I put up a post last night based on a personal experience of a friend who has bn so successful in UK. As at early 2000 we were both trying different business ideas in UK. We even registered an entertainment company in UK to try out some things. I returned to Nigeria few yrs after

He called me sometimes in 2011 & ask me to look at a business model he has developed.

He has done his home work very well because he found a loop hole within a popular system in the UK in which he can become a broker between hundreds of organisations & their clients & earn a fee

To make it look tight, I ask him not to do it as a freelance. Go, talk to these organisations about your offer and what you can help them do and make them give you a letter appointing you as a broker. That way, in the future nobody will accuse you of anything.

Thank God he listened to me. The 1st 2 of these institutions he approached told him that his offer looks too good to be true but bc their bottom line depends on d clients he said he cld offer them,one asked him to give them 50 & other ask him to broker for them 75 within 3 months

Once he's able to do that, they would give him a legal seal and approval of their institution.

Within 2 months he gave each of these institutions over 100 clients. Boom! He got a letter appointing him as a broker for their institutions and a contract.

Oyinbos don't do things half measure. Guess work, this has never be done before in the UK. It was a new idea which my friend generated because he saw a gap and felt he could bridge that gap.

Today, he has more that 45 of such institutions under lock & he's making a kill, riding a Bentley & some mad properties all over d place. He's living a good life.

Now, I was at work and 2 colleagues were discussing this guy not knowing he's my friend & I know his success story.

There is no conspiracy theory they did not whip up about this guy. The one who is a Nigerian said, its his Edo wife that made him juju to make money. The other one a carribean say he's monopolising business and blocking others from doing business....

bc he learnt he pays % (bribe) to head of those institutions that gave him licence to operate on their behalf. I was just laughing.

When I called him. We had a laugh. He said d problem is that he pioneered this business & already locked down greater nos of these institutions.

They even signed contracts that are renewable after the first 5 years provided his services met an agreed terms. So, he knew he would suffer attack as a first entrant when others key into this idea.

He now told me one thing; he said there are two other guys into d business now

and one of them poached one of his staff to start. They tried some institutions that he does not have a business dealing with, and those institutions called him that they will rather work with him who has records of success in this area with bigger organisations

than try a new entrant. He said I siddon jeje for my office & they called me.

In other words, his competitors are doing more marketing for him. He said it was d guy who goes around saying he's bribing heads of institutions. They think this is Nigeria where u can just bribe ppl

This was what led me to post about Dangote and the often touted accusation that successive government is playing favouritism with him.

That's how people will come and ask me about another friend of mine, ahhh that you friend that's very wealthy, what exactly does he do?

I often ask, why do you want to know what he does for a living? Then you will hear stuff like, ehhnn he's always showing off around...you see people like tales by moonlight. When they can't define you, they create their own story about your success.

Even if Dangote is enjoying favouritism with every government for so many years, have you asked yourself how come? Fact is, you get to a level in your success you become so important decisions would not be taken without considering you even when you are not there.

He earned it by dint of hardwork over the years. It is never an overnight thing.

Today, there is a call to break up Amazon in the US. I watched a whole documentary on how Amazon is killing the US POSTAL services. But fact is, Amazon did not just become what he is today.

Bezo worked his ass out to be who he is.

I am not a supporter of monopoly. Let government do whatever they deem fit to do about monopoly. I am just laying the fact down about how life is and how you can not rubbish a man just because he has become big and successful.

Why not try and be big first before you start knocking down others.

I hope the context of my post is well understood now.
©Kay Lord