MILLIONAIRE WANNA BE

It is no longer news that an average secondary school student’s mind is not filled with thoughts on how to pass WAEC, but more occupied with thoughts about how to “hit big”, buy a Hummer or make a trip to the Caribbean Island. Is there anything wrong with such thoughts in a society that measures a man’s importance or worth by the size of his wallet (bank account)? At least we all will once or more in our life time think about how to be a millionaire to buy the much admired car, build our dream house or feed the poor children in the world. To make such plans while in secondary school can be better termed “long term aspirations”.

If you are a fan of the “who wants to be a millionaire” TV game show, then perhaps you saw the phenomenal “children special” edition, the children took unique turns in displaying their intellectual capability of taking on the future and moving the New Nigeria to the next level! However, I must not fail to point out that even those children have a clear idea of what it means to a millionaire judging by the way their expression lit up each time they answered a question correctly and progressed towards the million naira prize.

Many people have reservations when the issue of money is raised at any level, but being a millionaire is not such a bad idea. Moreover, there are so many short-cuts of becoming one nowadays- through reality TV show, talent hunt, beauty pageant and other tax-free routes that most times require very little of your intellectual capability. Depending on the currency and the spender, a million cash can do a lot. Like Oprah Winfrey once said “What material success does is provide you with the ability to concentrate on other things that really matter. And that is being able to make a difference not only in your life, but in other people’s lives”.

However, being a millionaire comes with its own challenges and as young people, our major responsibility should be figuring out how to put the horse before the cart- that is concentrating more on developing skills and experience that will in future be more relevant than the millionaire status, let us forget the fame and let go of the overwhelming desire to get rich quick because it is this very nature of thinking that defeats us!