In more ways than one, waiting is like marketing. Both are inevitable. Both are not that popular among the majority. Yet, at the end both are a talisman.
During my career counselling sessions, a great number of young persons express disdain for marketing. Almost always, they talk about the challenges of exploitation and negative public image. I always retort for marketing to forgive them for they know not what they hate. To be sure, running from marketing is the same as attempting to run from one’s shadow.
It’s funny to dislike marketing and yet spend-waste so much time and so much resources on acquiring an education or a training. It’s funny how haters of marketing take time to dress well whenever they prepare for an outing or to meet people. It’s funny that no thief, no weakling and no loser self-introduces -or wants to be introduced- as such. It’s funny when users of what in cosmetics is known as foundation and concealer palette (essentially what marketing is) turn around to swear against this sale strategy.
That is what it is. When we make an effort to speak well or to improve how others see us (for example for them to believe we can do this or that or generally consider us acceptable or attractive), that is marketing. Anytime we directly or indirectly position to sell ourselves or our interest, it can be said we are marketing. Yes, marketing is not only commercial or financial; it is also psychological, emotional, amorous, social, physical, educational, name it.
From the foregoing, you can infer that in some sense, we are all clients to each other or to those we target as well as to those who target us most times without we knowing. When we speak peaceably, we market or sell ourselves to lovers of peace. When we flaunt our pugnacity bragging rights, we display the hardware of our nature or propensity for violence on the shelf to attract like-minded patons. Per second, marketing happens too in our homes, churches, mosques, marriages, government, everywhere.
In spite of and despite the three parallels drawn at the opening, the caption may compel the reader to fall to the temptation of wondering what marketing has to do with waiting. This then is the perfect point to note that marketing is a mindset thing. Waiting too. Those who wait successfully and those who give up have only one difference -mindset.
The patience to wait it out, to allow time, to let things run their (natural) course is a special power, a special gift, a special grace only very few are blessed with. It is one mindset everyone aiming for a win should have -or develop. Like marketing, waiting is a natural phenomenon which when avoided must attract regret. Waiting is a massive natural strategy.
Muhammadu Buhari, a retired general of Nigeria Army, waited and waited and waited and waited until the fourth attempt to get elected president. Further afield, Donald Trump -a business mogul in the United States- waited until the nick of time (of his age) when the Republican Party and indeed the country needed a man like him as president. Conversely, at home and abroad, we can name those who lost out forever simply because they couldn’t wait or couldn’t understand the season or own timing. Iran would not now be issuing meaningless apologies if it had waited a minute or two before shooting down a Ukrainian commercial aircraft and with it all of 176 lives!
The mindset that defeats waiting is one that eschews satanic anger, hasty judgment, egoistic impatience, evil vengeance and puerile foolery. This capacious mentality is all we need to outdo waiting. Human beings must learn to enjoy waiting. We must wear a smile while those tedious seconds, minutes, hours, days, nights, weeks, months and years wordlessly taunt us with their characteristic snail’s pace knowing that there’s a maturity trophy at stake!
Waiting grows and educates us. Waiting deepens our faith and heals our fears. Waiting conquers time and colours life. Waiting decorates us with a medal and honours us with experience.
Also -like marketing which is denied or used and dumped when convenient- waiting is a generic tool that is no respecter of person nor class. Everyone waits for and on everyone. Even those who think they are too big to wait still have to wait for or on either even people who are far below them and the inanimate controller-general called time. We all wait to earn a qualification or to qualify to run, or to become the person of our dream.
Dear compatriots, I hope that with these few points of mine, I have convinced us to develop the waiting mindset. No need to be too anxious, too afraid and too anything. Waiting is the willing formula that guarantees love, respect, joy, health and life. God bless Nigeria!
How much of Nigeria do Nigerians really love?
Some events in the recent past have succeeded in forcing my focus back to this perennial vexed question. Imagine Nigerians in Nigeria demonstrating because US’s Donald Trump flexed muscles with Iran. This ‘outsider weeping louder than the bereaved’ mannerism has become too pervasive or recurrent to ignore.
Why and how on earth are Nigerians so unNigerian, so anti-us, so pro-others? Things happen here at home that we should rally around together but we would play politics preferring instead to be Fulani, Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo or Ibibio at such junctures. Yet, when a quarter of what had befallen us befalls others we organise a mourning party and fundraiser!
Pray, don’t we have even one agency of government or private sector body that can drive a nationwide campaign on nationalism? We cannot continue loving our states, Local Government Areas and other countries more and yet keep expecting Nigeria to transform to what we want. Arise, oh compatriots, Nigeria’s call obey!