As the year gradually comes to an end, I reminisce:
I have spent much of my life wrestling with man’s hatred. I have little material wealth but I have faith and happiness. I appreciate the grace that the Almighty has given me to work hard, focus on every challenge and achieve results that please him. I love the gift He has given me and I try to use it the best I can.
I do not want to be Dangote or Otedola or Ronaldo or Donald Trump. I am Tony Okoroji and I like it.
I know that the good Lord has given to each of his children our peculiar gifts. The problem is that rather than harness our gifts, some people are very busy with envy and covetousness and fixated on the gifts of others. Somebody should tell them that I do not want to be them. I can never be them and no matter how much they try, they cannot be me.
When I say that I drive on a full tank of faith, what I mean is that I have full confidence that if what I am doing is to the glory of God and the good of his children, I cannot fail. As my tank is filled with faith, so are my tires filled with love and no obstacle or bump can stop me.
I have heard some people say that I am arrogant… No sir! What they consider arrogance is confidence. If you believe in God, you glow in his glory. I am not so stupid that I do not understand that the wisdom and strength that I deploy do not belong to me but to the Almighty. If you think that I am arrogant, please bury the thought. I simply glow in the glory of God.
I know that hatred is a virus, the worst virus there is. Hatred permeates your body engine and destroys the effectiveness of your mechanism. Hatred drains you of happiness and rational thinking. That is why those who have attacked me with falsehood repeatedly fall ‘yakata’. They will continue to fail because they cannot think rationally. When you cannot think rationally, you will just fail and fail and fail.
In their hearts, those who have gone after me know that I have done nothing against them and taken nothing that belongs to them. They are just driven by hatred and so cannot act rationally. They cannot work as hard as I do but want recognition for what they have not done. How?
Everyone who knows me will tell you that I work 25 hours a day, 8 days a week. I never stop working and I don’t complain about it. Life is work. Work is fun. In everything I do, I seek perfection. I have repeatedly asked the good Lord to use me to do good to as many people as possible. Every day I wake up, it is my duty to put a smile on the face of someone.
I have realized that nearly everyone who ferociously attacks me is someone I have given my love to. They take and take and at some point, conclude that I have become their ‘mugu,’ available to give everything they want. Then, they make a demand for that which I can’t give. Come and see wahala! They are shocked that their ‘mugu’ can say no to them on anything. After all, I am supposed to be there for their use. Suddenly, friendship turns to hatred. From being a very good person, I become a very bad man! That is when the hate swells and the desire to destroy ferments.
Repeatedly, I say that I do not want to dwell in hatred. Hatred belongs to the devil. I deal with love and I know that the Almighty will never let me be successful in destroying anyone who has done nothing against me.
I have witnessed some people concoct so much lies about me, repeatedly tell their lies until they even begin to believe their lies. They continue to run from pillar to post and need to ask themselves why their coordinated lies have been so ineffective. The answer is simple: love conquers hate.
I do hope that in the coming New Year, all of us will learn that man is not God and God does not dwell in hate. If you kneel down and pray that you succeed with your hate, you have not prayed to God but to the devil.
Yes, as we enter the New Year, try pumping your tires with love and drive on a full tank of faith. I promise you, you will never be stranded along the way.
