Trust no-one but yourself and God

Ok...
Before I got to Nigeria, I shared my NYSC plans with a handful of "close" friends and/or family.  Some disagreed with the idea right from the start.  Others encouraged me to do it.  Some of my friends/family that were in Nigeria even sounded eager to help with "postings", and subsequent jobs or business opportunities, etc...




"Oh, don't you worry! You'll be looked after...we've got your back"  This was the reoccurring theme in their "words of encouragement".
Of course I knew that people sometimes just say things just to make you feel better and less nervous about an impending difficult situation (Yes, NYSC can be a difficult situation for someone who is not use to that type of "situation")

Anyways....
The only person that was realistic in their advice was my darling sister...Chi-girl, as we fondly call her, was not bullshitting about.  God, I love that girl!

"Li, prepare your mind for the worse case scenario.  Do not rely on people who say they will help". By all means explore all avenues but bear in mind that you are OYO (On Your Own) and have something to fall back on, no matter how little.

I even had an old school friend tell me "you have nothing to worry about, I ll give you a car to get you around and sort out accommodation for you" .... My response? "Akuko ifo" ...Tales by moonlight!

Since being in Nigeria...few calls made to all those people so eager to help ... People are gradually withdrawing and making themselves scarce and unavailable... So was not as easy as they made it sound now, was it?

The thing with our dear country Naija is if you are not from someone's immediate family setting and sometimes if you are lucky, extended family network, it will be very hard for them to extend that helping hand.  Truth is...we are very selfish with sharing our wealth, knowledge or assistance.
Why, you ask.
Because we do not want someone else to be better than us.  We like feeling like "kings" in our own castles and most times, people will be very very reluctant to help for fear of you surpassing them at some point in huge future.

Why else would you see a successful person still try to do too many things instead of training up people to suitably run his businesses and empires.  The most s/he will do is to put his son/daughter as the Director (keep it in the family whether the person is suitably qualified or not)...

Anyways...I digress

My point is...be prepared to do everything, absolutely everything...yourself.  Do not rely on that person that promised you heaven and earth!