[Lagos, 6:49a.m, 6th April 2014] Each time I visit Lagos, I see more reasons to justify not doing any aspect of my work from here.
I spent all of Friday 4th February 2014 – under stressful conditions – battling to prepare and send courier packs to 3 Farm CEOs who paid for my products.
One is based in Kano (Feed formulation Handbook and software), a second, in Jos (Poultry Farm Manager) and the third in Warri (Feed Formulation Home Study Pack).
Holding a Ready-to-Dispatch Print Copy of My Popular Practical Feed Formulation Handbook
I sent 2 of the packs off at 5.15p.m, from the Fedex branch along Ikeja’s Toyin street.
The 3rd goes out Monday a.m once I get additional handbook copies made.
My new Practical Feed Formulation (& Compounding) Home Study Video Series DVD
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Hint: My new Practical Feed Formulation & Compounding Home Study Video Series, comes on a DVD.
It is bundled with a copy of my Ration Formulation Software, video tutorials, pdf user guide, a physical copy of my Feed Formulation Handbook, and other products.
Delivery is via courier.
The link below leads to a detailed description:
Massive traffic jams all over the area made moving around to get that done soooo hard.
Near zero power supply has meant my having to force myself to do needed work with noise from multiple generators making my head ring – my work rate suffering badly as a result.
Honestly!!
Only the knowledge that my new product offers are bringing in much more sales make it easier to bear.
My new Poultry Farm Manager app CD
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Hint: See the preview PDF at:
http://tayosolagbade.com/uploads/screenshots_MonthlyPoultryFarmManager.pdf
Learn more at:
Click the link below to watch the demonstration video for the ExcelVB driven Poultry Farm Operations Management software.
You can see the demo video at:
http://www.tayosolagbade.com/pfmgr.html
Alternatively, the Youtube version can be viewed at:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=u2OEhGPmd5E#watch_actions
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I still have a past buyer from Tanzania asking for payment details too (for my home study video), while a Kenyan CEO is working to repeat the bank transfer (for my Poultry Manager app), using the corrected domicillary account details I got by visiting my bank on Tuesday.
This rapid increase in orders for physical versions of my products is something I’ll have to handle more from Cotonou.
Not only will it cost about 40% less to produce copies, there’s also a lot less stress involved in fulfilling orders from that end.
My Feed Formulation Handbook hard copy & Ration Formulator software DVD
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Hint: The page that has details of my Excel-VB driven Ration formulator software and handbook etc is at:
http://iff.tayosolagbade.com/wp/feed-formulation/
The handbook offers 60 pages of practical information, guidance and tips on feed formulation AND compounding.
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Would you believe, I had to walk 2.5 hours from Ikeja to my home, when after waiting 4 hours from 4p.m till after 8p.m, the traffic jam along the routes failed to ease up?!
But in a way it was fun. I decided to make it fun, rather than let it affect my mood. And I’m always ready to push my fitness level higher 
However, the chaos, and extremes out here remind me of why I moved to Cotonou, and why once I find a willing property owner, I’ll move my family to join me.
As I began walking from the bus stop, 2 young chaps in their mid 20s to early thirties joined me. I’d told them while we waited that I would walk home if the traffic jam did not improve.
The traffic situation already bad for weeks before, due to elaborate road repairs being carried out, really peaked that day.
I would later learn it was due to the monthly exodus of thousands of Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG)’s members to their “camp” along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway.
I and my new young friends chatted about Nigeria, about corruption and eventually about our work.
This made our progress faster, as we walked. About 400m past the Grammar school bus stop, my friends found a bike rider willing to take them to Akute, their final destination.
We exchanged contacts, they left, and I continued walking another 15 minutes to my home.
The top of my Cotonou sewn native outfit was drenched in sweat.
My thick soled army regulation type leather shoes were completely covered in brown dirt from the long trek, making me shake my head in self pity.
I slept at 11.45p.m that Friday, after taking my meal and posting the blog article for the day.
Waking up Saturday morning at 7.30a.m, I watched movies with my kids all day (Jamie Foxx’s “The Whitehouse is down” is GREAT!).
At last I felt as relaxed as I’d wanted to be since coming down to see them!
A few days back they’d surprised me by baking and selling cakes without an oven like I taught them late last year.
I’d challenged them to do it as part of “celebrations” of the anniversary of my 1st year in Benin Republic.
I’ve been bragging to everyone about the zero oven charcoal stove cakes being made, and sold by them…and even wrote a blog article about it on Thursday:
http://tayosolagbade.com/sdnuggets/sometimes-youll-need-to-keep-it-within-your-family/
Despite all that’s happened, I cannot deny that Nigeria’s peculiarly harsh atmosphere drives people to function at their best.
Apart from pushing me to explore smarter and more creative ways to get my work done, it’s helped me start my kids on the entrepreneurial path, towards achieving financial independence.
That’s a dream I’ve had since the first child was born, in 1999.
Having said that, I know it’s better to expose them to other societies, like Cotonou, Douala, Accra, so they can see that life does not have to be so hard, harsh and tough.
That 20 hour hustling need not be a way of life.
That corruption is not a pandemic there, like it is here.
That in those societies laws often work, social order exists, making it inevitable that wrong doers, small or big, get duly punished.
I realize I need to let them see all that, lest they conclude that the many negatives they see growing up in Nigeria, are “normal” and unavoidable.
And that’s why I’m eventually going to make them travel with me.
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