[Music]
it’s a pleasure and an honor to be here
today to share my thoughts with you I
don’t know how many of you remember your
nursery rhymes if you remember this one
please join me it’s called the London
Bridge London Bridge is falling down
falling down falling down London Bridge
is falling down my fair lady echo bridge
is falling down falling down falling
down
echo bridge is falling down my fair lady
Naija Bridge is falling down falling
down falling down
Nigel Bridge is falling down my lady or
bringing it home but can you imagine
Lagos without a third mainland Bridge
can you imagine Lea goes without a
Cobra’s or can you imagine the southern
part of Nigeria without the Niger bridge
can you imagine leucojum without the
confluence bridge I’m sure you can see
the bridges on the on the screen echo
bridge was the first bridge I was ever
built in Nigeria but imagine still our
lives without these physical bridges
can you imagine even worse life without
mental bridges life without social
bridges life without spiritual bridges
life without emotional bridges can you
imagine how gloomy and really how
unfortunate our lives would be and what
effect this would have
on the individual out there on the
family on business relationships on
friendships on the community and on the
vulnerable group now whether we’re
talking about physical bridges mental
bridges emotional bridges or spiritual
bridges there are three very important
ingredients that we need and require to
be able to build effective bridges
they’re essential to the building of
bridges in everybody’s lives this is the
bridge and the tool of building bridges
called the three T’s the first T is the
T of time how much time do we create to
add value into the lives of our fellow
human beings
the second T is the T of talent do you
have a skill that you can share and pass
on to the less privileged to the youth
and the third T of these three T’s is
the treasure
do you have treasure or material things
you can pass on as I asked this question
I asked myself a large population of
Nigerian society our youth what type of
role models are we creating for these
young people we’re all guilty
we all have fancy cars we like men love
G Wagon that I know once you have 20 or
10 because you can afford it what about
just one or two and pass the rest on
most you have 20 Ferragamo bags and
Chanel shoes just because you can afford
it just the other day I was at an event
and I saw two young ladies just trotting
along pretty girls between 20 and 30 or
five really one is carrying the most
expensive bag I think three or four
times before I’d buy it and so was the
other girl I was thinking how will a
young man approach such a young lady and
then he reminded me of a story my father
used to tell us girls say c’mon girls I
know you’re enjoying your life as you as
my children but you must simplify your
tastes
keep your tastes simple because you do
not know this type of money you’re going
to fall in love with if you fall in love
with a man who cannot afford you
there’ll be problems so young people
today yes we’re not good role models for
you we are not doing what we should do
some of us mothers when did we last cook
maybe once a week if you can or even
once a month I remember when I was a kid
my dad would set out every Saturday
he’ll cook for everyone and set the
table I never forgot that
so we might be very busy as women have
high-powered jobs tell me about it but
you must make time out to be with your
family especially the young ones you
need to mention them you need to coach
them you need to add value in their
lives not just through material things
but through things you tell them these
things you share with them the values
you need to create very very strong
character bridges in our children today
it’s not just the social bridges or the
mental bridges or the psychological
bridges or the spiritual bridges or even
the physical bridges we need to build
bridges of character in our children
because they are the future for us
talking about role model I used to live
I do live in a block of flats and about
two years ago we had a new tenant who
moved in this man had over 30 cars every
weekend will look on a balcony were
watching him what is it doing they’ve
got a house where to put all these cars
and they bring ten every weekend he
Worman
defender are even dented more next
weekend’s warm in this one that’s all he
does on a weekend
then another weekend another group of
cars are brought and then you know I was
looking at this guy and I said what if
he dies tomorrow of what value is all
that it’s all vanities vanity vanity
vanity and then I say to myself we need
to build spiritual bridges mental
bridges emotional bridges and every
bridge that we need to do to be able to
look after the younger ones after us I
have had a lot of experience in the past
eight years I began to realize I got to
the top I was so happy with the first
video we watched I have been a woman
always lonely at the top and I formed a
habit of always giving a ladder to a
woman I was the topmost lady in La Farge
cement and until I got that job a woman
had never been in the executive of that
company and had been in Nigeria for 45
years plus so I broke that chain of
course they gave me a free hand to
recruit of course trust me every
recruitment was a woman who was good and
who could do the job you know that
didn’t go on cut out because the
petitions were written to Paris and
Paris came and said what this woman is
doing amazing things and the woman she
brought in they’re all professionals
so what problems do you have with her so
I became a local champion having come
all the way from banking now we talk
about giving our treasure I spent out of
my 30 years plus in the corporate world
I’ve spent 21 years in banking and I
rose to the very top before I went into
government now the bank has always
complained we don’t like to give money
to SMEs and to enterpreneurs
why or they never pay us back they don’t
pay you back because you have not
willing you’re not willing to take that
risk enduring and illiquid dangoty
somebody stood by him when he had
nothing
and so we need to start as bankers as
professionals to mentor and coach those
young people if you give a loan how
about creating a unit in the bank that
will coach and mentor these young people
teach them how to run their businesses
in a profitable manner in a shrewd
manner so that they can pay your loan
back take an interest in that loan that
you give them don’t look away assign a
staff to about 10 and interpret SMEs
it’s their job to make sure that that
interpret that Enterprise is a success
now you talk about giving when you talk
about giving we’re not talking about
giving your excess you fill up to the
top and then you give your excess no
we’re not talking about giving at your
convenience
no not at all we’re talking about
sacrificial giving give until it hurts
inconvenience yourself to give in the
world today so many people do not have
what is the future of the over 1 billion
people in the world today that I live in
below the poverty line what is the
future of over 10 million children in
Nigeria today that are not in schools
what is the future of all these people
even worse what is the future of those
in the conflict zones is that the not
Eastern Nigeria which you had a
beautiful presentation this afternoon or
is it the Africans that are dying in the
Mediterranean or instead the conflict in
Syria or the Rohingya refugees either
way you look at it this is a call a
wake-up call to all Africans to everyone
that we need to build more mental
bridges more social bridges more
psychological bridges and spiritual
bridges now
the youth in Nigeria over eight years
ago I found out that the money that I
earned really had become of no value to
me because as a banker you always talk
about billions billions is like tank 0.5
naira because you’re always dealing in
it so you have no respect for money so I
began to give all I earned at the time
from eight years ago till today yes I
suffered when I was in cognitive ecause
I had no salary more or less what I kept
up doing it I need hurt and he was
painful but it felt so good if you have
money you have means and it has no
purpose it is meaningless totally
meaningless talking about sacrificial
giving I remember on occasion it was all
for charity and on my left I saw men who
had Rolls Royces to my right I saw men
who had private jets I don’t have any of
those things and when they began to call
for a project that really needed help I
didn’t see any hands up and I was like
what are all these big shots and the big
cars they came with at the end of the
day I had to put up my hand and it took
that particular commitment of course I
got home after about a few hours the
phone rings mama mama mama I hope you’re
preparing we’re coming oh I totally
forgot my children were coming on
vacation and I really I gave everything
I had because nobody else volunteered
and as I was just saying oh dear what am
I going to do I got a phone call from
the agent of a property that was
abandoned for over two years he says my
don’t forget it nobody is going to rent
that property for you of course the
person did not just want to rent it he
was ready to pay cash that day and pay
what pay three times of what I gave out
and at that time I wasn’t working that
was why I was I felt the impact I took
time off to be a mama be at home for my
children
be their coach their mentor them so when
you talk about giving it has to last if
you have to feel some pain for it to be
real because there are people who are so
so unfortunate that even a drop of
whatever you give is a big deal to them
another incident there’s so many of them
I took time off when I was director and
coca-cola and I said look I want to
spend every Kentucky bridge six months I
have this tenant never pay my rent not
the way youth so I didn’t let them pay
annually I said pay your rent every
month just to make it easy on them
because they’re all young people I just
needed just spending money reading so I
went out I went from one in mass and we
got there there was an appeal for a very
sad sad state very few people stood up I
only had money for the weekend you know
and again you know not much was with me
that weekend so I said well this looks
really sad I only two or three people
came on out of about 50 of us sitting uh
so I went and I was seen in my heart I
just pray that the children don’t say
mom I want this anything I have to buy
that I can’t cook at home you know so I
went in and I put everything I had then
I walked home I walked you know I got
home I started making some crap you know
for the children and they my god II came
my damn my damn that boy is here again
oh I see yeah really what does he want
please I don’t want to see him the last
time we talked about rent he started
crying so what’s the point of either
seeing him but the my god he kept
insisting I said okay maybe I’ll see him
so I said coming you won’t believe it
this young man brought his six months
areas right there for me and that made
my weekend so giving is something that
is it’s very special it’s not the person
receiving that’s getting a gift it is
you giving you are the one getting that
gift you know
now why do we have why and what is the
purpose of bridges in our lives
usually bridges are there to take us in
our journey in life from point A to B
which is a forward movement but
sometimes we do the wrong things maybe
maybe we don’t build bridges in other
people’s lives then we find ourselves
having to move back to point a but that
is the essence of bridges in our lives
to move forward now why why do people
want to move because of the prevalent
inequality that humanity suffers
sometimes bridges are there for you as
an escape someone to escape from poverty
from from poverty to prosperity
some want to escape from illiteracy to
literacy and others may just want to
escape from dying at age five to living
up to a hundred and twenty years old
what I ask you what are the types of
bridges that we have do you know that
sometimes that bridge doesn’t have to be
as long as Ted mainland bridge it
doesn’t even have to be as long as
London Bridge sometimes the bridge we
need to build in other people’s lives
just a little tile the bridge the size
of a little tile your bathroom tiles or
somebody should just stand on all the
times it could be a bed to sleep on most
times it could be just a meal to stay
alive all the times it could be a desk
and a chair and all the times it could
be affordable credit to run a business
an honest business and oftentimes as we
are all politicians in this country it
could just be a ballot paper to have a
right to vote in a cooperative
governance a government of corporate
governance a choice now
if we cannot build bridges in people’s
lives then you might as well forget
about the big ideas the conference’s on
the retreats all these fancy things we
do in the name of for the poor it has to
be genuine it has to come from your
heart Helen Keller did say one candle
does not lose anything by lighting
another candle and I say to you it’s not
enough to have a light in your life
you’ve got to light another person’s
life light another candle in somebody’s
life today and let us build a bridge
builders spiritual bridge most
importantly for our youth let us build
character strong character bridges the
youth in our society they are real for
eight years I’ve been giving all I
earned to them then I scrape and scratch
people were so and broke your Brook
years they have no idea what I’m doing
with my money
I’d rather beg and appeal for money then
say no to some a young person that needs
that money the needs of the young people
in Nigeria are real then African child
is ready to be taken seriously today so
let us build a bridge for that orphan
let us build a bridge today for that
Widow let us build a bridge today for
that internally displaced person let us
build bridges of character by being good
role models for our children they watch
what we do we must show good example and
that is the end of my thank you very
much
it’s a pleasure and an honor to be here
today to share my thoughts with you I
don’t know how many of you remember your
nursery rhymes if you remember this one
please join me it’s called the London
Bridge London Bridge is falling down
falling down falling down London Bridge
is falling down my fair lady echo bridge
is falling down falling down falling
down
echo bridge is falling down my fair lady
Naija Bridge is falling down falling
down falling down
Nigel Bridge is falling down my lady or
bringing it home but can you imagine
Lagos without a third mainland Bridge
can you imagine Lea goes without a
Cobra’s or can you imagine the southern
part of Nigeria without the Niger bridge
can you imagine leucojum without the
confluence bridge I’m sure you can see
the bridges on the on the screen echo
bridge was the first bridge I was ever
built in Nigeria but imagine still our
lives without these physical bridges
can you imagine even worse life without
mental bridges life without social
bridges life without spiritual bridges
life without emotional bridges can you
imagine how gloomy and really how
unfortunate our lives would be and what
effect this would have
on the individual out there on the
family on business relationships on
friendships on the community and on the
vulnerable group now whether we’re
talking about physical bridges mental
bridges emotional bridges or spiritual
bridges there are three very important
ingredients that we need and require to
be able to build effective bridges
they’re essential to the building of
bridges in everybody’s lives this is the
bridge and the tool of building bridges
called the three T’s the first T is the
T of time how much time do we create to
add value into the lives of our fellow
human beings
the second T is the T of talent do you
have a skill that you can share and pass
on to the less privileged to the youth
and the third T of these three T’s is
the treasure
do you have treasure or material things
you can pass on as I asked this question
I asked myself a large population of
Nigerian society our youth what type of
role models are we creating for these
young people we’re all guilty
we all have fancy cars we like men love
G Wagon that I know once you have 20 or
10 because you can afford it what about
just one or two and pass the rest on
most you have 20 Ferragamo bags and
Chanel shoes just because you can afford
it just the other day I was at an event
and I saw two young ladies just trotting
along pretty girls between 20 and 30 or
five really one is carrying the most
expensive bag I think three or four
times before I’d buy it and so was the
other girl I was thinking how will a
young man approach such a young lady and
then he reminded me of a story my father
used to tell us girls say c’mon girls I
know you’re enjoying your life as you as
my children but you must simplify your
tastes
keep your tastes simple because you do
not know this type of money you’re going
to fall in love with if you fall in love
with a man who cannot afford you
there’ll be problems so young people
today yes we’re not good role models for
you we are not doing what we should do
some of us mothers when did we last cook
maybe once a week if you can or even
once a month I remember when I was a kid
my dad would set out every Saturday
he’ll cook for everyone and set the
table I never forgot that
so we might be very busy as women have
high-powered jobs tell me about it but
you must make time out to be with your
family especially the young ones you
need to mention them you need to coach
them you need to add value in their
lives not just through material things
but through things you tell them these
things you share with them the values
you need to create very very strong
character bridges in our children today
it’s not just the social bridges or the
mental bridges or the psychological
bridges or the spiritual bridges or even
the physical bridges we need to build
bridges of character in our children
because they are the future for us
talking about role model I used to live
I do live in a block of flats and about
two years ago we had a new tenant who
moved in this man had over 30 cars every
weekend will look on a balcony were
watching him what is it doing they’ve
got a house where to put all these cars
and they bring ten every weekend he
Worman
defender are even dented more next
weekend’s warm in this one that’s all he
does on a weekend
then another weekend another group of
cars are brought and then you know I was
looking at this guy and I said what if
he dies tomorrow of what value is all
that it’s all vanities vanity vanity
vanity and then I say to myself we need
to build spiritual bridges mental
bridges emotional bridges and every
bridge that we need to do to be able to
look after the younger ones after us I
have had a lot of experience in the past
eight years I began to realize I got to
the top I was so happy with the first
video we watched I have been a woman
always lonely at the top and I formed a
habit of always giving a ladder to a
woman I was the topmost lady in La Farge
cement and until I got that job a woman
had never been in the executive of that
company and had been in Nigeria for 45
years plus so I broke that chain of
course they gave me a free hand to
recruit of course trust me every
recruitment was a woman who was good and
who could do the job you know that
didn’t go on cut out because the
petitions were written to Paris and
Paris came and said what this woman is
doing amazing things and the woman she
brought in they’re all professionals
so what problems do you have with her so
I became a local champion having come
all the way from banking now we talk
about giving our treasure I spent out of
my 30 years plus in the corporate world
I’ve spent 21 years in banking and I
rose to the very top before I went into
government now the bank has always
complained we don’t like to give money
to SMEs and to enterpreneurs
why or they never pay us back they don’t
pay you back because you have not
willing you’re not willing to take that
risk enduring and illiquid dangoty
somebody stood by him when he had
nothing
and so we need to start as bankers as
professionals to mentor and coach those
young people if you give a loan how
about creating a unit in the bank that
will coach and mentor these young people
teach them how to run their businesses
in a profitable manner in a shrewd
manner so that they can pay your loan
back take an interest in that loan that
you give them don’t look away assign a
staff to about 10 and interpret SMEs
it’s their job to make sure that that
interpret that Enterprise is a success
now you talk about giving when you talk
about giving we’re not talking about
giving your excess you fill up to the
top and then you give your excess no
we’re not talking about giving at your
convenience
no not at all we’re talking about
sacrificial giving give until it hurts
inconvenience yourself to give in the
world today so many people do not have
what is the future of the over 1 billion
people in the world today that I live in
below the poverty line what is the
future of over 10 million children in
Nigeria today that are not in schools
what is the future of all these people
even worse what is the future of those
in the conflict zones is that the not
Eastern Nigeria which you had a
beautiful presentation this afternoon or
is it the Africans that are dying in the
Mediterranean or instead the conflict in
Syria or the Rohingya refugees either
way you look at it this is a call a
wake-up call to all Africans to everyone
that we need to build more mental
bridges more social bridges more
psychological bridges and spiritual
bridges now
the youth in Nigeria over eight years
ago I found out that the money that I
earned really had become of no value to
me because as a banker you always talk
about billions billions is like tank 0.5
naira because you’re always dealing in
it so you have no respect for money so I
began to give all I earned at the time
from eight years ago till today yes I
suffered when I was in cognitive ecause
I had no salary more or less what I kept
up doing it I need hurt and he was
painful but it felt so good if you have
money you have means and it has no
purpose it is meaningless totally
meaningless talking about sacrificial
giving I remember on occasion it was all
for charity and on my left I saw men who
had Rolls Royces to my right I saw men
who had private jets I don’t have any of
those things and when they began to call
for a project that really needed help I
didn’t see any hands up and I was like
what are all these big shots and the big
cars they came with at the end of the
day I had to put up my hand and it took
that particular commitment of course I
got home after about a few hours the
phone rings mama mama mama I hope you’re
preparing we’re coming oh I totally
forgot my children were coming on
vacation and I really I gave everything
I had because nobody else volunteered
and as I was just saying oh dear what am
I going to do I got a phone call from
the agent of a property that was
abandoned for over two years he says my
don’t forget it nobody is going to rent
that property for you of course the
person did not just want to rent it he
was ready to pay cash that day and pay
what pay three times of what I gave out
and at that time I wasn’t working that
was why I was I felt the impact I took
time off to be a mama be at home for my
children
be their coach their mentor them so when
you talk about giving it has to last if
you have to feel some pain for it to be
real because there are people who are so
so unfortunate that even a drop of
whatever you give is a big deal to them
another incident there’s so many of them
I took time off when I was director and
coca-cola and I said look I want to
spend every Kentucky bridge six months I
have this tenant never pay my rent not
the way youth so I didn’t let them pay
annually I said pay your rent every
month just to make it easy on them
because they’re all young people I just
needed just spending money reading so I
went out I went from one in mass and we
got there there was an appeal for a very
sad sad state very few people stood up I
only had money for the weekend you know
and again you know not much was with me
that weekend so I said well this looks
really sad I only two or three people
came on out of about 50 of us sitting uh
so I went and I was seen in my heart I
just pray that the children don’t say
mom I want this anything I have to buy
that I can’t cook at home you know so I
went in and I put everything I had then
I walked home I walked you know I got
home I started making some crap you know
for the children and they my god II came
my damn my damn that boy is here again
oh I see yeah really what does he want
please I don’t want to see him the last
time we talked about rent he started
crying so what’s the point of either
seeing him but the my god he kept
insisting I said okay maybe I’ll see him
so I said coming you won’t believe it
this young man brought his six months
areas right there for me and that made
my weekend so giving is something that
is it’s very special it’s not the person
receiving that’s getting a gift it is
you giving you are the one getting that
gift you know
now why do we have why and what is the
purpose of bridges in our lives
usually bridges are there to take us in
our journey in life from point A to B
which is a forward movement but
sometimes we do the wrong things maybe
maybe we don’t build bridges in other
people’s lives then we find ourselves
having to move back to point a but that
is the essence of bridges in our lives
to move forward now why why do people
want to move because of the prevalent
inequality that humanity suffers
sometimes bridges are there for you as
an escape someone to escape from poverty
from from poverty to prosperity
some want to escape from illiteracy to
literacy and others may just want to
escape from dying at age five to living
up to a hundred and twenty years old
what I ask you what are the types of
bridges that we have do you know that
sometimes that bridge doesn’t have to be
as long as Ted mainland bridge it
doesn’t even have to be as long as
London Bridge sometimes the bridge we
need to build in other people’s lives
just a little tile the bridge the size
of a little tile your bathroom tiles or
somebody should just stand on all the
times it could be a bed to sleep on most
times it could be just a meal to stay
alive all the times it could be a desk
and a chair and all the times it could
be affordable credit to run a business
an honest business and oftentimes as we
are all politicians in this country it
could just be a ballot paper to have a
right to vote in a cooperative
governance a government of corporate
governance a choice now
if we cannot build bridges in people’s
lives then you might as well forget
about the big ideas the conference’s on
the retreats all these fancy things we
do in the name of for the poor it has to
be genuine it has to come from your
heart Helen Keller did say one candle
does not lose anything by lighting
another candle and I say to you it’s not
enough to have a light in your life
you’ve got to light another person’s
life light another candle in somebody’s
life today and let us build a bridge
builders spiritual bridge most
importantly for our youth let us build
character strong character bridges the
youth in our society they are real for
eight years I’ve been giving all I
earned to them then I scrape and scratch
people were so and broke your Brook
years they have no idea what I’m doing
with my money
I’d rather beg and appeal for money then
say no to some a young person that needs
that money the needs of the young people
in Nigeria are real then African child
is ready to be taken seriously today so
let us build a bridge for that orphan
let us build a bridge today for that
Widow let us build a bridge today for
that internally displaced person let us
build bridges of character by being good
role models for our children they watch
what we do we must show good example and
that is the end of my thank you very
much
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