Here’s to Africa’s Nwoke Oma men (and women)

Recently, we visited our aYo Holdings operations in Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria and Cameroon. At an event to launch our aYo Nigeria business, the DJ played a song called ‘Nwoke Oma’, by acclaimed Afro-pop and R&B performer, Chike. 

When you dey hustle, you go dey all alone/ When you are still hustling you will be all alone

When you succeed, them go call you their own/When you succeed they call you their own

Na because you don dey for the throne/It’s because you are now on the throne

They dey call you Nwoke Oma/that they call you a good/desirable man

We all know the feeling. When things go well, everyone wants to be part of it. But when times are tough, people stand back and criticise. You have to fight it all alone.

I quickly realised this song was anthemic for the locals. It’s a go-to song to find encouragement when you experience setback after setback. It’s what I saw in aYo Nigeria CEO, Kayode Odetola . Here’s a man who has been hustling hard – and often feeling alone – to build a business in tough trading conditions. The most recent challenge has been the removal of petrol subsidies by the incoming Nigerian president in an already struggling economy.

But for Nigerians, defeat is not an option. They always stand up and fight back. They make a plan. And they do it to build their communities and provide a better future for their families.

The name ‘Nwoke Oma’ is of Igbo origin, and means ‘handsome man, or good man’. It can also infer a spiritual man who has to rely on his intuition, to hustle, and to make a living. There are no silver bullets or easy solutions. But they try again day after day, not allowing failures to pull them down. 

We spent the next weekend at Labadi Beach Hotel in Accra, which has hosted monarchs, presidents and prime ministers. When we arrived, the beachfront was clean and inviting. Following heavy downpours on Friday evening and Saturday morning, I waited for a break to go for a walk on the beach – but it was full of rubble and sewerage! 

The lagoon had flooded, and waste from nearby informal settlements washed onto the beach. I turned to go back to my room. But then I noticed a man on the beach and a hotel staff member trying to clean up while others just carried on with their own business. And then I realised there are many Nwoke Oma’s across Africa who need to be celebrated.

Suddenly, ‘going alone’ no longer represents a negative association for me. There is a positive aspect to going alone, which is the role of servant leadership. Here’s to the men and women of Africa, the Nwoke Oma’s, who hustle alone – not for the praise, but to build our people and our nations.

You can never trust anybody

They only there for the money

Protect your soul and your body

No let anybody do you cunny

When the raba stеady coming

Your name go dey touch ceiling

Anything you do е go turn hailing

They go call you Nwoke Oma, Nwoke Oma

#Nigeria #Africa #bettertogether #insurtech