CHAPTER THREE
THE NEW DEAL
Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894) is another classic example of a man who not only advanced despite adversities but through it also. A Scottish novelist, essayist and poet, Stevenson contributed several classic works to children’s literature. He lived and died a huge blessing to humanity. Bornin Edinburgh in 1850, Robert studied law and engineering. But his passion and natural inclination had been toward literature. Robert’s true life that would later write his name in gold actually began when he was hit by tuberculosis. He began to travel round the globe in search of warm climate to ease his illness. That marked the birth of his writing career as he began to write descriptions of his journeys. Books like ‘An Inland Voyage’ (1878) became an immediate hit.
Now let’s check out the man behind the NEW DEAL. The man, Franklin Roosevelt fondly remembered for his pet project, THE NEW DEAL, had many failures and adversities throughout his life, yet he was able to overcome them all with fortitude and tenacity. No doubt, few men if not none at all, have made it to the top of their game without severe adversity. Expecting to sail through life without hiccups and set ups is not only unrealistic but also makes failure look too fatal on happening. Born on January 30, 1882 in New York, the 32nd president of the United States of America who ruled between 1933 to 1945 remains America’s longest serving president. Adversity has a lot to do with longevity. A tree faced with turbulent wind and harsh weather condition lives longer and stronger than the stress free tree. Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s unprecedented election to four great terms in office will probably never be repeated by any being. The current US constitution denies the right of any person to be elected president more than two terms.
Roosevelt was associated virtually with every major problem of American history. Yet, he did not only proffer a workable solution to each but equally advanced through them all. Long before he stormed the White House with his ‘New Deal’, Roosevelt dealt with adversity decisively. He provided the American populace with both succor and a messianic guide during two of their most devastating crises ever- the great depression of the 1930, followed by World War II (1939-1945). Born of Sara Delano Roosevelt and James Roosevelt, Frank grew up at his family’s Estate at Hyde Park, in Dutchess County, New York. He schooled mostly indoor under his mum’s supervision for the first fourteen years of his life. During this period, he mastered both French and German languages. He finally left home in 1896 to school in Croton School in Massachusetts. His dad died in 1898 just a year prior his admission into Harvard. At Harvard, despite being an above average student, his focus on extra curriculum activities grossly affected his grades. In 1904, a year after his graduation, he joined politics as a republican in gusto forhis distance cousin (Theodore Roosevelt)’s role at the White House. Same year, he joined Columbia University for a law degree.
Roosevelt formerly entered politics in 1910, aged 28, he ran for the New York State senate and won. Roosevelt the great politician was born. In 1912, after Woodrow Wilson won the US Presidency, he resigned the senate. Wilson had named him the assistant secretary of US navy. It was during his time as No 2 man in US navy that America went into World War I in 1917. He remained in the Navy until August of 1920 when he resigned in order to campaign as a Vice Presidential candidate under the umbrella of the Democrats. He campaigned vigorously alongside James M. Cox, the actual presidential candidate. Unfortunately, they lost to Warren G. Harding. Despite the lost, Roosevelt found comfort in the fact that the exposure afforded him the opportunity to meet and make friends with all big shot Democratic Leaders around the nation. He was still below 40.
More adversities came Roosevelt’s way when in August 1921 he was knocked down by Poliomyelitis. Thus, Roosevelt was left in a double agony of both elections lost and complete inability to walk. All thought it was over for the young handsome politician.Even his own mum encouraged him to call it quit and return to his Hyde Park origin as a quiet gentle man. Nonetheless Roosevelt was determined to bounce back. Backed by the support of his wife and his bosom friend, Louis Howe, he fought off depression with great courage. He remained cheerful in spite of all odds. Despite the efforts of many specialists, Roosevelt was never again able to walk unaided till his demise in April 12, 1945. Howbeit, a paralyzed leg does not amount to paralysis of visions and dreams; even the lame can walk tall as one does not need to be a sprinter in order to make it to the top. Roosevelt bounced back to public life in 1922 when he fired up an unschooled Alfred E. Smith to gubernatorial triumph. He would later go on to succeed Smith as governor on January 1929.
Eight months into gubernatorial rule, the US stock market crashed on October 1929. Roosevelt thus became a depression governor. Yet the young energetic governor never himself crashed. He proved himself an able problem solver. He equally capitalized on the stock market clash to notch the American presidency. Now American president, problem loomed again. Despite being very popular with Voters, Roosevelt became the target of an assassination attempt even before his inauguration. Happily, Joe Zangara missed him by whiskers. By the time he was sworn in on March 5, 1933, the Great depression was at its peak. Several millions were unemployed. Roosevelt was aged 51. He pledged to wage a total war against depression. He did. He won via his New Deal. He took various risks, closed several banks, and changed guards (cabinet) many times, all in hunt of a lasting solution. Just when he had fully conquered Depression, Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. Thus, Americans moved from financial depression to its emotional version. Roosevelt went from depression president to war time president.
Amidst several criticism, challenges and opposition, Roosevelt coursed through them all to emerge one of the finest presidents in history.
Never ever allow adversities and challenges to weigh you down. Expect it! The way to success is filled with bumps of delays, adversities and oppositions but therein lays the fuel for victorious advancement. You can learn twice as much from failure than from success. He that holds on soon holds all the trophies. Never forget the admonition of Catherine Pulsifer, “Success takes time. First develop persistence determination and most importantly, believing in yourself to win”. As no day is deemed perfect and complete without day and night so also it takes bouts of trials and triumphs, tests and testimonies, defeats and deft feats to make a perfect and fulfilled life. Adversities are the basic ingredients that make the delicacy of success taste sweeter. Sweat, said Heywood Brown, is the cologne of all accomplishments. Little wonder Kenji Miyazowa opined, “We must embrace pain and burn it as fuel for our journey.” Christ once gave His disciples a great shock.Just imagine having a highly successful uncle back from abroad with so much wealth and gadgets. With great honesty and undivided loyalty, you have faithfully given him your all, helping so much to make his visit a memorial to him. For days you rehearsed in your mind how you will thank him for a new laptop, bicycle and all kinds of gadgets he would leave behind for you in appreciation of your loyalty and services to him. Finally comes the d-day for his departure. Just when you were parking his luggage,looking forward to his appreciations and farewell gifts, he hands you this bombshell, “As I go, expect several blows and slaps”. What a shock that would be. Jesus conquered the world. The disciples watched him do diverse miracles.He healed the sick and raised the dead. At a time, they watched the heaven open for Him with Moses and Elijah stepping out to minister to him.Even He himself testified, “All authority in heaven and earth has been given unto me!” Just when His faithful followers expected some remuneration and rewards, when they busily imagined in their minds who would sit closest to Him in His hour of Glory, Jesus dropped for them this mind blowing grenade, “….. In this life, you will have- not wealth, riches, fame nor honor, titles or awards, but- tribulations (John 16:33)!”I wonder how long it took them to recover from that shock. However, I love the second part of that verse where He said, ‘rejoice!’ Yes, you are an over comer.Like Paul in IICor.7:4, be exceedingly joyful in your tribulation. Always remember this: “Tribulation is a sure sign of an impending triumph”. Like it was revealed to John (Rev.2:10), all who endure to the end would surely wear the crown of life.
CHAPTER FOUR
MY HERO
I always call him my hero because when it comes to leadership only few men can boast of being a greater achiever than he. His is a life that sparks off a deep seated inspiration in the hearts of many whenever his name is mentioned. An epitome of humility, resilience and dignity, Obasanjo is one man to emulate when it comes to advancing despite adversities. The man who refused to yield in, OBJ literarily gave life to the words of Russell Davenport who enthused that progress in every age results only from the fact that there were men and women who refused to believe that what they knew to be right cannot be done. The man that refused to yield to early life failures would later remain vehement on his stand against militancy and military dictatorship in Nigeria. Threats of death and inhuman torture in prison were not enough to bend him. Many who counted him out when he was down in prison, later counted on him to pay their salaries in time, on his rise to the presidency. Famous as OBJ, my hero lived never without a strong objective, whether at his top or his low ebb. Born MattewOlusegunAremuOkikiolaObasanjo, OBJ is a hero in every sense of that term.Always at the right place at the right time, fortune always smiled at him at the end no matter the extent of adversity he happens to face as a build up to that fortune. Obasanjo twice stepped into the Nigerian presidency each after the sudden death of a previous (Military) head of state. On each occasion he would later step down by handing power over to the civilians. Obasanjo was born in the year 1937, precisely on May 5, into a peasant family in Abeokuta. Although quite intelligent and smart at school, OBJ could not proceed to the university due to his poor background. Not permitting that to be an excuse for a perpetual non-success, OBJ in 1958 joined the military. He began to show his knack for leadership even while in the military. Father of six children, two boys, four girls, OBJ frequently and extensively educated himself in Britain while in military. From Mons officers Cadet School Alder-shot to Royal College of military Engineering and thence to school of survey in Newbury, OBJ gave life to the saying that today’s reader is tomorrow’s leader. He proceeded to several other schools; thus becoming one of the most well read soldiers in Africa. In 1967, during Nigerian Civil unrest, OBJ’s military prowess was brought to glare. He lead a decisive attack on the Biafran forces that is credited to putting an end to the war. He equally received the Biafran surrender that marked the end of the war. In 1970, at the end of the civil war, Obasanjo served in various capacities as a minister in different military governments.It was at this level of service that his dream of birthing a civilian rule was born. OBJ would later succeed Brigadier Murtala Ramat Mohammed as the Nigerian military Head of State. That was in 1976, February 13, immediately after the assassination of Murtala Mohammed on his way back from the mosque. OBJ was narrowly missed by the coup plotters who bombarded another vehicle that they mistook for his. Col Dimka would later be executed for master-minding the assault. In 1979, OBJ voluntarily handed over power to a civilian leader, AjhajiShehuShagari. Never power crazy, yet always in the corridor ofpower, Obasanjo immediately retired from the military after the successful military to civilian rule transition. He then founded the famous OBJ farms Nigeria Limited at Otta in Ogun State. A simple man, humble to the core, he was said to have turned down an appointment to become the UNITED NATIONS Secretary General. Unfortunately, his dream for a lasting democracy in his father land did not last long as it was left in the hands of the wrong men. As rampant political killings and untold corruption became the main stay of Shagari’s regime, the military had no choice but to take over power again. But once again the men on khaki proved not to be the genie with the solution to Nigerian problem. As the economy kept deteriorating due to massive looting of national treasury, the masses again cried out. The ‘freest and fairest’ election in the country’s history was held on June 12, 1993 but was quickly annulled by the then president, IBB. Upon untold pressure from the masses, IBB stepped aside for an interim president, Ernest Shonekan. He was vested with the responsibility of restoring the true ‘government of the people by the people’, democracy. Howbeit Shonekan was shoved aside by the black goggled president,Gen. Abacha. As all these history kept unfolding, OBJ kept crying out, lending his voice on the detriments of military rule. He maintained that any power born from the barrel of a gun is both heinous and oppressive. As a result of his clamor for return to civilian rule, OBJ was jailed by the then Head of State, Gen. SaniAbacha. While in the prison, OBJ escaped death by a whisker-as several efforts to poison him proved abortive. He had a date with destiny.No one can finish a man who believes he has not finished yet. While in jail OBJ dreamt daily about his nation’s return to democracy. Melvin Evans believes that men who build the future are those who know that greater things are yet to come and they themselves will bring it about. As God will have it, Abacha suddenly died mysteriously in 1998 with OBJ still alive. The new Head of State, Gen AbdusalmiAbubakar granted OBJ a presidential pardon and a release from jail.
In 1999, May 29, OBJ once again, against all odds, was named his country’s president. Unlike that of 1976, the then general became a civilian ruler this time despite all opposition.The truth is, men who generally refuse to neither stay down nor give up generally go up. There is no stopping for the man who refuses to be stopped. Life only gives you the tag ‘failure’ only when you agree to wear one by giving up. He who keeps trying and hoping sooner or later hits his target. Develop resilience to your resistance as you daily take your stand against your opposition. A man who knows how to employ those better than him, OBJ brought the likes of Soludo, El Rufai, Ezekwesili, NgoziOkonjo, Dora Akunyili, etc into prominence among the Nigerian populace. Determined to fight corruption in spite of the overwhelming risks that lies therein, OBJ founded (EFCC), Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. Through EFCC, many corrupt office holders were brought to book, thus, curbing corruption in Nigeria. He also raised the Nigerian oil reserved from 83.7B in 1999 to 845B in 2007.
His sound leadership secured a debt relief in the tone of $18B and he equally paid off the remaining $12B, thus, leaving the giant of Africa debt free for the first time in many years. OBJ was so successful that, the whole nation as one man, voted him once again for the second term. If not for his insistence to return to his birds at Otta, the masses nearly forced him back to the presidency for a third, consecutive term. On handing over toAlhajiUmar’ MusaYaradua, the 1st Nigerian military leader to peacefully achieve military to civilian transition equally became the first civilian president to successfully achieve a civilian to civilian transition.
Adversity causes some men to break, but real men break records through it. Each time I encounter a setback in my academic pursuit my mum will call me and say, ‘find in your adversity a tool for your advancement’. Faithless says J.R.R. Tolkien, “is he that says farewell when the road darkens.” Joseph Sugarman’s words could go for a course of study in the University of Life, where he said, “Not many people are willing to give failure a second opportunity they fail once and it is all over. The bitter pill of failure is often more than most people can handle. If you are willing to accept failure and learn from it, if you are willing to consider failure as a blessing in disguise and bounce back, you have gotten the essential of harnessing one of the most powerful success forces”.
I so much respect the man Louis Armstrong (1901-1971). Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, the American cornet, jazz and trumpet player, band-leader, singer and popular music icon overcame all sought of adversity en route stamping his name in the music hall of fame. John Edward Hasse would later write in his biography, “Armstrong overcame poverty, a lack of formal education and racism to become one of the most innovative and influential musicians of the 20th century. He is the pioneer of the music style ‘swing,’ plus several other firsts”. Danny Armstrong grew up in dire poverty. He did not attend school beyond the fifth grade. That would have been enough reason for him to turn his nose up at life for being unfair. Yet, ever cheerful Armstrong only saw that as a preparation ground for a greater tomorrow. He envisaged his setbacks to be stepping stones to a glorious future. Life is like a game of cards. We all are the players. Life automatically dishes out to every one of us cards we never chose nor bargained for. We are the ones who decide how to play our cards in order to win the game of life. The man, who was renowned for playing and singing with passionate, joyful feeling and an exuberant tone, had more than enough reasons to die a gloomy man. His father abandoned the family about the time of Armstrong’s birth.Everything was ‘naturally’ against him. Life seemed unfair right from birth. Like the famous Barrack Hussein Obama, even his own dad saw nothing good in him, nothing to either to hope for or to nurture. Armstrong was raised by his mother in the urban slums of New Orleans. Mark Victor Hansen was right where he told the press and of course the rest of the world: “You don’t become enormously successful without encountering and overcoming a number of extremely challenging problems”. The road to success is often full of bumps. The course of true anything never runs smooth”. Frank A Clark rightly wrote, “If you can find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn’t lead anywhere”.
Lance Armstrong, by the time he retired in 2005, had won Tourde France seven consecutive times. A gifted cyclist, Armstrong excelled in both mountain racing and the individual against the clock racing. Lance, against all odds, stood tall in the world most grueling contest of all sports. Asked why he made it, my sister, his number one fan simply said:“DETERMINATION”.
Lance was born in Plano, Jens in the year 1971. Life began to deal with him very early when he lost his father at a tender age. He was raised primarily by his mother. By the age of 13, he was already a standout athlete, competing in and wining triathlons. Soon, he realized that his talent was actually cycling and so decided to make the best of it. In 1990, young Lance got an invitation to try out for the US national team. That year, he finished 11th in the world Amateur Cycling championships in Japan. As his amateur fame rose, he went to Barcelona, Spain, for the 1992 summer Olympic Games as the favourite. He finished a disappointing 14th. Undiscouraged by the defeat, Lance resolved to turn a professional cyclist. His first professional race took place in San Sebastian in Spain. It was the memorable 1992 Classico. Dishearteningly, Lance finished last out of a startling 111 riders. Many encouraged him to try something else as cycling was not his calling. “Destiny differs,” a friend told him. But Lance was still determined; he did not give up cycling. He remained resolute on his desire to be atop his game. In an interview with the press, he thought the world populace: “Pain (defeat)is temporary. It may last a minute or an hour, oreven a day, months or a year. But eventually it will subside! If I quit, however, it lasts forever”. Lance trained night and day. He transcribed all his whole life to it. Thus, in 1993, just a year after his disappointing defeat and shame of being last, Lance emerged the youngest cyclist to win the World Cycling Championship. The same year, he competed in his first Tour de France race but made no attempt to finish it. Now a champion, Lance refused to stop at first success. He set for himself a bigger and a more challenging goal. In 1995 he went back for the Classico San Sebastian in Spain. This time he won. Same year, he clinched the Tour Dupont in USA. In 1996, he again won both the ClassicoSan Sebastian and the Tour Dupont. Unfortunately, tragedy struck later after that victory when in October 1996 Lance was diagnosed of advanced testicular cancer. It was said to have spread even to his lungs and brain. Lance fought back. Doctors declared him to have barely 50% chance of survival. But he fought on so vigorously that he was declared cancer free the next year. By mid 1998 he had already returned to his topmost form as a professional cyclist. He won tour de France convincingly in 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002 a record! Sickness struck again. He was hospitalized most of the late 2002. But in 2003, Lance fought off ill health, on race injuries and several other adversities to win his 5th tourdeFrance. He equally won both the 2004 and 2005 editions, becoming world most decorated cyclist ever lived.
Now, have you ever imagined what it looks like to read your own obituary? Imagine listening to people say all manner of ill reports on celebration of your demise. That no doubt would be horrible. Yet, that is exactly the scenario that birthed the famous NOBEL PEACE PRIZE. It happened that Mr. Alfred Bernard Nobel had invented the infamous dynamite. Nobel was a Swedish chemist, inventor and philanthropist born and bred in Stockholm. He schooled in Saint Petersburg, Russia before proceeding to US of America where he studied mechanical engineering. Upon graduation, he worked under his father in their family factory in Heleneborg, Sweden. Their work was to develop mines, torpedoes and other explosives. In 1864 tragedy struck. Nobel’s younger brother was killed alongside four other people in a factory explosion. This incident inspired him to seek a safe way of handling nitroglycerin. He, in 1866, reached his goal, discovering the dynamite in the process. He later produced ballistite, a smokeless powder. Nobel made so much fame and wealth by selling his inventions. By the time of his death, Nobel controlled factories for the manufacture of explosives in several parts of the world. However, many hated him for this. Critics argued that only a devil’s incarnate could mastermind an invention that has taken so many lives and still counting. Thus, many went on drinking spree at the announcement of the obituary of his brother which they mistook for his. Nobel was heartbroken. He determined within him to right the wrong and win himself a good name before his actual real death. Before he finally died in 1896, he willed over $10M to the improvement of knowledge and award of prize money for those who would make their mark in inventions and discoveries in the field of physics, chemistry, medicine/physiology, literature and world peace. Today hundreds of people have had their life and time transformed by their receipt of the Nobel Prize. Millions others like me dream daily of the day they will clinch the award. Nobel is dead, but his good legacy, born in adversity, lives on.
I don’t want to ask again what happened to you. What happened to you is not as important as the opportunity you make out of it. What you make happen with what happened to you happens to be far more important than what actually happened. Great men build castles with the bricks life challenges throw at them. The life of Saul cum Paul gave me a mind blowing lesson. Despite his gruesome torture, persecution, challenges and frequent reoccurring jail terms, Paul wrote 1/3 of the Bible’s New Testament. Today, with the Bible as the fastest selling book in the world history, Billions of people have read and are still reading about Paul. His books, long after hisdemise, have been shaping people’s lives aright. Pilgrim’s Progress was written while the author languished in prison, and it was during Beethoven’s pit of deafness that the world best music maker and his music were born in him. Stop telling people what happened to you, tell us what you made happen with what happened to you. Adversity is a school. Fail all the way to a successful graduation if need be. The problem is not in the failing but in the refusal to keep trying. The truth remains that most great things that last are always born out of great groaning. The name Job is today perpetually famous as the life and time of Mr. Job of Uz occupies 42 whole chapters in the Bible – many thanks to adversity. Will I have written this book if not that I failed MBBS? Is the famous our daily manna not a product of adversity? Friend, polish your determination and trust God again. God turns disappointments, delays, setups and setbacks to a stepping stone to your glorious throne. Always look out for the positive side of every situation. Never forget this: Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional. It all depends on your outlook. Two men saw the same cup, one said it is half filled, the other said it is half empty. A bend in the road is not the end of the road, unless one fails to take the turn. Stepping out of a university after six years without a certificate induced an urge within me to obtain three degrees instead of one. At the end of three years in another region, I did not only obtain three professional degrees, but did so in the three best federal universities in my country. Adversity pays. It is like a divine jetwith which those who understand its intricacies advance to a glorious height.
Life has thought me that God is the best master chef ever- little wonder he promised to provide our daily bread! Best chef. He garnishes our great success stories with a little failure. No wonder you will always pass failure on your way to success. You will. Divine success is like two slices of bread with failure sandwiched in-between. Failures, like sandwiches, make the bread of success so sweet and palatable. A wise man enjoys success as much as failure and he wisely learn greatly from both. I am yet to see a failure or adversity that never left me more successful and better placed for something bigger. Even if you wish life were a bed of roses, do not forget that roses have thorns. It is the rose we focus on and appreciate never the thorns. Yet, there can’t be roses without some thorns. That is why all the great men in the world history are those who managed their failures and adversities effectively. I smirk at those who call me a genius. Imagine a genius who failed university entrance examination three consecutive times and made it only at the fourth attempt. He went ahead to fail the TOEFL exam, thus crashing his dream of schooling in Europe. He goes ahead to fail his pre-degree exam and was bundled home like a used rag after one year in the university. Although he persevered, he went into medicine, but again failed his MBBS after 5 years in medical school and was subsequently shown the door.Hmmm. Yet the world calls him a genius. Indeed, no doubt, big shorts are just but small shots that k