Ask Chuka

  The moment I got onto the choir stand on Sunday, Matt, one of the choir masters, asked me to sit on the row behind where the tenor singers were seated. I immediately asked why because I knew I was supposed to sit with the tenors. "You didn't attend choir practice," he replied. For a split second, I considered arguing. After all, I am one of the choir leaders. A part of me felt he had no right to tell me where to sit simply because I missed one rehearsal. Then something crossed my mind. Leaders ought to be judged more strictly. So, I quietly took my seat. As expected, the decision didn't go down well with everyone. There were murmurs here and there. Some people argued that Matt was being selective. Others felt that if certain high-profile singers had missed rehearsal, the same rule would never have been enforced. Whether they were right or wrong wasn't really my concern. What stayed with me was the principle. When I got home after church, I found myself reflectin...

  The first time Hercules faced Hydra, he despaired after discovering that every time he cut off one of its heads, two more grew back in its place. The more he attacked the beast, the stronger it became. At that moment, Hercules feared he might never defeat it. I came across this story while reading Ikigai , where I encountered the word Antifragility , a concept proposed by Nassim Nicholas Taleb . Taleb describes antifragility as things that gain from disorder . In simpler terms, it reflects the popular saying: “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” To explain the idea further, Taleb says the word fragile refers to people, systems, organisations, or things that weaken when exposed to stress, pressure, or harm. On the other hand, words like robust and resilient describe things that can resist damage without breaking down. But antifragility goes a step further. Something that is antifragile does not merely survive shocks; it actually improves because of them. That was why Ta...

At an auto mechanic workshop recently, I overheard something that shocked me deeply. A man said a former two-term governor, two-term senator and former minister was currently broke and struggling to survive. Think about that for a second. That is almost 24 years occupying some of the most powerful political offices in Nigeria and still ending up with survival problems afterwards. At first, I found it difficult to believe until our discussion shifted to how easy it is for wealth, influence and relevance to disappear when discipline and structure are missing. But that is not even the real lesson. At my tennis club, one of our members, Mr Frank, once informed us that he was being considered for a major appointment in one of Nigeria’s ministries. We were excited and prayed along with him. Eventually, he got the appointment. If you understand how Nigeria works, you will know what many of us were thinking: “This connection could become useful for everybody.” But immediately he assumed offi...

  In 2025, I became close friends with a guy I met at the tennis court called Tosin. Because of our friendship, I spent a lot of time around his office while he sent several print and publishing jobs to us at Jewel Publishers. The relationship felt rewarding. Infact, when some of my colleagues complained about my constant absence during important strategic discussions, I simply asked them, “Are those meetings more important than the targets we are meeting?” Slowly, I became too comfortable. I even started changing some of my beliefs and accepted the popular idea that “ who you know matters more than what you know.” One day, after a disagreement with his colleagues, Tosin asked for my honest opinion. I gave it. Unfortunately, I didn’t support his position. From that moment, the jobs started reducing. Whenever I asked, there was always one explanation or another. I kept managing the little that came while trying not to make it obvious that I noticed the change.  Then one day, on...

When there was a need to engage graphic designers in the media department, Kevin hired Chuka and Stanley , both with clear job descriptions outlining their deliverables and KPIs. Over time, Kevin began assigning more tasks to Chuka, not out of favouritism, but because Chuka consistently delivered without reminders and often completed his tasks before the deadline. His reliability made him the natural choice whenever urgent or additional work came up. Stanley noticed this pattern and tried to persuade Chuka to slow down. He warned him that taking on too much work would only encourage their boss to keep increasing his workload without proper reward. Chuka, however, saw things differently. He laughed it off and explained that he did not mind the extra tasks because each one helped him improve his skills, sharpen his efficiency, and grow professionally. To him, the work was not just about the present; it was an investment in his future. At the end of the six-month evaluation period, Kevin...

  I have always heard that we are plagued by information overload. Today, if there is anything you want to learn, just type it into Google and you will be amazed at the amount of information available on that subject. When digital platforms began to dominate business, I struggled to find my place. I knew the opportunities that existed online, so I made a decision to acquire the necessary skills. I paid for several trainings. But with each one I took, it always felt like there was something better out there, so I kept going. A few days ago, after completing the Marketing and Structure training by Nelly , I decided to carry out a simple cost-benefit analysis . Not just financially, but also in terms of time because April, the fourth month of the year, is already wrapping up. 𝐌𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞: The results I was getting were not commensurate with the amount of training and resources I had consumed. And the reason was even simpler. I was learning, but not impleme...

  A few days ago, Yunga and I were discussing how to deal with the sound challenges in our parish. Catholic Church sound issues… hmmm. At some point, I got tired of the conversation and said we should just leave the matter. After all, we are not the ones leading the church. If the priests are comfortable with the sound the way it is, no wahala. We will keep managing it until we can no longer cope, and then perhaps move on to places with better sound systems. I honestly expected him to agree with me. Instead, he said something that stopped me. “𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐣𝐮𝐝𝐠𝐞 𝐮𝐬.” He went on to explain that we had not implemented all the strategies we had in mind. We had not even shared all our ideas with the priests before deciding to give up. According to him, if we did nothing, a day would come when people would walk into that church and wonder what kind of people once worshipped there. They would say, “Chuka, Yunga, Hilary and others were here… and this was the r...

  I read the story about a hunter who once caught a bird in a trap, but released it on the condition that the bird would give him three wise suggestions. The bird assured him that although it looked worthless, it had something valuable to offer. After gaining its freedom, the bird kept its promise. It said, 𝟏. 𝐍𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐠𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞. 𝟐. 𝐃𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐞. 𝟑. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞. On hearing this, the hunter scoffed and said, “I practise these things all the time. I knew you had nothing meaningful to offer.” The bird then flew to a higher branch and replied, “If you truly understood what I said, you would not have released me. There is a precious ruby in my heart. You could have made a fortune.” Immediately, the hunter was filled with regret . He tried to climb the tree to catch the bird, but fell and injured him...

  When I was in boarding school, I had a friend whose provisions were just garri , sugar and kuli kuli . For me, I had no garri at all. My parents believed it affected eyesight, so it never made it into my box. Yet, despite what we had or didn’t have, Kevin and I became very close. Same hostel, same class. We were almost inseparable in Federal Government College Kaduna . He was good at football, fast, and likeable, but there was a problem no one saw. Anytime Kevin asked for my provisions especially milk to soak his garri or cornflakes and I refused, he would stop speaking to me. Completely. No explanation. Just silence. And somehow, I always found myself begging him… with double of what he asked for. This went on for years. My provisions would finish quickly and when my mum asked, I couldn’t explain. They thought seniors were taking them. Even when I started keeping things with my guardian, it didn’t stop. Kevin would demand I bring more. When I couldn’t, the silence returned. At s...