LOOK WITHIN

In Nigeria, people always have sundry reasons why they have not attained the heights they crave for in their careers, yet they are oblivious of the opportunities that abound in their immediate environment. Our higher institutions produce thousands of graduates yearly who hinge their hopes on securing jobs that are not secure after their service year as corps members.

As you prepare to go into the labour market after your one year service to the nation, you can look within and create a job for yourself before securing your dream job. Also, as members of a Community Development Service (CDS) Group, we should not always be discouraged by the difficulties we encounter as we embark on our personal and group Community Development Service Projects. With more focus and determination, you will be amazed by your resourcefulness as a group or an individual. What many people consider to be insurmountable problems are usually gems of opportunities waiting to be packaged into ideas that would bless other people. There are cases of corps members who turned prevailing situations including needs into projects and sources of income in their places of primary assignment.  Even your hobby can as well turn out to be a huge source of income.

Here are some instances of people who were oblivious of the huge opportunities within their immediate environment/reach:

1. The Jobless Boss: A man who was sacked from his place of work was complaining to everybody that his career had been ruined. He packed his car in his compound and was looking for employment all over the place. After searching fruitlessly for a non-existing job for about six months, one of his mentors, a pastor pointed to him the wisdom in turning his car into a taxi cab. He heeded the advice and at the time of writing this report, he boasts more than eight cars in his fleet.

2. The Golden Ranch: A man from California in the Unites States of America, who owned a ranch, read that gold has been discovered in Southern California in 1847. And so he sold his ranch and started off to hunt for gold. His successor put a mill on the little stream on the farm and one day his little girl brought some wet sand from the raceway of the mill into the house and placed it before the fire to dry. As the sand was falling through the little girl’s fingers, a visitor saw the first shining scales of real gold that were ever discovered in California; and the man who wanted the gold had sold his ranch and gone away , never to return.

3. The Old Farm: A farmer who had lived on the same farm all his life, but desperately craved a change. So he decided to sell the old place and buy another more to his liking. He lists the farm with a real estate agent, who looked over the property and prepared an ad for the newspapers. The agent read to the farmer this very flattering description: “Beautiful farm house, ideal location, excellent barn, good pasture, fertile soil, up-to-date equipment, well-bred stock. Near town; near church; near school with good neighbours”. ‘Wait a minute’, said the farmer. ‘Read that again’. And again the description was read. ‘Changed my mind’, said the farmer. ‘I won’t sell again. All my life I’ve been looking for a place just like that!’

All that you are looking for is within. It has always been there. Dig deep and you will be shocked that it has always been there. The key is in your hands. Use it wherever you find yourself or whatever the situation might be during and after your service year. Success is ours as we serve our fatherland!

ONODJE ANDREW O.

BY/11C/1950