Hero or Criminal?
“Pull off a coup and you’re a national hero, fail and you’re an evil criminal; in business it’s the same difference between bankruptcy and making a fortune”
Jeffrey Archer.
The legendary hero of Medieval England, Robin Hood, has been the Protagonist of several stories, films, cartoons and even video games but the truth remains that our dear ROB was just a little more than a criminal because he ROBBED the Rich to give the poor and fought the authorities with the help of his merry men. He succeeded most times, no wonder he is the hero of many a children’s tale.
Disclaimer: It’s pointless argue this point with your 5 year old. When he grows, he shall see for himself that his hero was little more than a Gentleman of the Road.
Africa has had its own fair share of Robin Hoods, successful robbers who have robbed, but not for same purposes as the legendary Hood. Conversely, the Poor are robbed to make the rich richer.
The History of Nigeria and many other countries is fraught with stories of coups and counter-coups, some bloodless, some so bloody and gory that recounting them makes you shudder with terror. A good number fail, while some others succeed.
One thing is true of most; those that succeed become National heroes, heads of states, great soldiers that have liberated the people from the shackles of a corrupt oligarchy, at least until the junta unleashes their own mayhem.
On the other hand, those that dare fail, become evil criminals hunted down to the ends of the earth till they are caught and summarily executed, at times in full public glare, amidst the blaring of trumpets and the swag of martial music.
While Lt Colonel B. S. Dimka and Major Gideon Oka, never lived to tell the stories of their failed coup attempts, we have had at least 2 former coup plotting Generals lead Nigeria as Military Heads of States and even seeking positions as Civilian Presidents, perhaps, in a hopeless bid, to legitimize their former rule and rewrite history.
The same goes for business ventures. The word entrepreneur, though sounding a bit romantic and even dignified, is associated with great risk.
We celebrate great entrepreneurs and success stories of people who started with nothing but soon made great fortunes by a dint of hard work, a lot of creativity and a shipload of courage. We salute their gumption and retell their stories over and over again in various forms, even lacing it with our own spices, but truth be told; starting an enterprise with nothing to fall back on, without a regular job, with nagging government policies and taxes that stifle enterprise, not to mention the incessant harassment of PHCN (rebranded NEPA) and high cost of diesel, is very RISKY BUSINESS and not a thing for the fainthearted.
The stakes are high, the risks are great but so are the rewards. Succeed and you are a major stake holder, fail and you are burnt at the financial stake! Your condition might even go worse, and the former demon of poverty will be replaced by seven of its kind, more dangerous and powerful.
Our Society is one that celebrates success but vehemently and unforgivingly abhors failure. Ours is a society that DOES NOT tolerate failure!
Nevertheless, most failures form the springboard to launch into great success. Therefore, pursue your dreams with the motivation to succeed and not the fear of failure. If you fail, as you sometimes may, pick something and get up. Dust yourself and move on!
Imagine what would have happened if Christopher Columbus gave up on his voyage to Asia that led to the discovery of America or Thomas Alva Edison gave up on his experiments to find a light bulb or Mark Zuckerberg gave up on his facebook quest, after several difficulties with his campus authorities.
In the eyes of the society, anyone who fails while daring great things ends up as a social Criminal. He is dubbed an unrealistic dreamer, a braggart, a greedy person. Ask those that lost heavily in the Stock market in the recent financial crises. They might tell you that the same people that declared them as smart investors during the bullish period, now regarded as not only greedy but foolish gamblers.
You might have filed for bankruptcy, a couple of times, lost a fortune in the stock market, failed miserably in several Exams, Marriage or other ventures.
Don’t expect the society to sympathize with you or look upon you with loving kindness. Just get up, dust up and try again.
Keep hope alive!
Egwim Ndubuisi is the founder of New Dimension International. He speaks to Young Africans in seminars, conferences and Workshops on Leadership & Entrepreneurship. He was awarded the Withworth (London), Aspiring Young Entrepreneur Award, 2008. Visit http://www.NewDimensionLife.com
