Where the money is
NUTS & SCREWS With CHARLY BOY
Saturday, January 30, 2010

“She’s like a rogue whore, she can never be caught, she drifts from hand to hand; late at night, she leaves your bed and calls from across the street when you wake, she calls…for the chase.” This world runs on money, somehow, and in some way everything has a link to money. Today, most of what we do is about money and will, in some way, depend on money. We are moving everyday towards a more competitive, tight-survival world; it’s brutal and complicated. It’s obvious that money is important, that university degree you’ve so longed for would almost certainly happen if you had the cash. Someone needs a nice, cozy apartment. Sometimes it’s all a dream, except we have the money.

So, we chase money because we have needs. That’s understandable. But where’s the money? I think money runs too fast, especially when all we do is chase it. The ones who have succeeded are not money chasers; they are builders; they have made their house beautiful and money has ceased being a whore to them. She’s a lover and a friend. She loves to stay. Doubtless, money has power. But is money all powerful? For the one laid out bedridden on a hospital bed, with no solution to the ripped up spine, is money that powerful?

I remember back in the fifties and sixties, right in this same country, there was a place for virtue and character. People went about their businesses with their consciences right before them. I saw that generation fade away. What has changed? A lot, I must say. Today, many people want to just have the money anyway it comes. They’re ready to kill for it; lie for it; backstab for it and where necessary sell their souls for it. People are willing to get paid just for sitting back and doing nothing. Heck! That’s the reason for poverty; it’s the reason the chase for money is still on. A few people understand what service is. Service is what makes the community move. The reason our community seems so stagnated and pained is because there are too few dedicated people.

Back then, there was room for honour and commitment. People worked with their hearts and the community always had a streak of hope and togetherness. There was a time when people were honourable. There was a time when trust was easy to come by. Now, in today’s Nigeria, there’s a little of that. It’s amazing how the first instinct when Nigerians meet is serious mistrust, there’s a high sense of self protection. In the current frame of things, this is good. But the source lies in this chase for the rogue whore. Our youths are so fixed on the money, that in most minds there’s no place for dedication. But you see, the truth is, the only sustainable thing is dedicated attempts. This “I-must-get” attitude is quickly destroying the essence of our youth. It’s good to have, but are you worth having? There’s no problem at all with having a good life, but how do you go about it? For some, the entire objective is to get the money in. It sounds logical here. We need money for our problems, we get the money, and we solve the problems. The only problem here is: how do we go about it?
We have a money-driven world before us and the battles are real. Corruption has plagued our nation. It all started when a few greedy, money-chasing leaders opted for the highway, stealing and cheating.

The youth saw their glamour painted all over the pages of the papers, being celebrated as heroes and well, they decided to gun for their share and see where we are now. I must tell you, young man, young woman, you are the hope this nation has. We have the same people recycled over and over in the political circle and the young ones are sadly influenced, already stinking from the junk; we need a strong awakening. The youth needs to know that it’s a great error to chase after money blindly. What you’re doing today may be paying you, but think of the damage you’re causing; think of the health of the society; think of great nations. Behind what you see, is a well formed society. Business is fairly transparent because people have a high regard for integrity and sustenance. People are conscious of primal human needs, little things that matter, like people’s trust and feelings, dependability and accountability., When these are put in consideration we see a community that is well formed, built, oiled and ready to run into the future. Our pattern of business is rather brutal and heartless; we could take anybody down just to get what they have. We don’t care who goes hungry due to our groping. We just go right ahead and take it.

This sort of mindset has fueled the flames of corruption. How? There’s deep greed and wanton attitude. This gives birth to all sorts of devising, mass fraud, murder and stealing. Some rats have succeeded in becoming leaders with fake certificates and no knowledge of leadership; these have passed their disease on to our precious youth.
It’s evident that the world has changed; trends in wealth, luxury and fashion; there’s a lot to stimulate the senses and allure for the mind, greed is borne on wings of gold, envied by all. Greed has become a disease, like wind borne flu. A lot of people are living for the moment, taking whatever they see, just living for the senses and nothing else.

You may sit there thinking what your “good attitude has to do with.”
Now think of how you would feel if you got ripped off and cheated on a deal you were so hopeful would give you some extra bucks to go? You get hurt; you may play out the same trick on someone; he gets hurt, and he hurts another; and the chain deepens. You, on the other hand, become overprotective. You find it hard to trust anybody. So, you may lose some opportunity in the future because you simply didn’t feel the guy was genuine. You become ruthless. This decay continues even to the family front. Family members even show more distrust for each other than they would an outsider.

So, I ask the question; how long would you chase money? Maybe your chasing is the reason you’re still down. You haven’t applied your senses constructively. Maybe if you took time out to look within yourself, you’ll see something different. You’re too engrossed chasing after money, too engrossed to give proper attention to the things that matter. What you should do is DEVELOP YOURSELF, make yourself worth the money. Painful enough, some people are not worth anything; not by birth, but because they have done nothing to make themselves VALUABLE.

The youth today are vain in their thoughts, uninformed and uninvolved. A lot of our youths don’t even read a book in a year, save for the novels. How about something that increases your value? Most of you want it easy, you want to get the millions, get the Master’s degree, and get the big job. Cool! What if it doesn’t come this year or the next? Can you invest yourself and get improved? You maybe asking how. For example, the Internet holds the most formidable resource bank in the world, and most of it is free. You can teach yourself a lot of stuff and then when opportunity comes you won’t have excuses, like “I didn’t have money to do my master’s degree.”
This money chase is crippling you. You’re weary, but you don’t know it.

Your mind is so focused on cash and you’re not getting any. She says you’re not good enough for her; so she runs off always and beckons at you with a shady smile, as you come close she runs. My last words are: “Cut the chase;” become constructive; become valuable; become useful; show value for community and trust. That’s where the money is.