Ibukun Abiodun Awosika is a Nigerian business woman, author and motivational speaker. The 56-year-old successful entrepreneur, wife and mom was the keynote speaker at the 13th annual convocation ceremony of the Covenant University.
Telling the graduands to take charge of their future irrespective of what it looks like in Nigeria presently, the Chairman, Board of Directors, First Bank of Nigeria Limited, also touched on the subject of marriage. Though she gave the advice sometimes last year, it is worth sharing!
In her words:
âOne of the biggest decisions that you will make in your life is to choose the man or woman that you will marry. People take it lightly but it can make or break your life. So, with all the ambition and the vision that you have, with all the dreams that your parents have for you, if you marry the wrong guy or the wrong girl, everything can be derailed one way or the other. So, donât play with it. Donât marry a fool, whether male or female.
Have a sense of who you are and when you have a sense of who you are, you will understand who is fit for you as the lord leads you. You will know that itâs not about naira or kobo; itâs not about silver and gold. The son of a rich man is not a rich boy because only the one that has the cash flow has the money.
Whatâs the best thing that will happen? They have a big wedding. They didnât have it for you; they had it for their own image. They will give you a house and many cars on day one, all the cars will get old at the same time and if you do not have the capacity to maintain or to keep them, youâre already in trouble.
Cash flow is the money you need to do everyday not for the wedding ceremony. So, marrying the son of a rich man is not your solution.
Seek to find the bone of your bone who can accommodate the vision and the ambition in your heart as a person. Who can be an enabler for you to emerge, who can encourage and support you. He might not look like it right now but just understand that people manifest in seasons.
Donât allow anybody to deceive you. Look for a man that fears the lord. A man who is responsible and right thinking, he has vision and ambition. I guarantee you, you will show up somewhere and you will be glad you met him.
There are many that have seemed like it when we were young; many of those that seemed like it did not emerge to be it. So, you cannot tell who this person will become but you can test his character, his person, his commitment, his truthfulness, his love for you and his ability to hold and to encourage you.
Especially for the girls, God made them male and female. Every promise of God is for you as it is for the male. God meant for you to fully manifest yourself. Be the best of yourself, not the best of another person at every stage of your lifeâ.
