Ask Chuka

DO NOT LET ANYONE LOOK DOWN ON YOUR BUSINESS A few years ago, at my friend's grocery shop, I witnessed a heated altercation between him and one of his sales staff. The scene was unpleasant, with harsh words flying back and forth. When I inquired, I discovered that he had audited the shop's accounts and deducted the cost of missing items from the staff member's salary, per their prior agreement. Upset by this, the staff member decided to resign, demanding a refund of the deductions. My friend responded, "We'll need to inform your guarantor about the missing items before I can process a refund." This remark caused the staff member to angrily exclaim, "This small, nonsense shop is asking for a guarantor—how much is the entire business even worth?" I noticed those words hit my friend hard. He felt his business wasn’t being respected because it was seen as “too small” to deserve proper structure. To every business owner out there, running a business is a ...

  THE DAYS OF MY LACK TAUGHT ME HOW TO BEHAVE IN THE DAYS OF ABUNDANCE. I used to dread the evenings when AEDC took the light because my inverter batteries had gone bad. The moment the power went off, it wouldn’t take more than five minutes before I’d hear the dreaded beep, signalling that total darkness was imminent. To stretch the little energy left, I would quickly send the boys to bed early. We’d turn off all TVs, fridges, and lights in rooms no one was using. Sometimes, even after all these efforts, the inverter would keep beeping—or worse, shut down completely—until the sunlight gave us some relief in the morning. A few weeks ago, I finally decided to end my misery by investing in stronger, longer-lasting inverter batteries. I knew AEDC wasn’t going to change, so I had to take control. Now, as I write this, AEDC has taken the light again. But this time, my batteries are fully charged, and we have power. Yet, we still make it a point to turn off lights in areas where no one is...

  Don't Give Up A few years ago, when I envisioned becoming a billionaire by the age of 40, I planned to retire early and learn the piano. The dream was to eventually play in a band once I stepped away from formal work. Although I’m not a billionaire yet, I decided to stick to that plan and began my piano-learning journey. After mastering the first five notes, I was tempted to quit. It was then I realised how challenging it is to teach an old dog new tricks. Some songs felt impossible to play until I had attempted them at least ten times. Yet, something kept pushing me to try again—perhaps the satisfaction of succeeding on the tenth attempt or the thought that staying engaged is key to keeping loneliness at bay as one grows older. Today, I’m happy to share that I’ve chosen to persevere on this journey. While the lessons grow harder, they’ve also taught me valuable lessons in persistence—encouraging me not to give up on my vision of becoming a billionaire, either. The truth is, I ra...

HE WHO DOESN'T SIT ON A CUSHION OF ADVANTAGE DOESN'T GET TO SLEEP While congratulating America, I thought about Nigeria and sincerely wished we could attempt something similar to what the Americans have done. Biden was elected when Donald Trump was President, a decision made because many Americans were discontented with Trump’s leadership. Voting for Biden was, in a way, an experiment—one the people hoped would work. When it didn’t meet their expectations, they collectively said, “We made a mistake, and we’ll correct it,” which they did. Hopefully, Donald Trump will now perform to a higher standard. From my experience, those who feel less entitled to a position often work harder, especially when not cushioned by privilege. Peter Obi, one of Nigeria’s 2023 presidential candidates, is from the South East, a region with only five states, the fewest in the country. Unlike other regions, the South East doesn’t wield significant political power. Despite these disadvantages, Peter Obi...

  At Jewel Publishers , I often ask clients looking to print or publish their books: What are your social media handles? With their responses, I go straight to their profiles to assess their online presence, especially how they engage with their audience. These findings shape the guidance I offer, particularly for writers aiming to meet tight publication deadlines. For those with a limited online presence, I usually suggest they hold off on releasing their books—unless they’re planning a launch backed by a strong network that can offset their initial expenses. However, great books shouldn’t be confined to readers who can immediately provide financial returns through personal networks. Instead, they should reach a broad audience, and the only way to achieve that is by dedicating time to building a community ready to engage with their work upon publication. Allow me to share an example: Recently, I read a review of Economics with Uncle Tunde by Tosin Adeoti on Facebook ( Read the rev...