The ordeal of the leader of Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), Sheik El-zakzaky, took another interesting turn on Wednesday, in India. El-zakzaky who was recently granted bail by a Federal High Court in Kaduna for a medical treatment overseas was about to be sent back home without the needed treatment.

The court has on the 5th of August, granted El-zakzaky leave to travel to India for medical treatment, an order the Federal Government complied with unlike in the other cases that resulted in him being in prison since 2015.

However, he was to be accompanied by some state officials to ascertain that he comes back and face trial for mass murder and disturbance of public peace.  It was based on this rule that he traveled to India on August 12.

On August 13, in an audio message confirmed by the spokesman of IMN, Ibrahim Musa, El-zakzaky was lamenting about the poor condition of Medanta Hospital, New Dehli,  which he personally chose for his treatment. He complained that his condition in India is worse than it was in Nigeria. The Hospital was heavily militarized and he has been denied access to his personal doctors as agreed upon. Therefore, he wishes to return back to Nigeria, as he would not allow Nigerian doctors or those recommended by them to treat him and his wife.

It was upon this lamentation that the FG tried to clear matters. In a statement signed by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Information and Culture, Grace Isu Gekpe, on the 14th of August, the FG threw light on the events at Medanta Hospital India, respecting El-zakzaky.

The statement reads that the turn in events started as soon the group got to Dubai, and the Sheik started to display attitude of ulterior motive by reneging on laid down rules. He requested that his passport be given back to him, a request that state officials did not yield to. It got worse as soon they got to India, and he refused to submit himself to preliminary medical checks. Additionally, he demanded free movement and access to visitors of all kinds and requested to check into a 5-star Hotel, and be treated from there instead of the hospital.

He also wanted to nominate doctors of his choice to join the ones delegated by Medanta Hospital to administer treatment on him and his wife. It was upon these frivolous demands that the Hospital got frustrated and expressed willingness to send him back to Nigeria with immediate effect. For fear there may be more reasons to his demands than it appears.

The FG has however, reiterated its ready to go on with his prosecution on his return to Nigeria. The statement affirms:

“The Government also wishes to use this opportunity to affirm its readiness to undertake the prosecution of El-zakzaky through due process when he is returned to the country.”

The Government also urged the general public to disregard any foul cry from him or anyone associated with him.

However, Musa confirmed to ThisDay that the issue has been resolved after the initial protest and the intervention of the Islamic Human Right Commission (ISRC), who sponsored El-zakzaky’s medical trip to India. And El-zakzaky and his wife, Zeena have been given access to their medical personnel. Although he is yet to be allowed to move beyond the hospital premises, negotiation is ongoing to that effect.

The negotiation did not work, it only extended the drama to a few more hours until El-zakzaky got tired of it all and called it a day. Musa confirmed that the embattled IMN is on his way to Nigeria, choosing to be left untreated because he can’t accept it the government’s way. The Government has since apologized to India for what it called “needless embarrassment” by El-zakzaky and his entourage.

However, many believe that the Government cannot be trusted, hence, their side of the story should not be taken for the truth. It be could recalled that the same Government has disobeyed bail court orders severally respecting E-zakzaky, which resulted in his incommunicado. While his children and followers were killed for protesting for his release from prison.

Following all these happenings, there is concern that the Government’s way of handling E-zakzaky and his Shiite religious group may escalate to something similar to Boko Haram extremism.

History was made in the history of football. I mean the European Super Cup between Liverpool and Chelsea. We had female officials in an action-filled contest. Stephanie Frappart, a female French referee, officiated the match with the help of her assistants Manuela Nicolosi of Italy and Michelle O’Neill from the Republic of Ireland. 

They became the first women officials to take charge of a major men’s European match. Judging their performances in the game, they didn’t put a foot wrong. Their calls in the match were spot on. 

Could this be the revolution that we’ve been waiting for? 

Gender equality is what we’ve always craved for and it’s a welcome development from the world of sports as we finally saw women being trusted to take part in a men’s game. However, we don’t want this to be limited to sports alone, we want to see this in different spheres of life. 

We want to see many female Presidents, governors, the board of directors, and other sensitive positions in the world.

We want a world where everyone is seen equal irrespective of gender. Of course, it’s a big ask but we can get there gradually. 

Perhaps if we change our mindset, it will change our way of thinking. It will change our view of women, especially in Africa. We need to start seeing women as leaders and not a baby-making factory. We need to start trusting them with sensitive positions. 

I was excited when I saw Obiageli Ezekwesili also known as Oby Ezekwesili contested for the post of presidency in Nigeria, but eventually stepped down to some reasons best known to her. As a Nigerian, I wanted it. 

Would I have voted for her?

Yes, I would have voted for her. If she could be entrusted with the post of Vice President for the World Bank’s Africa Region in 2007, why can’t she build a falling nation like Nigeria? 

A country like Nigeria needs a great leader that understands how to build the country’s economy from scratch, and a candidate like Oby would have been a blessing. But it’s not over yet, Oby has laid a foundation that every woman can build on in the future. 

Hillary Clinton was another strong woman that could have been the American president but lost to Donald Trump. 

Great women like Michelle Obama, Oprah Winfrey, Ariana Huffington and many more, have all shown that women can be successful leaders. 

It’s high time Africans overlook gender and give women a chance to also lead nations without bias or prejudice. If they can become successful entrepreneurs, they can also be successful leaders of nations. 

But the big question remains, ”are we ready?”

Are you burned out as an entrepreneur? Here’s why;

Firstly, I’d say this piece is as golden as the motivations you prefer reading as a wantpreneur and it is more like an exposition and a safety net for you to keep you from being burned out knowing the reality of entrepreneurship.

I’m an African and Nigerian to be precise, and in my two years journey into entrepreneurship, I have had some few discoveries that if I had them earlier, I might have been saved from a lot of mess, debts, depression and frustration. There’s this subtle feeling that once we have an idea, succeeding is not far and that if we keep at it, winning is sure.

Statements like “Be consistent, you’d surely win”>

I’m here to tell you that there’s so much in this statement that is not revealed. All we see are successful entrepreneurs whom we admire pose in front of their cars and houses type such statements. Consistency might ruin you if you’re being consistent on the wrong trail. Entrepreneurship has its dark side and I’m here to get you aware of them and what you can possibly do to stay safe.

1. Optimism and Realism are two different words: This point is golden. When starting out, it is good to be optimistic and if you’re starting out as a team, having an optimist will save you so much stress, will keep the energy burning, will keep hope alive and will keep the company on wheels. However, there’s a need to always rely on realism.

Optimism will say it’s possible to build a house on the sun, let’s try it. Realism will say, the temperature of the sun can melt the earth if it moves some kilometers closer. Now, that’s not pessimism, it’s being real. Another good thing about optimism is that it helps see bright ideas but it can be harmful because you’d be in a rush to get it done.

This happens a lot during the planning stage as ideas begin to pop out of your mind, you’re in a haste to get them executed. Out of optimism, you begin to write down accomplishing huge feats within seconds. Realism will tell you to take it one at a time. After my experience so far, when I discuss with entrepreneurs to give them pieces of advice, I tell them to always mark one month as ten months.

2. Expectations are different from reality: Now, to further explain why they should mark one month as ten months, I have realised that things won’t always go as planned and I’m not trying to sound evil but that’s just as it is. There’s one stone that’s always left unturned which will cause a delay and give so many lessons. Whenever you have an idea in your head, put it down on paper, set out time frame but also have it at the back of your mind that one month on paper is ten months in reality.

This simply means that you should not be hyper-excited about ideas even when you have them on paper. Even Elon Musk sometimes delays in finishing his goals on time. This means that you shouldn’t announce your launch date unless you have really completed 90% of the work that needs to be done and not when it’s still on paper. I have learned my lesson the hard way.

3. Huge investment may not come on time: Well, well, this is another golden point. If you are thinking of delving into entrepreneurship, then you should practise the habit of saving ahead before you go into it; don’t go on an empty pocket. It’s either you have a side job, hustle that puts food on your table, keeps cost running, or you have some huge money you have saved overtime.

Like I said, optimism might want to make you go all in hoping that in a few months, you’d hit it big. In few months, you might as well be totally depressed over huge amount of debts you need to repay. Have a safety net while bootstrapping because it’s obvious that bootstrapping is the best option at the early stages. Safety net means have something you can always fall back on, your parents, your side hustle, your side job or your partners.

The funny thing is that despite your side hustles, you might still always see your account in negative because you’re running, spending and all. It is rather advisable to know you have a source of income anyways. I learned this the hard way and I have seen many wantpreneurs also make similar mistakes. In order to save yourself from battling with debts while running, take this advice.

4. You’d be alone: I believe you must have read this a lot on quotes and it may just sound like a normal quote to you. There’s a huge reality behind these words. In Africa, starting a business as a young fellow or even delving into entrepreneurship is not often celebrated seeing several risks around it. The advice you’d often receive is to get a job. Nobody will believe in you at first, even down to your family, so you must have your mind ready to face the worst else you’d always slip into depression, pressure, frustration.

The average African believes in getting jobs and your friends who rush to get jobs may begin to make it faster than you because they have a steady source of income. They now save their money and invest while you don’t. If you don’t know that this reality exists, you may want to begin to question your existence.

Now that you’re aware that entrepreneurship has its dark sides, I hope you build your mind to staying strong on the journey.