Ask Chuka

  Today I read the story of two animal friends, the Crocodile and the Monkey. The Monkey lived on a coconut tree by the river, where the Crocodile also resided. As the Monkey played, it often tossed coconuts down to the Crocodile as a kind gesture. One day, the Crocodile took a coconut home. His wife enjoyed it so much that she became curious about its source. Upon hearing that it came from the Monkey, she said, “If the coconut from the Monkey tastes this good, imagine how delicious his heart would be.” She then urged her husband to bring her the Monkey’s heart. Wanting peace at home, the sad Crocodile went to the Monkey and invited him on a ride across the river as a sign of friendship. The Monkey gladly agreed. As they neared the Crocodile’s home, a guilty conscience made the Crocodile confess his real intention, to deliver the Monkey’s heart to his wife. But the clever Monkey, hiding his fear, calmly replied, “Ah, that would have been fine, but I left my heart back on the coconu...

  You may not know me personally, but take this from me: DEBT COULD BE A TERRIBLE THING. As long as you owe someone, you remain their servant, no matter how talented or respected you are. Yesterday, while driving to work and enjoying my heavenly sandwich, I spotted Emeka in traffic and nearly lost my appetite. Why? I remembered how badly I suffered in his hands after I was duped of the money I had borrowed from him to fund a certain business opportunity. Let me gist you. When I went back to Emeka to explain what had happened, he empathised with me and even offered a payment plan since it was clear I couldn't return the money all at once. Sometime after, we were both invited to serve as panellists at a supply chain management event. I was the first to share my thoughts on a topic, which Emeka later disagreed with. But my take must have sounded more compelling, because I was asked to expand further. Crazy me (forgetting that my oga at the top was seated beside me), I took a whiteboar...

I cannot forget when Chuka called me on the phone, even though the advert clearly said WhatsApp only, begging me to please adjust the interview time for him because he desperately needed the job. The panel and I had agreed that the interview would be over by 12 noon, except I was willing to pay extra hours based on our hourly arrangement. I agreed to the terms, yet I found myself wondering why I was spending more money for someone I had never met and wasn’t even sure would be good enough for the sales rep job. While contemplating, I could not shake off the desperation in his voice when he said, “Sir, I really need this job. I just finished my NYSC today and only just saw the interview notice. I’ll leave really early from the village I served in Kogi and try to be there before noon, but in case I don’t make it on time, an hour or a few minutes more will be just fine, please.” I remembered so well what life after Youth Service looked like. That compulsory settlement phase, when your pare...

  While reading my devotional by Nicky and Pippa Gumbel, I learned that Charles Finney, the evangelist, was also a lawyer. In the 1830s, speaking in a New York church, he often made altar calls, asking people to step forward publicly while they still had the chance to give their lives to Jesus, and many responded, especially lawyers like him. One night, however, the Chief Justice of New York, deeply moved by the gospel Charles preached, wrestled in his mind with the idea of stepping out like the ordinary people. He wondered if it was appropriate given his prestigious position as the highest-ranking figure in New York’s legal hierarchy. After a long time pondering, he finally thought, ‘Why not? I’m convinced of the truth, why shouldn’t I do it like everyone else?’ Perhaps afraid, like Nicodemus, he went backstage and quietly told Finney, ‘When you call people out to give their lives publicly, I will come out.’ An excited Finney wasted no time. He announced to the whole congregation,...

  When Princess Anita was born, the king ordered his guards to abandon her in the forest because he wanted a son, not a baby girl. Luckily, the princess did not die. A mother bear found her, took her to its cave, and raised her alongside its cubs. Anita grew up strong in the forest, learning to do anything a man could do. When she turned sixteen, after her father died, her mother searched the forest and brought her back to the palace. Anita blossomed into a beautiful lady, the desire of every prince from neighbouring towns, all asking for her hand in marriage. She decided to set up a competition to choose wisely, as they all seemed worthy. Her demands were supposedly simple: Any prince who could beat her in a race would become her husband. As expected, since she was a woman, they all thought it would be easy, but none could outrun her. One day, a very handsome prince from a distant land arrived and accepted the challenge. As they raced, realising he would lose given her remarkable ...