Mr Biliaminu Lawal was one of the pool drivers in the bank I worked for circa 2005. He was humble to a fault and always called everyone, ‘Oga mi’ (my boss).
‘Your house?’, I asked. He replied in the affirmative. I thought I didn’t hear correctly. ‘Rented or owned?’, I asked again. Lawal smiled. He replied with a tinge of confidence in his voice that the house belongs to him. He added ‘By the grace of God’. I couldn’t believe it.
I looked closely at Lawal. His salary at that time was not up to N40,000 monthly. How could he have built a house on that salary? How did he raise 3 children on that salary? I entered into a mournful mood. I started considering my financial status.
I earned multiples of what Lawal earned but I didn’t even own a plot of land at that time. That was one of the longest rides of my life. I realized that though I didn’t consider Lawal literate, he was by far more financially literate than I was.
I also learnt that you can earn a million monthly and be poor while another can earn a hundred thousand naira monthly and still be better off.
The next morning when I got to the office, Lawal stooped and greeted me in his usual manner, ‘Good morning, Oga mi’. I looked at him and told him matter-of factly, ‘Mr Lawal, you are my Oga’. Yes, he was the real boss.
There were things he knew about personal finance that I needed to know. From that day, I decided to pay more attention to him. I studied his habits. I observed his actions. And I drew so many lessons from him that helped me to reconsider my approach to personal finance
But I had to make a commitment to a particular personal change. I stopped sitting at the ‘owner’s corner’ and started sitting on the passenger’s side in front when I’m being chauffeured. Till today, I don’t sit at the ‘owner’s corner’. Lawal humbled me.
2.Have a budget
3.Prompt settlement of bills
4.Avoid debts except absolutely necessary
5.Investing your savings
6.Protect your assets and investments (through insurance)
7. Plan for retirement.
That ride with Mr Lawal was a life-defining moment for me. He was my inspiration for buying a plot of land and building shortly after. I kept on thinking, ‘If Mr Lawal on a salary of less than N40,000 can do this, I can also’.
