Wealth Reflections

I have been reflecting a lot lately. My reflections wander in various paths but particularly on money and the strong endless need to acquire it. From a personal viewpoint, money has always been a tool of comfortability hence the need for us to work hard so we can have more than enough, so much so that we can help others. One of my long-term ambitions is to do 'heavyweight charity' as my Pastor would put it.

Amidst my involvement in charitable causes of late, I have come to see that it is very easy to effect positive change right from where you are standing, even with what you have. Everyone has something of intrinsic value to give.

This noon, as I sat down behind my desk, I tried inspiring myself with people who have allowed GOD to use them for heavyweight charity. Two of them, very remarkable persons struck me real hard and I feel inclined to adulate them.


CHARLES FRANCIS FEENEY 

He is often referred to as the “James Bond of philanthropy.” He made his fortune as a co-founder of the Duty-Free Shoppers Group. His life's ambition was to give away his entire fortune, when he made it. He has a current net worth of just $1.5 million, after already donating well over $6.3 billion to various charities. His foundations support education, science, healthcare, and civil rights across several countries.




SULAIMAN BIN ABDUL AZIZ AL RAJHI

Sulaiman bin Abdul Aziz co-founded Al Rajhi Bank in 1957 with his three brothers. The bank has grown into one of the largest Islamic banks in the world. The Al Rajhi family is considered to be among Saudi Arabia’s richest non-royal family. In 2011, Sulaiman bin Abdul Aziz Al Rajhi announced that he was donating most of his then $7.7 billion fortune to charity. So far, he has donated over $5.7 billion.





It requires massive faith to be able to live like this. I aspire to be like these men, so help me GOD.

True wealth is in how many lives you have been able to touch and not how many zillions you have stashed in your bank foreign bank accounts. I leave you with the words of American philanthropist Andrew Carnegie: “No man can become rich without himself enriching others. The man who dies rich dies disgraced.” 

Paying it Forward

A few days ago, I was privileged to meet this man with a very wonderful outlook towards life. We got talking and I was able to decipher a few things about his personality, chiefest among the fact that he was a very cheerful, easy-going, sensible and generous specie of the human-kind.

We both witnessed an incident and it triggered a narration from the past, almost ten years ago precisely. He lived in Lagos, South-Western Nigeria at the time and did some form of trading as a means of livelihood. At some point, business wasn't so good and he was in dire need of funds to inject into it. Things became so bad he could hardly afford to put food on the table. Luckily for him, he was single at the time. As fate would smile on him, his brother-in-law who lived in the Eastern part of the country heard about his ordeal and got across to him. They had not seen in five long years and this brother-in-law offered to help him with some tangible amount to start afresh but on the condition that he must show up in person to collect the money. The brother wanted to make sure someone else wasn't impersonating him. Problem was, dude didn't have a dime on him to make the trip and hadn't eaten a meal in over a day. He had to find a way to get to the East.

Same night, he got a visitor - Some dude who came home regularly from school and put up with him temporarily. On regular these, he would give this dude the thrills and treat whenever he came visiting but this time was the exception. When the dude heard his ordeal, he opened up to him that he came with N3,000 and could let go of N2,000 so his friend could make the trip. He was elated.

Next morning, brother was at Ojota Park as early as the break of dawn so he could catch the first bus. He was left with N1,900. Getting there, he found out the fare was N2,500. After pleading with the guys in charge (called 'loaders') with a promise to pay the balance as soon as they reached destination (because he was sure someone would be waiting for him at the park), they agreed. He was the first man in the bus. After about two hours, the bus filled up and the story changed. Everyone who didn;t pay the correct fare was asked to alight, so the loaders could replace them with passengers who were in a rush and willing to pay more. Brotherly was confused. As he narrated the matter to a guy sitting to his left, two young chaps sitting to his right asked what the problem was. One of them asked him not to bother finishing the story and folded N2,500 into his palms. They both saw him as the first passenger when they came and said they wouldn't want the agberos (loaders) to make him miss the trip all because of an agreement they were trying to renege on. He hadn't recovered from the shock of being bailed at quarter to go when the second young chap squeezed some more cash into his palms. He was moved. All through the trip, he said he hardly ate anything and all he could of was to get to destination.

He arrived later that night and true to his brother-in-law's words, he gave him the money and an extra sum (large at the time) for him to make his way back to Lagos with. Brother was excited. Next morning as he got to the park, he faced the litmus test that was to change his ideology forever.

This young dude singled him out and walked up to him asking if he could allow him use his mobile phone to make a call to the person who was to come pick him from the park. Young dude came to do a project and was stranded at the park when he arrived that morning via a night bus. Brother was stunned, he walked into a restaurant while the young dude followed. As soon as they sat down, he ordered food for the young dude, bought recharge card for him and told him to relax. young dude was stunned and tried to explain he wasn't a beggar and only needed a phone to reach someone whom he came to execute a project for. Brother told him not to bother explaining. If only he knew his condition just barely 16 hours ago. Right there and then, he said he felt like giving the guy all the money in his pocket. He gave the guy some cash and left.

According to him, this was an express test and he had an instant reaction to it. The incident at the park with the young dude changed him forever. Just yesterday, two young lads who were students were his guardian angels. Today he was someone else's guardian angel.

I told him that's the way life was programmed to be. We must never expect the people we do good things for to repay us. The world would be a better place when we learn to pay it forward.

He said something very intricate - Most people he helped all through his life never paid him back in same coin. A few of them rather paid him with ingratitude. But most of the people who had rendered great help to him along his life's journey were people he didn't know from Adam.

I guess that says it all.

Methinks the world would be a much better place if we show gratitude to those who help us in anyway no matter how minute, and best of all PAY IT FORWARD!