Life Lessons: The View From Two (2) Different Lenses

Guest Post

4 years ago

The story of Raymond “Hushpuppi” Abbas and gang and the story of the Ikorodu Bois typifies life, especially in Nigeria. This month, two (2) groups of young Nigerian men made the news.

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One group for making nothing out of something.
Another for making something out of nothing.
Both groups are highly talented and resourceful.
Both groups are masters of social media.
Both groups come from humble backgrounds.
One used their talents to defraud millions.
The other used theirs to entertain and bring joy to millions.
One was visionless while the other was full of vision.
One forever watching their backs while the other was constantly looking forward.

While one was spending ill-gotten wealth, shaming their nation and disgracing their families, the other was using wastes, household items mixed with ingenuity, hunger, and attention to detail to horn their craft for years and now they have caught the eyes, attention, and admiration of the international community.

This is awesome! We would love to have you guys at the #Extraction 2 premiere…DM us and we’ll get you there! https://t.co/6eufmJMgT7
— Russo Brothers (@Russo_Brothers) June 24, 2020

The EPITOME of “go outside and play” that is when your imagination takes over!!! God bless these babies!!! #Repost ikorodu_bois 🙌🏾🙏🏾💋💋💋 https://t.co/3WoZUyjusr
— Taraji P. Henson (@tarajiphenson) March 6, 2020

The Ikorodu Bois — brothers Muiz Sanni, 15, Malik Sanni, 10, and their 13-year-old cousin Fawas Aina — have become IG sensations by using everyday household items to recreate multimillion-dollar music videos and Hollywood movie trailers, shot by shot.https://t.co/nC7oox6Eah
— CNN International (@cnni) April 11, 2020

What an amazing job!!! Congrats!! Thanks a lot for this ❤️ You all are the very best!! https://t.co/pqnPDge6gN
— Alvaro Morte (@AlvaroMorte) April 23, 2020

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You see, Nigeria is a very blessed and talented nation filled with equally blessed and talented people, however, for the past 60 years, we have had more profligate spending on things that don’t matter while the things that matter have suffered and had to make do with whatever scraps they can find. I pray that this weeks news show old and young, politicians and citizens alike that in the end, we reap what we sow. Results will surely come forth; it is either disgrace, disgust, disrespect but if you work hard at your given talent, you will get recognition, revenue, and respect.

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