Two Nigerian entrepreneurs got a grant for property development. They were given N1 billion each and were told to impress the grant awarding body.
The first one took a lovely site in Lekki, with an exotic ocean view. He put together a state of the art hotel with 7 star quality finish. The hotel was the talk of town! It was 30 stories high and exotic!
The second, not wanting to be outdone, decided to put together residential apartments for civil servants and low income earners in Alausa. The project took longer than planned, as he was not willing to make any compromises on the internal works. The building was rock solid and well done.
Both structures attracted media attention, both received awards, both enjoyed patronage and both got an offer to apply for the same thing again. Then something totally unplanned happened! A nightmarish storm rocked the city badly! It lasted for weeks and changed the face of the town! By the time the storm calmed down, the face of Lagos had changed!
The exotic hotel in Lekki was gone; the apartment house in Alausa was rock solid!
Lessons:
1. Every effort, principled and unprincipled can have the same effect for more than 20 years until there is crisis. Pressure reveals the true strength of every effort.
2. Storms will visit every work; the real value of any structure is what is left after the storms.
3. The result of compromise may look good on the short term, don’t pattern your life after them.
4. The truly wise person, is not the one that get’s today’s applause, it’s the one setting up for tomorrow’s award.
5. Be careful where you buy land, there is an ancient wisdom about building on sand or rock.
