked about that accident, and the decayed values that made the culprit fail to stop, after causing such injury to another.
Then our friend began to regale us with shocking anecdotes to illustrate just how bad things are – based on what he sees in attending to people who come to enroll for his training or to pay for typing services.
2 examples he gave held my interest:
a. A young lady who brought a computer forged copy of a well known university’s degree certificate and asked him to help her type in her name, so she could make copies to submit to a recruiting company.
He declined and tried to dissuade her. She told him off and went elsewhere to get it done. A mutual friend later told him that she got the job, as she had insiders who helped her beat the screening despite her forged papers.
b. In another incident, something similar to the above happened, but this time it was a forged NYSC certificate the individual wanted to have a name typed on!
According to our friend, his is just one of many examples that occur regularly.
No wonder we keep seeing school leavers and graduates who can’t defend their qualifications.
But here’s why/how this situation affects most of us NOT involved in these acts…without our knowing it…!
You see when such people with forged papers get into decision making positions, they will naturally feel threatened by competent others (e.g. YOU, or your kids), and block their entry into the organization.
Instead they will seek to recruit those who are like them, who will NOT come in and then turn around and call them out for being “incompetent”.
We see this already in public (and some private) sector organizations where appointment of misfits into positions, and mediocrity in work processes seems to be the order of the day.
Today, these kinds of people are often in the majority, while those not like them are the minority, and therefore an endangered species!
That’s why I argue that for every one of these crooked people that gets caught, there will often be several others hoping not to get noticed.
The following Yoruba proverb illustrates the point I’m making here.
“Eni ti won ba mu ni Ole” – Yoruba proverb
Translation: It is only the person who gets caught that is called a thief.
And I mean even right NOW, today, as I type these words!
Olusegun Adeniyi’s article based on observations from an event completed less than a month ago, confirms it. The video of the teacher who could not read went out last year – so, in all that time, not much has changed…!
If we let this continue, there may come a day when they’ll outnumber us nationally, and vote one of them as PRESIDENT. Then we’ll have to watch him/her struggle to read his/her speeches at public functions (locally and overseas) – just like that Edo state teacher did!
As an expert-who-speaks, YOU CAN use the Edo state teacher’s story to challenge yourself to improve
Apart from your speaking skills as an expert, your reading comprehension/writing skills also play a crucial role in your ability to demonstrate competence.
It’s possible the Edo state teacher was/is well spoken. If so, THAT could explain why outsiders (e.g. parents) who met her did not find her out.
They could have assumed that since she spoke well, she could also read as well.This is the same thinking those YOU relate with as an expert-who-speaks may adopt!
Question: Do you know YOUR reading speed?
If YES, what is it?
Tony Buzan in his book on Speed Reading estimates that most adults who pass through formal schooling read at about 200 to 300 words per minute on the average.
He however points out that THAT is not enough: For productive reading, at least twice that speed is needed.
Thankfully, you can google “Learn Speed Reading” to learn techniques you need (like I did to become able to read over 400wpm).
Here’s why your reading speed matters…
As an expert who is also a knowledge provider, your rate of learning affects your output.
If you’re a slow reader, that means it will take you longer to get through written material you need to read, in doing your research or reviewing client materials.
You may have to plough through large volumes of written material, in paper form, or on your PC screen.
Slow reading speed could cause you to delay others who need your feedback to progress their own jobs.
In relating with a client representative, that could put you in an embarrassing situation where the affected individual is forced to complain to his/her boss that you’re holding him/her back!
Apart from reading, your “writing”/”TYPING” skill/speed also comes into play.
What is your typing speed? Do you know?
Estimates have it that the average adult types about 40 words per minute.
I’d say aim to do at least 50 wpm and every now and then, push yourself to increase by 10 wpm till you can do up to 80 wpm or more, which I exceed when in flow (Typing Tutor software can help you with this).
If you’re slow in writing/typing it can limit your ability to function at a higher level of productivity e.g. when a client requests for a written “proposal” or some other document that you have to put together.
Unless you have no deadline to deliver to, or your workload is so low there’s enough time to take it slow, being slow in writing/tying can do you in!
Final Words: To attract, win and serve more – and higher profile – clients, demonstrating proficiency in your reading/writing skills (in addition to your speaking skills), will be key…
Depending on the market you serve, and the emphasis placed on competent use of the language, higher profile clients (e.g. decision makers in corporate organizations) will expect you to possess a decent mastery (spoken and written) of the language of communication.
Apart from speed, writing proficiently (using correct grammer, spelling and tenses) also matters.
So, anything you send to a client will be read with that expectation in mind. Meeting it can dramatically boost his/her rating of you, leading to repeat business, referrals etc.
It goes without saying that no one is infallible or perfect, so one may miss the mark once in a while.
However, those should be few and far between in occurrence – if at all.
experts-who-speak. Starting – Monday 13th April 2015 – it MORPHED in name and content served, to a 2 part Speaking/Web Marketing IDEAS newsletter, to better serve them.
You just read the “Public Speaking IDEAS” part above. What follows below is the “Web Marketing IDEAS” part.
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Burt Dubin works with people who want to be speakers, and with speakers who want to be masters. Click here to visit his website NOW and submit a contact form message telling him what challenges you’re facing, and how
you’d like him to help you. Tell him I sent you, and you’ll get a pleasant surprise offer from him.
“If you want to achieve sustainable success in business (especially in a volatile market place like Nigeria), it’s in your best interest to develop interest in
current affairs and politics, because those are the two key ingredients that really keep this country from having a stable sociopolitical climate.
And for as long as that stable sociopolitical climate does not exist, every person running a business will probably have to sleep with one eye open.” – Tayo K.
Solagbade
It’s FREE for all my Web Marketing/farm business clients, and ALL members of my Inner Circle as well as for ALL subscribers to THIS newsletter.
SPECIAL OFFER TO READERS OF THIS SPEAKING/WEB MARKETING IDEAS NEWSLETTER
Did you know that as an expert in your field you can make more money by speaking professionally? Or do you already speak-for-money, but want to know
how to do it better AND/OR how to make more money even when you do not speak?
If you said YES to any of the above, THIS offer is for you.
Burt Dubin can teach you to do ALL the above and more. You can learn from him via direct mentoring (regardless of distance) or using the many home study
HERE’S AN ADDED BONUS YOU GET FROM ME, IF YOU BUY FROM BURT…
If you purchase $1,500 USD or more of Burt’s Speaker Mentoring Products/Service, and choose to promote your speaking business online, I WILL develop and implement for YOU, a Web Marketing System at 50% of my standard fee, and manage it for 3 months – at NO COST to you – as per my Promotional Retainership Offer (See http://tayosolagbade.com/uploads/wms-offer-retainership.pdf).
Burt helps those he mentors (experts-who-speak) to Position, Package, Promote, and Present* themselves successfully to clients (*He calls
them the 4Ps). That’s why it’s no surprise that on Burt’s website, considerable space capital is devoted to useful business marketing articles as well as products.
It might also interest you to know that MANY years back, Burt established himself as one of the best marketing minds in the world. To really put this FACT in
proper perspective, I’ll provide more specific details in form of an example.
A few years ago, Burt contributed an article to a powerful publication titled “The Most Effective Articles Ever – By The World’s Top Marketers“. That 574 page ebook features timeless marketing advice from 71 of the world’s top marketers – including Jack
Trout, Joe Vitale, Yanik Silver…and Burt Dubin.
That’s ample proof that (in addition to Public Speaking), Burt would be a great resource to learn business marketing from!
Full Disclosure: I represent Burt as Sole Agent for his products/services, which means if YOU buy from him, I get paid.
But that’s NOT the main reason I represent and recommend him. I have benefited in many ways by learning from Burt. Through his writing, his audio recordings,
and from directly relating with him.
Before we teamed up in 2011, I’d been studying his work and adapting it to succeed in my work from way back in 2002. It does not matter what part of the world
you’re in. If you know how to adapt them to suit your peculiar local needs, Burt’s ideas and strategies WILL work for you. I am living proof of it!
That’s why I never tire of CONFIDENTLY recommending him to others.
If you need help putting the ideas shared above to use, let me know HERE.
A live example, including a complete audio recording of a program Burt created from scratch–on a topic he knew nothing about and never, ever presented before!
See how you, guided by your personal Learning Guide, (Presentation Magic), can do this too and thrill audiences as often as you want.
Presentation Magic Manual with new pages added plus 3 audio CDs.
“(Tayo Solagbade) is amazing and I think he is going to produce some impressive results online…” – click here to read full comment by Patrick Meninga (US based 6 figure income blogger who gained fame for building a $2,000 per month adsense website and selling it for $200,000).
—————————–
“Tayo, I honestly believe you are one of those who will succeed at anything he does. Your commitment and effort has been outstanding….Thanks for all your hard
work since I’ve been here – you will be sorely missed. I don’t need to wish you good luck, you have the ability to make your own luck. – Andy”(R. Jones)*
*Operations Manager, Guinness Nigeria Plc Benin Brewery, December 2001 (Handwritten comments in farewell/xmas cards sent to Tayo Solagbade following his resignation to
various groups and organizations, including the Centre for Management Development, University of Lagos, Christ Baptist Church, Volunteer Corps, Tantalisers Fast Foods
and others.
In May 2012 he was the Guest Speaker at the Centre for Entrepreneurship Development’s Annual Semester Entrepreneurial Lecture at Yaba College of Technology in Lagos.
and workshops on his key areas of focus and interest to interested audiences (Email tayo at tksola dot com for details).
In a previous life, before leaving to become self-employed, Tayo served for seven years as a high performing manager in Guinness Nigeria. He rose from Shift Brewer, to Training
& Technical Development Manager, and then later acted in senior management roles as Production Manager and Technical Manager.
He is an Associate Member of the UK Institute & Guild of Brewing, a 1997 National Finalist of the Nigerian Institute of Management’s(NIM) Young Managers’
competition, a Certified Psychometric Test Administrator for Psytech UK, innovator of Spontaneous Coaching for Self-Development™ (SCfS-D™), and Founder of the Self-Development Academy Limited.
Visit Tayo Solagbade Dot Com, to download over over 10 performance improvement resources to boost your
personal and work related productivity.
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[IMPORTANT NOTE:====
On 4th May 2014, Tayo’s 9 year old domain (Spontaneousdevelopment dot com), which hosted his website, was taken over by Aplus.net.
Within a few days however, Tayo used his advanced self-taught web development skills to build a SUPERIOR “reincarnation” of it the website http://www.tayosolagbade.com.
But updates are still ongoing to URLs bearing the old domain name in most of the over 1,000 web pages, and blog posts
he’s published.
If you experience any difficulties finding a page or document, email Tayo at tksola dot com.
“In certain ways, I see myself as a non-singing ideological equivalent of Fela Anikulapo Kuti. Through his lyrics, I discovered myself, and became passionately proud of being Black
, Nigerian and African. (I named my first son after Fela, for this/his other good sides). My objective is to help others achieve similar Self-Discovery.” – Tayo Solagbade
The photos below show my (now 16 year old) son who got named after Baba 70
The photos were taken when I took him through some areas of Ikeja I used to “pavement-pound”, doing my door-to-door marketing. That was how I worked back then (pre-2012), to find clients for my custom Excel-VB software development service and products (like the Payslip Generator, Hotel Records Management System etc).
I told him how I would park close to Fela’s house, before leaving to “hunt for clients”. AND I also told him MANY stories about how I had to go on marketing all day, most times with NO money to eat/drink.
But back then Fela’s house was a shadow of itself, badly neglected.
I recall I would sometimes see “Seun” – one of Fela’s sons (younger brother to Femi Kuti), come outside from one of the rooms at the top of the building – often shirtless – having returned from a music tour abroad.
Each time I parked there however, I could not help wondering how the house of a legend like Fela could have been allowed to degenerate the way it had. It saddened me greatly.
It goes without saying that I was not alone in thinking this way. Anyone who’d heard Fela’s legend would naturally think the same thing on seeing the house!
One time I overheard a white man with an American accent who’d come to see the house with a Nigerian friend, asking why it looked so neglected.
The response he got missed me, but I’m sure it would have been along the lines of “Search me!”
…And I BELIVE the massive followership triggered worldwide by THAT wonderful broadway show, was the reason things changed for Fela’s house!
That show boosted Fela’s global popularity, leading to overwhelming international demand for news and information about him. Among other things, all-white Afro beat bands springing up in Europe became commonplace. Events of all kinds, art shows etc got organized to share his story.
Nigerians in diaspora who’d previously neglected to mention they knew a Fela Anikulapo Kuti back home, suddenly got infected with the fever.
They became proud to answer questions about Afro beat when asked “Hey, you’re Nigerian…do you know Fela?”
It became “cool” to be associated with the name of Fela…who some had previously called “hemp smoker” and “trouble maker”…!
YES. It is my considered opinion that ALL of the above made it “politically acceptable” for the Lagos State government and other stakeholders to finally ACT.
They provided the funding and support to transform Fela’s historic building’s appearance into something befitting of a true tourist attraction.
But it SHOULD have been done earlier, and not just that, we should have been the ones to tell the world about Fela, from the time he died!!!
I know some will tell me I’m wrong, but I would ask them:
How come NIGERIA’s government waited sooooo LOOOOONG to do this simple deed of turning Fela’s house into a museum????
The truth is NO answer they give can ever justify the delay.
Only in Nigeria can that kind of atrocity ever be committed against a legendary figure of Fela’s stature!
FACT: Before now, MANY educated and enlightened Nigerians would NEVER allow their kids go near Fela’s shrine or even play his music.
When I was young, I recall reading stories in print media about how some Nigerian elites accused Fela of being a bad influence on youths.
They never saw anything good about him, his music or his activism.
All they did was focus on the fact that he smoked weed, and had multiple wives.
Yet today, NONE of those arm chair theorists/phony critics commands the recognition that Fela, and his kids (who are carrying on the Afro beat tradition admirably), enjoy from fans all over the world.
I don’t smoke weed. Never have. Never will.
I don’t need it to function in any way. My creativity is 100% nature driven, and requires no artificial stimulation.
But the fact that Fela smoked weed NEVER made him any less worthy of my admiration.
What he stood for went beyond his foibles.
Indeed, no genius exists without faults – and that should NOT stop us from appreciating his/her ingenuity!!!
Sadly, many of our people – we Nigerians – missed it. As a result, instead of being the ones to SELL Fela to the world, the irony is that the WORLD, led by America, is SELLING our own Fela to us!
Think about it and you’ll see my point.
Which American great did outsiders ever have to help Americans recognize or celebrate?
None that I can think of. And that’s because America always celebrates its own.
That’s why even though Martin Luther King Jr. has African roots and fought slavery, AMERICA was the one that SOLD him to the rest of us.
They went further and set aside a day to remember him, which even here in Nigeria we recognize and join them to observe.
Several years ago, I saw audience members at Benin City’s Igbinedion Education Centre, applauding wildly to the rendition of Dr. King’s “I have a dream” speech by a student, at an end of year event broadcast on TV.”
Would ANY Nigerian school, before now, have ever let students recite lyrics from a Fela album at ANY event???
Indeed, can we easily find schools today that would even readily permit that to happen?
The answer is debatable…BUT the fact that it is ONLY serves to further underscore the point I’m making in this article, that we do NOT value our own.
Instead we devote needless time, energy and money joining others to celebrate their own geniuses.
In other words, they taught me to have self-esteem: which is what schooling should do. And that makes Fela’s lyrics relevant, for instance, in Civics classes, and his life story relevant for History classes.
Instead, our kids/youths get taught about Mungo Park, Malcolm X, Mahathma Ghandi, Karl Marx etc.
As a result, YEARS after Fela died, we (Nigeria as a nation, and Nigerians as a people) have no formal message about his life and works to share with the world.
Many Nigerian youths today cannot really tell you what he was about. But they can tell you the life history of Michael Jackson!
No “official” Nigeria branded interviews or documentaries were done to capture the history of his amazing life.
And to make matters worse, his house was left neglected for about a decade and a half after he passed on in 1997.
Things only changed when the Americans – JayZ, Will Smith etc – got a glimpse of the life and times of Fela: they instantly knew it was a story worth telling.
So the broadway show was born, about 3 years ago
Eventually, after the show had generated rave reviews all over, they brought it down to Nigeria’s Lagos to show it to Nigerians – last year I think.
They came to show their dramatization of a legend made in Nigeria. They came to show it to NIGERIANS, in NIGERIA.
They came to show it to Nigerians who should have been telling the whole world the story themselves, in their own voice, by their own people.
It thinks it’s sad that it happened that way.
BUT I also believe it probably would never have happened at all, if it’d been left to Nigerians to do it!
And that says a lot about the people – us Nigerians – who Fela fought and died for.
We have SUCH a long way to go where it concerns celebrating our own!
I find it ironic that many well schooled Nigerians (who in the past snubbed Fela and those who followed him) now readily take their white-skinned tourist friends from Europe and America to see Fela’s house/shrine.
We now see/hear them narrating anecdotes about Fela, and getting kids in their posh schools to recite his life story during history classes or celebrations.
Few, if at all any of them would however admit that they NEVER identified with Fela when he was alive!
On one occasion, an elderly relative pointedly told me Fela was a criminal
He claimed to have known Fela from his childhood days, arguing that he’d been “spoiled” by his mother – Mrs. Ransome Kuti.
This elderly relative would later query me for saying Fela was my role model, adding that as far as he was concerned, “the man was a criminal!”
I could not believe my ears, because I recalled once hearing Fela’s music blaring from a music player in this relative’s car, 3 decades earlier.
When I asked why he now called Fela a criminal, he said it was because Fela got sent to jail, and served a sentence for a criminal offence (actually trumped up charges), adding that even his activism was often unlawfully done.
I countered that the logic he employed qualified to make Nelson Mandela eligible for labeling as a criminal too, but he disagreed!
It goes without saying that I tossed his expressed opinion out of the window, and gave it no more thought.
Today, I’m sure the massive worldwide celebration of Fela must be hitting him hard where it hurts most…his ego!
Anyway, I’m glad I finally got to take my son to see Fela’s tomb, and house-turned-museum.
I’ve told him MANY stories about his name-sake, and shown him photos, plus videos of his live shows and interviews for him to watch.
As far as living one’s life in service of others, Fela – for me – is the ultimate role model. He took it to a whole NEW level!
Like I tell all who care to listen, Fela Anikulapo Kuti was the closest I ever came to having a human being I worshipped.
And I live my life today striving DAILY to emulate him in every way possible.
Not just by myself – but also through my kids…who I ALWAYS challenge to be like him in the way they FEARLESSLY stand up for truth, and justice.
PS: To Better Prepare them for Life, Spend Quality Time Sharing YOUR Life Experiences With YOUR Kids
I must not end without saying this….
Regular readers of this blog know I’m currently home-schooling my kids to give them Personal Achievement Education (PAE) – with a special focus on building street-smartness and income-earning-skills to complement their academic education.
Like I continue to point out to parents who will listen, PAE is crucial to giving your child the BALANCED education s/he will need to function competently as an independent adult in society AFTER s/he leaves your home.
My actions derive from the RUDE awakening I got after leaving school – especially when I chose to leave the security of paid employment, about surviving in the real-world’s shark infested waters of our society.
Look around you, and observe the warped values prevalent in society today, and you’ll appreciate the need to adopt a similar strategy, for your kids’ sake!
…a multi-disciplinary blog for people passionate about reaching their goals!
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