In the bridge between wondering, dream or envisioning and the actualization of any dream, there are people and systems. In this particular story, I’ll like to write a little about the people and perhaps if space permits the systems that were and are critical to the process of achieving the New Nigeria Dream.
The picture sounds very close to perfect at the end, but it wasn’t always that clear. The inputs of people have added a lot to what now is, and would yet add more to what will be.
Initially it sounded like a joke, but gradually it took shape. The first set of people to buy into the possibilities and own it are the Generis Folks. Their thoughts and inputs into this entire structure has been phenomenal. There are days when business is like war, at those times, you need to face the fight without retreat or looking behind. Any slight glimpse at the back, or thought of it can cause your downfall, you must progress confidently forward knowing that the spears, swords and guns behind you are for you and not against you. These are men and women whose willingness to work for free was not only verbally requested, but was tested. Whenever I think of them, I remember David’s mighty men – Not people classified as much by society, but their presence with David in his hour of desperation and need, qualified them to be Isreals generals.
As soon as colleagues and generals had their inputs, we decided to take things a bit further and present the idea for the scruitiny of people in Nigeria who had good experience in MLM and had a youthful edge. We spoke to people we considered leaders and invited them for a meeting in Dubai. There are two stakeholders in the direction we want to pursue… people who already are spending their personal resources doing reorientation seminars and New Nigeria Initiatives, and people who understood MLM well and also believed in Nigeria enough to look at the possibilities of riding on the wings of MLM mass movement to initiate a revolution. The meeting in Dubai took a few Nights and was successful. It was very insightful that even though these people were invited for their prowess on the mlm side, they were more than willing to be involved in the New Nigeria Dream Project. These are people I have also grown to respect and admire more in the last few weeks. Their unflinching support and encouragement is fortifying. Their part in the grand scheme of things is immeasurable.
The next set of people we’ve enrolled are the people whose activities and programs revolve around people development, reorientation and nation building. Interestingly, I fall in between both sets of people. We not only got the buy-in of these people, we got their hand of support and interest. One particular one responded…”I am not interested, I’m very interested!””Don’t involve me, involve me and my family”. One said, between me and you…forget the cycles, I’m interested in those deals and an opportunity to be a part of change! I wish I could pour out all the names… but I will in time. History must never forget these early birds, who saw possibilities when it still sounded like a joke.
We progressed to seek for the support of Mentors, and to secure deals with the corporate sector. There is nowhere we have gone today… and all just in less than 14 days, that we have not gotten a yes to mouth watering discounts. From the law of averages, we are only limited by where we have gone, not by percentages. Already there are people taking drastic action to make things work, there are high profile people who have promised to handwrite letters for us to the powers that be. We have appointments already with the high profile public lawyers, we are trying our possible best to ensure that the members of this club can push the course and be taken care of. The Ox that threads the corn must not be muzzled…if value goes unrewarded then value is not bound to last.
There are also the people I can’t fail to recognize… they call in to ask, what can we do? We haven’t even launched and already, someone has gone ahead to negotiate 50k discount on landed property for club members with a reputable property company. They categorically informed us that nobody is getting this from them but us. We are concluding arrangements with Mr Biggs and have some coded deals in the kitty that will make some people shed tears of joy, and we haven’t even had time to pursue this well because of other work that has to do with documentation. It’s 2am already… and when my wife left my side an hour ago, I told her I was coming right behind her to bed. But I must document these stories… not for now, but for the future when people want to make references to what the intention of the club was, and what the ideals should be. Everybody that joins this club, agrees to live by certain ideals, violation of which mandates suspension from the club and all it’s benefits. It’s positive peer pressure! I’ll talk more on the systems in future stories. The count down is getting lower, we are nearing there… slowly.. but surely. 2am. 17/11/2007
