My daughter asked me one morning: “Daddy, are you rich?”. Now, I know this lass, she is filled with wisdom at just 5. I wanted to tread cautiously. So, I said yes. She said “wow, so Daddy, you have up to $2,000”? I was like “no baby,I have you,you are reason why I am rich”.

You see,associating money with wealth is nonsense. I can buy practically whatever I “need” in this life, not that my needs are much though. My homes are comfy and you can do a “ménage du troise” on my bed and still have room for four more participants but I only get a goodnight’s

Sleep when I sleep on the floor. My daughter enjoys sleeping there with me. I really don’t know the number of cars I own( just two days ago I bought ten more for office use) but I have never driven a car before in my life. In fact, I stopped hopping taxis just a year ago at the

The prompting of @NwagwuEzenwa , my brother and mentor. I own loads of shoes but find myself attracted to just two. Ok,I have a vice, I love perfumes, especially the Tom Ford brand and have over 100 of them.The one thing I have genuinely want lots of has eluded me:real people!

I have discovered that our ancestors knew this secret when they said that “ onye nwere mmadu ka onye nwere ego”( he that has real people is bigger than he with lots of money, literally). An Oriental Brothers rendition of same proverb is that only when the corpse starts smelling

Will you know that no friend is better than your family. Fake love is real people. If you are fortunate to find just one person that loves you genuinely, that is your “ ride or die” buddy, peeps, you are rich.Fake love will turn on you the minute it doesn’t get what it wants from

You. Fake love will commiserate with you in person but in its heart it’s doing back flips and imaginary fist thumps. Look, I know what I am saying. Years ago, my then best friend finished eating nsala soup with me prepared by my beautiful wife in the same plate and 30 minutes

Later I was attacked by a group of 20 heavily armed men who thought there was cash in the house. Two days later,police caught two of them and guess what? My “best friend” sent them. I forgave and moved on. What about the ones that tell your enemies your most embarrassing moments

Behind your back? We have seen all that. The irony of this is: people can bring you down from your loftiest heights faster than a bad business decision would. So, it is possible to be rich and yet be poor. Poor because you are surrounded by fake ass “friends” that won’t

Hesitate to be your “Brutus” with a smile. Can you then be an island? Islands are lonely. That’s what I have found out, which is why people go there for quiet times. So, while you hustle to make that moolah, also ensure you have just those who really mean well for you by your

Corner.Your “meanest mannest men”. Now, these won’t be afraid to tell you the truth no matter how bitter. Be wary of those that tell you what you want to hear. They are your real enemies. Take not what they say but what they do for actions are the litmus test of real friendship.

From time to time, put your friendship and commitment to each other to the test. Take nothing for granted. When I lost a fortune in the stock market debacle in 2008, I found out in the most bitter way that your crew will screw you when you stop winning. You don’t need a

Possé around you. Just one or two in your corner is all you need. The same ones that lost our number back then started looking for us on different social media platforms when we stopped having bank accounts but started owning banks. Some may never get a second chance so don’t

waste your first. Do not give a traitor, or anyone that has betrayed you once a second chance in your life. Nehi! Forgive them, for that’s the God in you but never forget what they did to you. Drop and quench them like a cigarette stub. Move on! Don’t rue the times together.

Your real person will extend a hand to lift you up when you are down. Not these fake ass ones. They will arrange your burial while you are still breathing. That was the lesson that I was putting across to my daughter, we are rich when we have people who “genuinely” love us.