Working in diverse environments

Waoh in the last couple of months I have visited many states, many towns, villages and crannies in northern Nigeria, I have seen my world , my country and man in newer lights , and clearer visions, I have understood the politics and polity called Nigeria in broader horizons, and I owe all to the Chinese with whom I work, as a person now , I  look at the average Chinese and say to myself, my people need to learn one or two lessons from these people, never mind our  stereotype thought of seeing of the Chinese as people of    “ inferior goods” visible in their 1penny shoes and shirts, a closed life, “ a funny and un-understandable language, the awe which their culture  radiates, never mind all that , because even the seemingly  “mad” has something unique and spectacular about him, for  amongst many things , the new policy of china , which is geared towards pushing her people to newer world, newer environments, is something which we should ponder on, as I write to you  however , my mind veers to myself and where I am coming from

It is no longer news that Nigeria , our beloved country is such a harsh place to grow up, live and make a living in, I started my struggles in Nigeria as a young man acting stage plays , that has always been a talent and an enjoyable pass time, gone are the days when , the stage at Muson paid the bills and put food on the table , I look back now with nostalgia, it was fun, I acted plays which included, once upon  4 robbers, ( Osofisan), Who is afraid of Wole Soyinka( Oguntokun), amongst others ,for me work was 2hours of play at rehearsal, 2 hours of stardom on a stage, however  it was funny then , when you ran into an old uncle or aunty and he or she asked “ so what are you up to now”, you say “acting”, and they look at you like “what is this young man saying” but gees acting did put food on the table…my stuggles to become something in Nigeria then lead me  to an NGO , which was working on the HIV epidemic in Nigeria, there I met those living positively as we usually say  , those who chose life despite the general belief that they were fighting a battle which was lost, it indeed exposed me to an environment where I could by myself learn the true essence of life, where the meaning of the word empathy became real , where some vital questions about how man treats his other man in moments when he is down and out and how he really ought to where indeed answered…subsequently by a stroke of luck , I became a vmobile big boy, my views of the world changed, it was dinner with aristocrats, lunch with the privileged and breakfast in bed, how man and his views changes in different situations/environments and conditions is such a wonder!!

So back to the Chinese,now, I meet young Chinese people who are a million kilometers away  from home , hacking a living , they are not in Lagos , Abuja or Port -harcourt , NO , they are in Pambegua, Saminaka, Anchau..Gusau, etc, in places where you a Nigerian has never been to, and what is the value of all these, well the answer you can see in the Chinese himself , he is coming from a world which was closed unto itself, the only persons he  averagely knew was his kind, the only way he knew was his way, but the new policy offers him the opportunity of discovering newer worlds, he is opportuned like Columbus to discover his AMERICA, now he is learning new things, his eyes are being opened , he is eating from the tree of knowledge like ADAM and EVE and some day his nakedness shall be obvious to him and he shall say am naked, and make an effort to clothe himself, if the Chinese pursue this policy they would one day conquer the world  as a people , not with ammunitions or guns, or a show of power in Iraq or  Afghanistan , but  because they would have a great understanding of people of diverse worlds and environments, these people’s    governments, these people’s needs, these people’s cultures, these people’s modus de operands, and  as you well know , in business, politics ,art, education, health, it is all about people, and the man who can controls the greatest number of persons(the world’s most important resource ) controls the world,  along with this for the Chinese   is the opportunity of selling his views to the world , of selling his technology , of selling his culture , herein lies the most important advantage of working in diverse environments, man is eventually a product of  the knowledge he has acquired over time and  every environment has a limit to the knowledge which it can offer you, new environment , new knowledge,  the things I gained on stage acting , seeing into the mind of man, are a whole lot different from seeing man meek, humble and dying, in the HIV infected man, it is also different from seeing man materially content and happy as a  “vmobile “ big boy and  that is even different from man in an environment where he is not polluted with the materialism of southern Nigeria, when I look at the people I have met as a direct result of my many travels up north, now  I am a fuller person than I was stuck in Lagos , in my large office with a computer in my face, for my travels have broaden my line of vision, it has made me a fuller person, in writing this piece, my wild side said to me, “ every environment, every work environment , can be liken to a woman, an endless reservoir of unique skills and knowledge set for acquisition, the more women you relate with and get to know , the better you are at understanding and dealing with women ( the world’s most complex creation), and you need no soothe sawyer to tell you the  hazards of embarking on such a project!!.. woah,we are sometimes scared stiff to get out of our world and see what  lies beyond our safe zones, we are often too scared to leave the security of the worlds we know so well , hence we miss out on the opportunity of gaining new skills and acquiring new knowledge which the world outside ours offers  so often we are like the Americans  who are held back by  the uncertainties which abound, but life lived in fear is no life at all, for eventually we never reach  our full capabilities…hey !!... I continue my travels shortly , learning new ways of doing things, seeing the world in newer lights and horizons, empowering myself in this age of globalization, and someday, along with the Chinese I shall conquer myself and  my world…if  indeed my words are lost on you , then you more than anyone else need to get up and see the world as it really is,

Take care

The lagos traveler!