WORKSHOP vs WORKCHOP

With my little exposure to the corporate world, I arrived at this title. Workshop or workchop; I am sure the essence of some words are losing value so fast and lots of funds get sunk into this white Elephant project.

Workshop is defined as a seminar, discussion group, that emphasizes exchange of ideas and the demonstration and application of techniques, skills etc. A theater workshop; opera workshop. In this context, we can really imagine how much organizations are expected to benefit when such events are put together but the result is contrary.

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JUSTIFIED QUALIFICATION vs UN-DEFENDABLE QUALIFICATION

Idun nyin,

That’s what Ibibio people in Akwa Ibom State of Nigeria say which means “My People.” So, I am asking my very dear people, how are you at this season of the year? 2014 is winding up and we all anticipate 2015 which is an election year in Nigeria. At the time of writing, election primaries are being rounded off gradually with intrigue of who would hold a political office for 2015. Whatever, it is my desire is that none of us will be missing pre and post-elections.

Let’s think together today around qualification with lots of certificates and justifying the certificates. Some decades ago when my grandparents and a few opportune people were students; they became teachers after completing Standard 6. In our days, Standard 6 can be likened to Primary 6. The question that comes to mind is, “what was the content of their curriculum that made them have the ability to teach immediately after Standard 6?”

Afterwards, the need to become trained at the Teachers Training College to become a Grade 3 teacher; it proceeded to Grade 2, later on Nigerian Certificate of Education. However, I found out that some of those who went through this mode of education can speak better English; write perfectly and likewise teach satisfactorily. Contrary, today’s graduate can neither speak good English nor write correct sentences. What is the cause of this; justified qualification or un-defendable qualification.

Justified Qualification is a situation when educated people justify the certificate they have obtained. Such people might not be very certified but their output in life is worth that of a professor. Those who justify their qualifications usually become champions in all areas of human endeavor; they are peer leaders; they are people who others hold in high esteem and their words become wise sayings.

Un-defendable qualification is the unfortunate inability of a person to justify his certificates. Imagine, hearing a first class graduate, especially in the humanities, who is unable to speak correct English. One would endlessly contest how he made it the result. The Yoruba would say, “A ki fi ni joye awodi, ko ma le gbe ediye” meaning one should not be a hawk that cannot pick up a hen.

I want to challenge you on two things; firstly justify the certificates that you have with you; at the workplace and everywhere you are confronted about it. Secondly, maximize the certificate; if you have a certificate ensure that it gets you the very best available for your personal growth. There are people who never had the opportunity of amassing certificates but they became the pride of their community through writing and other arts.

I will close this discussion by inspiring you with the life of Chief Commander Ebenezer Obey-Fabiyi; he became a Music Maestro and based on his experience; he was made a Professor of Music at Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Ogun State, Nigeria.

Make the best use of your “little” certificate and not just accumulating it. May your certificates be profitable and your endeavor be rewarding.

Cheers!

Olu

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POVERTY MENTALITY vs COMFORT MENTALITY

Ache Olum,

As characteristic of this weekly writing to showcase Nigerian languages; the aforementioned greetings means, My People, Idoma language from Benue state of Nigeria. Hope the mood is right for Christmas? There is no need carrying unsettled scores into the New Year. Let’s start to make peace with everyone.

Today, we are looking at something that has to do with our finances. Many financial decisions are product of perception. As a young dude, I saw a lot of men who did not buy a car to convey their families from one place to another. They believed that after completion of a house; they can now own a car. They see a car as luxurious. They have completed their house and they now have fleets of cars.

Poverty mentality is the frugal spending of a person who believes so much in saving than in spending all he earns. In the words of financial experts, it is advised that a minimum of 10% of one’s income should be saved but according to the way in which people live their lives; a penny is hardly left after collection of their stipend because dependents have queued up before they get the money. Poverty mentality is seen in people who cut their coat according to their cloth. They do not attempt to go beyond their means.

Comfortable mentality is usually exhibited by young people who eat “beans cake” with all they earn at the onset of life. For those who believe in maximization, they get the luxurious gadgets; they compete with one another; they want to be updated; they are do not want to be told of how new experiences feel, they also want to experience it.

These mentalities are good but one must be careful not to overrun oneself in a competition that is not visible. Why do you think low-income earners achieve feats? They are wise with every kobo earned. They go one step at a time; they are not hasty in obtaining items. Many things are left till it’s comfortable to acquire.

Many times, those with poverty mentality achieve feats while those who thought comfort for immediate gratification is ideal for them. Regardless of the amount you earn, you can still make profit from it; as small as it is, some of your contemporaries have multiplied it.

Go multiply the little you have; it would later be comfortable when you deal your comfort.

Let’s hope for a beautiful year ahead filled with maximization.

Cheers!

Olu

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RAW MATERIAL vs FINISHED PRODUCT

En le fa,

This is a greeting from Yoruba speakers of Kwara State; the fa is an idiosyncrasy from that region of the country. Without wasting time (words), let’s look at something of interest for manufacturers, builders etc.

Raw Material is the unprocessed form of an item. Raw materials are typical independent. However when mixed with other raw materials, it turns into a finished product. I will give examples, in the production of a car, separate independent items are brought together; the body, the engine, the tyres and others. There is none of these items that can be used separately until it is all fused into one.

Be that as it may, raw materials are not fascinating ab initio until they get the right touch. Another example is a stock pile of cement bags; metal rods; electrical cables and others. They do not fit till they are all used in the construction of a house.

A finished product is the final end of combined raw materials to produce either a house, a car any even edible items. An example of an edible finished product is palm oil. Palm oil is still being produced in a crude way but it is not edible until the production process is completed.

Finished product is good for the sight; appreciated but let us have it in mind that it was once raw till it was processed with other materials. A man who is made once struggled; a beautiful ornament was once heated with fire; a proud mother was once deformed with pregnancy.

The process involved in the eventual emergence of a finished product is what many people abhor. Be the raw material that cooperates with others and also be an attractive finished product after proper preparation.

Have a nice week.

Cheers!

Olu

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RAISED BY ONE vs RAISED BY ALL

Hello Friends,

It is another season of the year when we all want to clear our tables for new tasks in the New Year. This season is full of visits, gifts, fun and travels. All I wish you is a memorable season filled with divine blessings.

I have come to you with a Yoruba proverb that goes thus; Oju kan ni bimo, igba oju ni wo, this means a children is born by a person but raised by many. There are scenarios that adequately depict the meaning of the proverb. The person raised by many might be an orphan or single parent. However, the list is inexhaustible. For example, at the inception of Western education in Nigeria; it could be a relative who is resident in the city that would adopt someone from his hamlet. This aided the acceptance and growth of education.

Raised by One is a situation in which one is raised by relatives both nuclear and extended. This type of raising is based on the experience and exposure of the people nurturing the child in question. There are some parents who enforce choice of career, mostly patterned after their profession, on their children. Also, they stretch themselves to ensure that a better tomorrow is built for the child.

Raised by All is a phenomenon in which many people are involved in the nurturing of a child. Such people might not be blood-related but everyone strives to ensure that such a child becomes successful. When one is raised by all, there are also limitations about financial support because many times, those people have their challenges as well. However, it is definite that they would ensure the best moral development of the child beyond what the direct parents would provide. There is a collaborating proverb about the moral training that, “Omo ti won o ba konile, ita ni won ti n ko” meaning a child without moral home training would be trained by outsiders.

I am an advocate of both schools of thought; a parent might not have enough time to give the moral upbringing to a child. Also, neighbours and acquaintances cannot give the financial support for the child but integrating the two schools of raising gives advantages in the areas of thought, reasoning, ability to take decision, give the best academically and raising a well-informed child.

As you end this year, be opened to being raised by both your immediate relatives and the community at large.

Season’s Greetings!

Cheers!

Olu

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CARELESSLY HANDLED vs JEALOUSLY GUARDED

Hello friends,

It is a wonderful week for me and I am sure it will be for you as well. I am currently under drilling but that has not stopped my ink from writing this every week. Hope you had a great weekend of full. Last weekend was the celebration of the death of a greet Yoruba novelist, Pa TAA Ladele but for those of us who are still alive; the challenge is what would we leave for posterity?

I am writing this week based on two Yoruba proverbs which would help us a lot to know how to handle our loved ones especially. We usually take our loved ones for granted; we get so familiar with them till we lose them. However, what you do not value can be someone else’s treasure. Let’s ruminate together on this, Carelessly Handled versus Jealously Guarded.

Carelessly Handled is a situation when your loved one becomes your next door neighbor that you do not accord any special treatment or respect. People usually do not see this as a disadvantage in a relationship. This is one of the things that burns out the energy that should be invested in a relationship; communication dwindles, love wanes and a lot of issues. The Yoruba proverb that supports this discussion is: “Oun a ba fisile lenu ewure n to” literary meaning whatever is left carelessly is available for the goat to chew.

Jealously guarded is a phenomenon in which the spouses protect one another. This cuts across all areas of their relationship; protection from the in-laws, protecting from the children knowing the flaws of either of them, protection of the interest of each other, protecting from all depressing state, protecting in times of errors as well.  The Yoruba proverb that gives a support to this is; “oun a ba fi pamo ni niyi” meaning worthy items is safely kept.

Jealously guard all items that is worthy to you. It would cost a little to do that than to carelessly handle and attempting to recover. Information should be carefully handled also; know those who you divulge personal details with, if you tell a gossip, you will find yourself to blame.

I implore you to jealously guard everything than handling it carelessly thereafter seeking for recovery.

Enjoy the rest of the week.

Olu

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REPRODUCTION vs REALISM

Hello Comrades,

I hope your month has been running  smoothly? I am hopeful that this month will continue to yeild good fruits for us all. Let’s be optimistic, we have great heights to mount and great feats to add to our caps.

Let’s think from the viewpoint of a driver today,  I remember then, when I was growing up, one of the popular vehicle brands in Nigeria, Peugeot, has just an external mirror. At some point, other brands added the second mirror which further beautified cars making it look like two ears. When one is driving, he learns about how to use the mirror because it aids your decision making. In fact, caveat exists on a mirror saying, objects are closer than they appear in the mirror. As a driver myself, I learnt a simple lesson which I intend to share with you.

Reproduction is when the mirror shows you what is behind as you drive. With what is viewed, you resolve either to change your lane, overtake a vehicle etc.  However, one would see that certain objects, when very close to a car, are not seen through the mirror. This is limiting! Accidents have happened when such decisions are made haphazardly, especially when the driver of the other vehicle is on top speed.

Realism is the actual result of your decision. Every decision comes with a consequence. Realism is clearer and not blur like what has been reproduced. A realist does not hypnotise; he is factual to a fault. A realist does avoid sharp mistakes by double checking; doing such, takes away some embarrassments.

Realism is what you see with your sight and not what you imagine; it is not assumed; it is not hearsay. Realism is the outcome that you grapple with after you make a decision. You cannot afford to depend on reflections, you don’t complain if all reproduced images fades off. Be true to yourself!

Let’s keep realism at heart and not overbear reproduced images.

Have a great week.

Best regards,

Olutayo

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CUSTOMER SATISFACTION vs CUSTOMER STARVATION

Imoni me,

I am excited to speak to you in Urhobo language of Delta State, South-Southern Nigeria, all I have said is my people. I have always reiterated it that Nigeria is richly blessed in her diversity. It is quite unfortunate that our people have through greed devoured this nation. May the Lord rescue our nation. I remember studying about corruption over the weekend and it seems this nation’s wheel of progress is entangled in it.

I would want to say that the discussion of today can be broken into many parts but let’s study it in bit. Then, this situation might be peculiar to Nigeria, if you are not within this locale, you might not understand what I am saying but I know you would be able to apply it to other areas of life.

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Paid Job vs Personal Job

Hello Comrades,

It is a blessing coming your way again today. I hope you are fine and the family is alright. I an anticipating a nice weekend when I would be with the writing community again. I must confess, I usually look forward to it often.

Today, we would be looking at the word that everyone who leaves school looks forward to, “job”. Some have rightly defined it again using collar, either white or blue, to depict the type of job that one does; some use the word “career”. However, whichever one you call it; it is a means of livelihood. Let’s just see the differences.

Paid job is a scenario when you are waiting to receive a pay cheque at the end of every month. As the Yoruba saying goes, “oga ta, oga o ta, owo alaaru a pe” meaning either the boss makes profit or not; the wages of the worker would be complete.
There are different ways in which people do their paid job; challantly, non challantly etc. People get easily frustrated with paid jobs and they cannot just pull out bacause they have a family to cater for.Paid job is done within some stipulate hours and the staff delivers his service as required within that time. In fact, paid job is done more often that not grudgingly.

Personal job is the tasking job ever on earth. Many people doing personal job explains that they were the CEO, Secretary, Accountant, Gate-man, Cleaner etc before getting to a point where they can actually employ others. Personal job could stress seriously when thinking of funds to keep the business afloat, pay staff, pay rent, pay for utility, pay for fuel, maintain fleets of cars etc. Personal job call for constant training to avoid being cheated by others. The owners also roll up their sleeves; they resume early, close late. It could also be a challenge making others to visualize just like the owner. Personal jobs grow overtime. Personal jobs of many centuries have been listed on stock exchange and now tagged, “multinationals.”

You might not be able to transfer a paid job to your child but children manage personal job; you might be limited in training with paid job but personal job requires series of training. Paid job might guarantee some level of comfort, personal job could create a wealthy ancestry. Paid job might limit the height of attainment but personal job do open up opportunities of partnership for success.

We all have a choice to keep to our comfort zone by being on a paid job while personal job take us to heights that we have not envisaged. Personal job is a translation of your dream while paid job is enhancing others dream. Keep a tab on your personal aspirations as you are in paid employment.

Let’s not give up in reaching for the stars.

Have a nice week ahead.

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NUCLEAR FAMILY vs BUILDING FAMILIES

Hello Friends,

It is a great morning and also an opportunity saying something to you again on this platform. I am delighted to inform you that we might be tweaking this writings a little because the idea is that it should have a complete circle, which is 52 weeks. Subsequently, as the Spirit leads, we would give you something inspirational afterwards.

There are people raised in either a nuclear or polygamous families. After they attain certain level of independence from the direct control of their families; they now run into series of attributes that is not in tandem with the family that they evolved from. Some of these include; competitive nurturing of children with their other siblings; hiding all information about themselves and wards. They won’t offer support to the children of others because they want superior set of children. Fortunately, everyone will become successful in different fields of life and they cannot relate as relatives because of the wrong mindset implanted into them by their parents. Let’s think together about Nuclear Families versus building Families.

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IMMEDIATELY FORGOTTEN vs FOREVER REMEMBERED

Hello friends,

It is an opportunity to reach out to you today. Hope you had a restful holiday (for those in Nigeria). If you are on Hajj, like Adewaleola Salami, I wish you a safe return home from the holy land. I had a swell time, reaching out to families that I have not seen in a long while. It is refreshing to keep the bond and stressful moving round.

Let’s discuss today in few words, Immediately Forgotten versus Forever Remembered. There are people that one meets and they create lasting impression on one. Irrespective of being alive or dead, they remain on the lips of those who had contact with them, their sayings are engraved in the heart and their deeds can be enumerated. This is all derived from the impact they have made in people’s lives. Are you positively impacting on those that you come across daily?

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KOBO vs NAIRA

Ufan mi,

That’s simply “My friends” in Efik language of Cross River State, Nigeria. Hope you had a nice weekend? It is my pleasure to welcome you to another episode of our weekly motivational Versus Series. We are getting close to celebrating a year of writing this series as this is the 47^th edition. We might need to tweak after the first year evaluation. So get ready, your feedback is highly important.

Today, we would be talking in financial terms. Fortunately and unfortunately for me, I do not like Mathematics as a young lad but when you add the naira sign, I comprehend it fast.

Some weeks, the water pumping machine within my premises broke down. Some of my neighbours felt that the machine had served for five years as such; it is due for replacement while some neighbours differed saying that we can fix the machine. The machine was fixed and it went back finally two weeks afterwards. We were back to square one, alas, “kobo wise, naira foolish,” the Nigerian equivalent of English saying, “penny wise, pound foolish”.

Kobo is that little fund that seems minute but matters when accumulated. In the Yoruba parlance, it is said to be, “eesun teretere ni dibu” which means, ‘small drops makes the mighty ocean’. Kobo mindset makes one feel he has conserved funds. Some ways in which we exhibit the kobo-mentality is when we fix a worn-out item, buying a fairly-used or second-hand item. This eventually runs in thousands of naira at the end of the day and it cost more than the purchasing a brand new item.

Naira is the huge amount expended to procure a particular item. Many of the needed new things that are purchased are usually tagged expensive but the value will be gotten over time. Naira is that hugged amount that is spent an item while one is sure of maintaining distance from a plumber or any other emergency repair service as the case maybe.

Remember, whatever you gain at the corner will be lost at the bend. Make optimal use of your limited funds by not spending wasteful when you actually want to be thrift. Go for the best at once and not keep buying inferior products over and over.

Have a thriving week.

Best regards,

Olu

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BAKING vs ICING

Hello Associates,

It is a good day to come your way again. I hope you had a great weekend? Work is going on smoothly and it’s all good news around you. That is what we pray for, that we might continually be bombarded by good news.

Today, we are learning from the world of the bakers. It is a simple lesson that we would arrive at, however, we must know that it is one of the fundamental things that we must have at heart when we are doing things.

There are different methods of baking a cake; an electric oven, a charcoal oven while some even use the stove to bake after ingredients might have been mixed. These ingredients determine the taste of the cake, however, after baking, what distinguishes the cake, aside the taste, is the look of the cake. The finishing process is crucial to the sustenance of the business. Let’s read together, baking vs icing.

Baking is a situation when you put the ingredients together. As for people, the time of baking can either mean the time of preparation or the time of re-building. There are people who were prepared in adversity while there are people who get rebuilt during trying times. Baking is just the raw, rough and wrought product.

Icing is the time of restructuring the raw product. This can be described in writing as, “dotting the I and crossing the t”. It is very essential to editing the raw product to make it acceptable to everybody. I was once guilt of not editing my work after writing, as such, my writing was tainted with little errors that could have been avoided if edited. I learnt to edit my works after writing in the hard way. I had better write-ups afterwards.

Irrespective of the great ingredients that make you up after baking, you have to learn to add the icing to beautify it. The icing would ensure it is attractive and acceptable to all. The icing will enrich the value at which it would be purchased. The icing would recommend your work to others. The gains of having the icing on the cake outweigh just baking the cake. Icing is the highpoint of baking. Icing could be academic, certification, finesse etc.

Get the necessary icing on your cake this new week.

Cheers!

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PRELIMINARY vs PENALTY

Ikot nyin,

I hope you are not perplexed! It simply means “My people” in Efik language from Cross River State, Nigeria. I hope the month of September has been going on smoothly? As for me, it has been a pleasant month. This month has a peculiar history in the world; World Trade Centre in the United States was attached some years ago and we, as a family, suffered the dead of one of our mothers. Remember, in Africa, we uphold family ties.

Let’s do something modest today again. Cars owners in Nigeria, especially, do forget when their various licenses would expire. The time when all documents are complete is when a car is newly purchased, subsequently, the renewal becomes a burden. Many of these documents do not expire on the same day as such one might run into any of the road and traffic regulatory agencies and therefore get penalized. Let’s consider Preliminary versus penalty.

Preliminary is a situation when you have gone ahead of time to prepare all that is needed to make your vehicle roadworthy, insuring your house against hazards, living life responsibility to reduce the damage done to ozone layer and importantly, body organs. Other ways of getting prepared is constant academic improvement and certifications among others. Preliminary work is usually easy, cost-effective and strategic. It safeguards regret and depression.

Penalty is when the strong arm of the law catches up with one or the repercussion of reality comes. Many organizations have suffered immensely from fire accident and they could not recover from it because all their machines are not insured. Many cars have been impounded by road and traffic regulatory agencies for not having the right licenses. Many people had died as a result of illicit use of drugs or are spending huge funds on medical treatment to stay alive. It is noteworthy that penalty fee outweigh the preliminary cost.

Why spend good money on penalty when you can rightly prepare? Why pay charges when you can pay the actual fee? Why drive around panicking when you can actually be poised? Why treat sickness when you can really be healthy? The questions are endless but it is the same coin with different sides. Get prepared or get penalized.

I wish you a lovely week ahead.

Stay prepared,

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ADOPTION BY PROXY vs BIOLOGICAL BY DISTANCE

Hello People,

A great greeting to you as a new month is starting. I would also encourage you to be determined for the best. This year is gradually running to a close, if your appraisal is done now, would you be above average? If not, kindly step up your game. Like the saying in Yoruba language, “Orun to wa loke to aso gbe” meaning, the sun above, can still dry the clothes.

We are looking at something interesting today. A young man left the hinterland for Lagos, Nigeria, in search of greener pastures, to live with his siblings. He met an old man, whose children had left the country for greener pastures, as well, in European countries. He became the backbone of the old man who introduced him to all his children and in turn, made them know that he had adopted for himself a son. The young man was delighted in helping the old man, while the old man expended the last of his energy in advising the young man. Fortunately, the young man’s parents had also younger people, within the community, helping them in their house chores. This made us arrive at the discussion, Adoption by Proxy vs Biological by Distance.

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