LET NO ONE STEAL YOUR DREAM - EMEKA ASOGWA

EMEKA ASOGWA LET NO ONE STEAL YOUR DREAM

I was a newly admitted undergraduate student, determined to help my Mum (now late) when I disagreed with my Sunday school teacher in my church. I had changed environment, leaving Enugu State to study in another State. The first thing my new church did was to organize new membership class for us as new students.

One day, my nice Sunday school teacher was giving us examples how to dream. And she said that no student would be dreaming to own and drive a car on campus, and the “Winners Chapel” in me began to react. I almost vocally disagreed with my Sunday school teacher in Church because I had always dreamed of driving my own car as an undergraduate. My reason was simple…I hated poverty that dealt with my parents.

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My father died as a local farmer while my sweet Mum died as a struggling tomatoe seller. Tears! Mama if not for HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE should be alive to see me today. I hate you MR POVERTY with passion. We will defeat you forever by God’s grace!

I was just going through my old pictures yesterday and I saw this my old photo, where I sat on my first car, the Mercedes car I bought in my 3rd year in the University. My mum did not see my first car and my wife because she had died before that time.

When my Sunday school teacher was teaching us how and when to dream, she never knew part of my dream then was to support my campus ministry with a mission car that would give me ‘movement’ in my outreaches. As a student in the University, I was traveling to various schools in Nigeria, organizing seminars and tutorials for my fellow students.

I remember I would drive from my school to ESUT, IMT , UNILAG, UNIPORT, UNN, UNIZIK etc to host Empowerment programs for my fellow students. I would storm UNN those days, pay for PAA hall and that hall would be filled to the capacity. As a student ooooo! One day, Pastor Nnamdi of Winners Chapel visited my seminar meeting in my school days and challenged me to dream of riding a car as a student to support my outreaches, to assist me move from one campus to another. Today, Pastor Nnamdi runs his ministry in Aba. I love you Sir.

When grace is speaking for you in certain areas, be careful what you accept from your teachers. Many students who only were good in drawing the ‘parts of coakcroches’ and passing exams are today confused, pocketless and very frustrated. Balanced learning must go with schooling and skill development. I advise parents not to dream for their children. They are now in the digital world where it is no more about CERTIFICATE but more of SABIFICATE.

Peter Daniels was scored poor in his primary school days because he submitted an assignment to his teacher about his dream farm. His teacher had assigned to the students to write down their dreams and submit the next day in school. And Peter wrote that he was going to run a big ranch that would sit on hectares of land. And his teacher became offended with such massively “unattainable” dream. When the teacher saw the big dream of Peter Daniels, she advised Peter to rewrite the dream to achievable dream or be ready to get a zero mark.

And when Peter got home and narrated to his father what his teacher told him, his father looked at his dream paper and advised his son either to choose to get a zero or to keep his dream. And Peter went for his dream and submitted the same dream paper to his teacher and the teacher scored him a big zero and angrily threw that dream paper back to the dreamer.

And just like Peter Daniels of America, Emeka Nwa Nsukka disagreed with his Sunday school teacher. At that time in my year one in the University, I had read and digested the story of Peter Daniels.

At the end, Emeka later bought a car as a student while Peter Daniels later built one of the biggest ranches in the history of America. One day, his teacher as a retiree visited the biggest ranch then in America and it was built by her old student.

When the aged teacher was offered a microphone to make her remarks about her student Peter, in tears, she advised:

“Let no one steal your dreams. Not even your teacher!”

Dream is bigger than family background. Dream is more powerful than certificate. Dream big but always be ready to start small. While Peter took his dream, his teacher collected her good scores.

Emeka Asogwa
CEO Wisdom Foundation
Former SSA to Enugu Governor On Empowerment & Human Capital Development