The story of success from a third world perspective
The story of success from a third world perspective
The recent influx of investment into Nigeria’s tech ecosystem shows why access to quality opportunities, among other factors, is key to success.
No one achieves success alone. Growing up in Nigeria, where parents value academic excellence, I used to think a high IQ, hard work and ambition guarantee success.
Back then, to make it in life, you needed to “know book”. And you're reminded of this “fact” wherever you went.
Poor academic performance was never an option.
Parents would even torment you with the repercussions of failure. Do you want to end up like Kasali, the gateman? or Aboki the shoe cobbler?
Thus, the lure of a profession in medicine or law inspires you to work harder. It's better than being a shoe cobbler, right?
And this was how we understood success. Go to school. Work hard. Pass your exams. Study to become either a doctor or an engineer.
So you either end up in the sciences, arts or commercial classes.
But those in the sciences accrue more respect in high schools. They are considered brilliant folks who understand calculus. Others, like me in the arts, were seen as “olodos” or average students.
At first, I accepted this as a universal truth. But as I subjected myself to more study, and came across interesting materials like Gladwell Malcolm’s Outliers, I unlearned the concept of success.
I discovered that success is a summation of different hidden and obvious factors than intelligence. This is not to dismiss brilliance or a high IQ.
It's just that, success isn't what the society -- whose knowledge is limited by their worldview -- define it as.
It's a mix of fate, family background, access to quality opportunities and location. Malcolm calls these “Accumulated advantages” or the “Matthew Effect”, a concept inspired by the Biblical verse in the Gospel of Matthew 25:29:
“For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.”
In summary, it's linked to the old adage that “the rich gets richer and the poor get poorer”
In Outliers, Malcolm also points out that being a genius isn't the only ticket to success.
He uses the story of Christopher Langan as an example.
Described as the smartest man in America, Langan has an IQ of 195, higher than Einstein's 150, but he ended up a horse farm owner in rural Missouri despite his natural abilities.
But, Langan, like every other genius stuck in third world countries or the wrong location, didn't achieve a high level of success because he grew up in a village where opportunities were limited.
For someone who didn't grow up in a mentally stimulated family, a career in the sciences or tech didn't appeal to Langan. Farm work did, and that was because of his environment.
Assuming he grew up in Silicon Valley or San Francisco, he would have been the next big thing after Bill Gate or Albert Einstein. Maybe. Just maybe.
Langan’s story emphasizes the fact that the wrong environment, family background and limited access to opportunities could stunt one’s potential.
In this part of the world, I mean Nigeria, we share the same reality with Langan. Most of us are stuck to the only option available to us.
Like Langan, our choice of career mirrors the pulse of societal or parental limited worldview.
You're either encouraged to become a doctor or lawyer.
The other day, my friend, Dr Gentle said he would have pursued a career in software engineering if he had access to quality information earlier in high school.
He blames his choice on lack of information, and this again establishes one fact: If you had more access to quality opportunities, you wouldn't have considered your current career.
Who doesn’t like a better life riddled with quality opportunities?
But limited opportunities aggravated by a lack of exposure and quality career choices allow you to settle for your present job.
Your desire to access quality opportunities is evident in how you leap or react whenever news like Flutterwave recent valuations of $1billion.
Using Gladwell’s theory of accumulated advantages, the influx of investments in Nigeria’s tech ecosystem tells an interesting story of success, one that reveals successful tech startup founders like Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, Olugbenga “GB” Agboola, Shola Akinlade as Outliers.
From a third world perspective, their career trajectory is worth studying and replicating, a concept I'm choosing to call strategic opportunistic success.
They had access to quality opportunities, good jobs, mentorship and long hours of practice/education -- writing code or learning to obey the 10,000-hour rule -- while receiving good feedback.
My friend, Nkechi, showed me the LinkedIn profile of GB, the founder of Flutterwave yesterday following the news of its latest $170 million Series C funding.
Since 2004, he’d worked on digital banking with traditional banks in Nigeria, with Paypal, Google, and studied abroad.
Trust me, he deserves all the opportunities he’s getting, and there’s a unique design to his career trajectory.
I believe there's a blueprint to everything in life. And if you check the Nigerian tech ecosystem, you'd see a pattern of people who, besides hard work or the illusion of it, have had access to quality opportunities.
They attended Y-combinator, a startup school that funds early-stage startups.
They have access to networks courtesy of exposure, education abroad, work experience and family background.
Again, I am not faulting them for getting privileges. They deserved or earned it.
I’m just pointing your attention to the concept of success and how exposure to opportunities contributes to their achievements.
It’s not enough to learn how to write code or study the next big trend like Cryptocurrency or Artificial Intelligence.
While being ambitious and driven is good, it’s also not a sustainable strategy.
However, finding leverage and exposure in the right places works. It’s a concept that has worked for Nigerians relocating abroad.
It’s working for tech startup founders getting mentorship through YC. It’s also working for those acquiring work experiences in established corporations.
Further readings
Do well to read Gladwell Malcolm’s Outliers. I found a PDF copy just for you. Download it here
You can also listen to Paystack CEO, Shola Akinlade talks about how his career trajectory and how he got into Y-combinator.
PS: I'm trying to organize a Clubhouse event that will expand more on the concept of accumulated advantages with friends and acquaintances who have benefited from quality opportunities. I'm sorry it will have to be a clubhouse, for now.
I understand that it's available to only iOS or iPhone users, but this seems to be a better option, for now. Let me know if you'd like to join us so I can send you an invite to the event when it's all set.