Oluyomi Ola-David Insights

To the rich Debt is capital To the poor Debt is shameful To the rich  Play is work To the poor Work is play To the rich People are machines To the poor People are humans To the rich Solitude is fun To the poor Party is fun To the rich Time is priceless To the poor Time is money To the rich Failure is progress To the poor Failure is terminal To the rich Knowledge is tool To the poor Knowledge is power To the rich Risk is return To the poor Uncertainty is risk To the rich Life is good To the poor Struggle is life To the rich Investment is real To the poor Saving is real To the rich Passport is thought To the poor Education is passport To the rich Yesterday is best To the poor Tomorrow is best ... Photo credit: Oluyomi Ola-David

Where is the  Home For the sheep's shepherd Where is the  Stand For the burning lamp Where is the  Seat For the righteous judge Where is the Garden For the meadow's keeper Where is the  Furnace For the hot coal Where is the Shelter For the peacekeeper  Where is the Place For the potter's wheel Where is the Box For the true witness Where is the Vault For the precious pearl  Where is the Classroom For the truth sage Where is the Table For the hungry cook Where is the Temple For the mercy seat .... Photo credit:  Kolbe Times

This week I was delighted to sit in, listen and observe, as my work Department played host to one of its brainy alumna, in an academia-industry (otherwise called town-gown interaction) seminar. The first-class graduate of Economics had gone on to carve out a social impact niche in education for children of the poor. While theories seek to explain economic and social behaviour as well as provide some yardsticks for predictability, carefully crafted stories rather seek to appeal to the soul, reason, will and emotions of economic agents. Overall, the  Speaker sought to convince her audience, using case stories, that finding purpose should precede the quest to fill one's purse with ready gains. First-rate graduates who hail from middle-class families, which naturally value education and the pursuit of a steady career path, often find it challenging to convince their investing parents and guardians, that following a silver spoon-to-grassroots pathway to fulfilment is a worthy cause. Sti

The fortunate poor are always a repository of handouts, all receipts from those who claim to care about them. In the helpless state of being poor and deprived, the poor are likely to be willing to take on any intervention -  words, materials and deeds - that comes along as a fast and sweet relief.  Without prejudices, all who work to support the poor in the world and throughout history are worthy of honour and adulation. However, one of the blunders made by the poor is: taking every word spoken or written by the rich as the most authoritative voice on any subject. Afterall, their ends justify their words and means. This tends to mental slavery. In what I call the Abusive Influence of Riches (AIR), the rich being fully aware of their power of influence, may teach and train the poor to keep thinking poor, speaking poor, acting like someone poor should do and being absolutely content being so. Not all knowledge disseminated by the rich may free the poor from the enslaving shackles of pove