* * *

The wind is nearly moving like a torrent and the elliptical leaves of the old almond tree are repeatedly rustling synchronously just outside the west entrance of the school auditorium at Wellson State University. About fifty people including Wilson and Shola are seated in the well lit and ventilated hall, facing a table of three panelists and speakers, one of whom is Thomas, and also, a female event anchor who is about to declare the event open.

Shola's phone rings and it breaks the partial decorum of the vicinity. Immediately, he picks it up and answers it. It is Jimmy.

"Shola, how far nau?"

"Bro, I dey o. How your side? "

"Ee dey well, my guy! Abeg you fit send me that girl number?" Jimmy asks.

"Which girl?" Shola inquires in confusion.

"This girl for our class nau, wey ee sister marry that day.. Stella."

"Ohh. Okay, no wahala. I'll send you her number now."

"Thanks bro!.. Ah.. Na music I dey hear for background so?.. Which side you dey?" Jimmy asks in curiosity.

"I'm at that Social Impact and Leadership program Thomas invited us to the other day. Na me and Wilson.. we just say make we reach here, learn from the speakers small before we come for the match this afternoon."

Upon hearing this, Jimmy becomes shocked, "And una no even call me?? Una sef.. I no dey like wetin una dey do o! We dey there together when dis guy dey talk about these things.. and una no even fit hala me sey una dey go the event. "

In response, Shola says in an apologetic tone, "No.. bro.. I be no know sey you be wan come.."

"Why I no go wan come??" Jimmy rebuffs.

Shola is at a loss for words. He notices that some of the people around are already looking at him and a bit disturbed by the drama on his phone call. So he slowly rises up from his seat and begins to walk outside to a more private place while trying to conjure up the most diplomatic and emotionally tactful response he can think of, "My bro.. see.. no be so. I no be know sey you dey this interested, if not, I for call you.. And based on sey we get our semi-final inter-faculty match later today, I be no know whether you go fit make am. Even me sef, na work I first come for oga Cosmas shop this morning, before Wilson hala me sey ee dey school, na'i we align sey make we go this event. Since 9:30am na'i we dey here this morning, and na jus now, by 10:15am dem wan finally start. And the good thing be sey ehn, we dey talk so.. if you wan come, you go fit still come. Dem neva start things proper. You fit still make am.."

Jimmy sighs and responds, "Anyhow sha.. Where I dey no too far from school.. I fit start to dey drive come. "

"Ehen.. that one just beta. We go keep seat for you." Shola replies with warm relief and a smile.

"Where di event dey hold? Na 600 LT? " Jimmy asks.

"No, the main auditorium."

"Okay.. we go see nau." Jimmy responds.

"Yeah, sure bro!.. Baba Jay!!.. Daddy Jimmy!.. See you soon." Shola echoes, before ending the call.

Walking back into the auditorium, Shola then takes his seat and tells Wilson to place his bag on the other chair beside him.

"Who be that?" Wilson asks.

"Na Jimmy. Ee dey vex sey we no call am. I be no even remember sey ee be wan come for the program." Shola responds .

Wilson raises a brow, "Jimmy??.. Ee even know the name of the program sef, wey ee dey vex?? Abi na because ee hear sey we come na'i make am wan still come? "

Shola widens his eyes and takes a deep breath, "Abeg, I no just want wahala. As ee say ee dey come so, make we keep seat for am."

"Lol.. Okay." Wilson responds and then smiles again before beginning to laugh profusely in low tone, "Chai.. My guy wan combine social entrepreneurship with G!.. Haha.. "

Shola shakes his head at Wilson's words while trying his best to contain his laughter, "Guy.. rest nau. What if he wants to explore other options?.."

"Explore other options, my foot!.. E dey find money grab. Hope sey you tell am sey no be money dem dey con share for here?.. And no be how to make quick money dem wan teach?.."

"Ee do, Wilson.. Ee do. If ee wan come, make ee come. There's no harm in him attending. At least, ee fit still hear something for here wey go change ee mind.. or at least, create more inspiration for him to harness his talents into achieving more legitimate forms of success. No matter who you are or your orientation, I feel like every Nigerian youth needs to attend classes like these."

"And you no call am?.." Wilson says with a devious smile.

Rolling his eyes sheepishly, Shola continually shakes his head and then says in an inspirational tone and with a righteous demeanor, "Las Las.. No knowledge is lost, and no trial is wasted, when it comes to touching the hearts of people. Think positive, my bro!"

Wilson replies in a similar manner, "Okay, Oprah!.. If you say so."

They both burst into laughter.

Then Shola taps Wilson's shoulder and exclaims jocularly, "This boy! You're beginning to grow a pair!.."

"Lol.. Someone has to wear the pants in this relationship."

"Ew! Get away from me! And go find your crush, Janet." Shola echoes.

"Guyy.. she's not my crush. She's too perfect and put together for me. I need a girl who is spontaneous, can take risks and can get down and dirty."

Shola laughs through his nose, "Bro!! You need a girl who is well balanced and organized! Your life is a mess."

"I know! But I want someone who will be messy with me. And also a bit dominant and very street and business smart."

"Ugh.. Bloody simp!" Shola exclaims.

"Lol!!! But you know you're more of a simp than me though! Haha.. How's Nancy?"

Shola grins in abashment, "You just had to play that card.."

"Haha.. Yes!.. Haha. The almighty Shola! Wooer of hearts!.. Finally met his match.. and the most toxic of them all. Chai.. How are you doing though? Do you see yourself moving on?"

"Of course!" Shola immediately exclaims with convincing certainty, "..In fact, I moved on that very day we broke up. She was never worth my time."

"Hey guys, could you please lower your voices, the session is about to begin." an attendee from the next row echoes angrily at Shola and Wilson who for the past few minutes have been making a distracting scene with their chatter.

"Oh, sorry." Shola responds before returning to a state of decorum.

"Hello everyone!" The event anchor greets, "..Thank you so much for being here! You are all welcome to today's youth social impact and capacity building event. Hope we've all been enjoying the music so far?.."

"Yess!" some members of the audience respond.

She continues, "That's awesome! As we progress, our DJ will keep releasing more cool jams so you can have a great time! We are about to begin with some of our wonderful speakers for today. They're seated here on the panel, and will be sharing with us their expertise, stories and critical insight into the fields of social entrepreneurship, leadership and the sustainable development goals, and how 'problem solving' serves as the most important bedrock of social impact, career and business based success in the 21st century global economy! Today's program will equally be packed with a lot of entertainment, fun and skill building activities. So please.. fasten your seatbelts! And prepare to be inspired! Prepare to be amazed and pumped up with value!! Thank you once again, and welcome everyone!"

The audience begins to clap.

After the round of applause, the event anchor turns to the table of panelists, raises the mic and continues whilst pointing her arm in their direction, "Without further ado, I'd like to welcome our first speaker for today. He is a renowned project management strategist, career coach, sustainability advocate and the current chief consultant of the state committee on youth entrepreneurship development. He is an alumnus of Wellson State University, the great!.."
Everybody claps at the name of their university.

"..And also a former Vice President of the WSU Political Science Students Association, as well as a distinguished fellow of the International Emerging Youth Leaders Fellowship. Please, with a round of applause, join me in welcoming onto the stage, the amazing.. erudite.. adroit and inspiring.. Stephen Ade Moyosoreoluwa!"

The entire auditorium reverberates with applause, as the speaker slowly steps forward.

"Thank you so much, everyone. It is my pleasure to be here. I was very happy to interact with some of you earlier on before the program began. And during our interaction, there were a lot of questions which were asked.. and one very interesting one which we deliberated on, I would love to present once again here, to all of you seated. And I would like your answers." the speaker says, letting out a warm smile.

Then he begins,

"When you watch the news.. or you read the papers or when you go on the internet to see things happening across the world.. What is the one thing you always find, that seems to be recurrent, in different places, at each point in time, a thing which it almost seems that the world has so much of? Does anyone have an idea?"

"Drama!" someone echoes from the audience. Everybody giggles.

"Alright, that's a good one." Ade responds with a smile, "Anyone else?.."

"Explicit content!" yells Wilson, to the utter amazement of everyone, and they all burst into laughter.

Ade laughs as well, "..Wow! So you find explicit content on the news??"

"Sometimes.." Wilson responds coyly and then everybody laughs again. "..Mostly social media though," he adds.

"Alright," Ade responds, ".. I understand what you mean." he then concurs before continuing, "Now, the one thing that you will find a lot of in the world today are 'problems'. Problems, concerns, challenges, limitations, stress and factors associated with stress, personal burdens, societal inadequacies, environmental hazards, public health concerns, and any other thing that causes discomfort, dissatisfaction, or that poses a hindrance to need, wellbeing or self actualization... All problems."

The hall is silent.

He continues, "..And if the world has so many problems, then what would be the one thing that we would all always be looking for? Solutions!..
Gratifiers, Pacifiers.. things that will provide us comfort, make us feel good or make us feel better. These would be the hallmark of the average human desire, need and fulfillment cycle, as relates to wellbeing or perhaps our perception of wellbeing. The set of things that humans are always looking for in life.. at every turn.. in every experience.. whenever the opportunity presents itself. It could come in the form of pleasure, psychological or emotional validation, need satisfaction, service provision, assistance in trying times or at desperate moments, luxury items and luxury experiences, or just basic needs like laundry, cooking, house cleaning, food delivery at our doorstep.. anything that could make our lives easier, more efficient and create more time for leisure.. It could be in the form of academic assistance or work related assistance, professional task management services and apps that make life easier at your fingertips. Humans constantly crave solutions to their problems. Therefore if you want to begin any enterprise that is profitable, or start any venture for personal impact, community impact, societal impact or you wish to become successful in your career or vocation in life, the first thing you need to do is to start solving problems or devote your energy and resources into solving a key problem. If you want to gain significance for yourself, your project, your enterprise, career or cause, 'solve a problem'."

".. If you've been contemplating ways to become an entrepreneur, then this is the most effective piece of foundational business advice you will need- 'solve a problem' or 'satisfy a need'. Think of something, create something or offer to do something that would make people's lives easier, meet their specific needs or interests, or perhaps on a more mundane front, make their lives simply more pleasurable and they will gladly pay you for it. It is almost like a law of the universe.. make yourself useful to the world around you, and you will be rewarded. Now of course, for this to work finance wise, you would need to put a price tag. If you don't put a price tag, then people will gladly utilize your services for free, or give you rewards when they feel most generous."

Jimmy walks into the auditorium and upon noticing the pervasive silence, quietly scurries to his seat, as beckoned by Shola and Wilson who kept an empty chair for him.

The speaker puts a hand behind his back, broadens the other arm outward in the direction of the audience, takes a few steps to the other side of the auditorium stage and continues with a slightly louder pitch, "The most successful people in the world today, all became successful by solving problems. Some intentionally and some, without even knowing it. A good number of people in the world who happen to be billionaires became so as a result of the value they created by solving unique problems along the way through innovation, or by satisfying key needs in high quality ways for large populations of people through innovative efforts that have earned appreciation. For example, many of you may know Elon Musk and the story of his interesting success strides.. from a rapid e-commerce service platform to electric cars, to advanced level space exploration, to reusable rockets, a global satellite internet service, a potential human neural-machine interface et cetera. These innovations and services have had great functional use and have become of great importance to an incredible number of people across the world, which is why they have yielded for him such financial returns and continue to yield returns as we speak. Another person we are all likely very familiar with through the impact she has made is Oprah Winfrey, a woman who for over two decades provided engaging and uplifting entertainment for audiences across the world, as well as contributing various forms of tremendous humanitarian support, whilst being a vibrant force who within the growing modern-media sphere of the 20th and early 21st century, revolutionized the concept of how talk shows on television could be used to impact the lives of people in positive ways. Tyler Perry, another well known black billionaire, has provided opportunities and in many ways promoted inclusion in the television and movie industry by constantly taking steps to shine a light on the beauty, talent and uniqueness of black entertainment on screen over the years, in ways that many consider truly irreplaceable. A lot of other successful people across the world today have in one way or another solved remarkable problems or met remarkable needs by pushing the boundaries of development, establishing enterprises that offer useful products or services, and providing sources of satisfaction that people are engaged with."

Ade steps down from the podium and walks into the midst of the attentive audience, ".. The problems you solve or the needs you satisfy are what give your enterprise or innovation 'value' to the external world. Chefs cook meals. Comedians make people laugh. Artists bring beauty to life. Builders erect buildings and structures, like the auditorium we're having this event in right now. Drivers transport people and items via vehicles. Teachers provide information and enlightenment to their students. And writers distill experiences, art and information into readable form. So in order to make a living, everybody solves a problem. The major difference usually is in the nature, the field, scope, complexity, impact or sentimental value of the problem solved, or the service rendered."

He widens his arms and then smiles, before slowly walking back to the podium, "Now, the themes of today's event are Social Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Capacity Building, Career Development and Sustainable Development through Technical, Environmental and Social Impact. Just like in professional careers and in business, in the field of social entrepreneurship through project management, promoting sustainable development or positive social impact, you also solve problems.. individual and societal problems or challenges.. by crafting either simple or complex innovative solutions that have the potential to make a healthy impact on the lives of people, communities, the environment or on other aspects of the larger collective society.. and then afterwards, taking actions to implement them. If you wish to solve a small problem or contribute to solving or helping to mitigate a larger societal problem, then you'll need to embark on the process of planning to implement a personal or collective project that helps the cause before or whilst taking steps of action. What is a project? Both formally and informally, a project is simply a practical model designed to achieve a defined outcome through the application of strategically managed efforts, resources and time."

"So the question is, 'How do you create a project?'.. 'How do you plan effectively?'.. 'How do you take action?'.. 'How do you make it effective enough to solve a problem?'.."

"..The first way to take effective action towards solving a problem or creating positive change in any field is to identify the problem, a current need in this field or an inadequacy that you find exists.. objectively.. analyze it, assess the factors which are likely to be causing this problem both directly and indirectly. If your project is yourself, then take a close look at yourself. If it is your academics, then take a look at your academics. If it is your career, take a close look at your career. And if it is your environment, then take a look at your environment. What things do you find objectively lacking, out of order or less than ideal and would really love to improve? What issues related to yourself as an individual or that are prevalent within a society that you are most passionate about, and would like to contribute your effort towards solving, improving or changing for the better?.."

"After identifying these issues and their underlying causes, the next step is to 'define your goals'.. to define the positive outcomes and changes you want to make. They may initially be vague or with a large amorphous scope and be focused majorly on the long-term, but for the short-term, you need to try to specify them in ways that are most realistic and which with stepwise action, can be reasonably feasible. Possibly, for better clarity, you could write them down, in the order which you would like to achieve them within a specific period of time, being conscious of the resources at your disposal and those resources which you do not currently have but you intend to seek out or build up. At the same time, you need to make clear distinctions between your short and long term goals in ways that are not only based on personal desire but also on their potential to be successful if assigned as either long-term or short-term. To best accomplish this.. you will need to take into account their level of feasibility, their complexity, their scope, your level of access to needed resources and most importantly, the level of effort you are willing to put in at the moment and that which you'd be willing to put in in the future.. in spite of obstacles, difficulties or failures. Usually, the best approach is to assign goals of greater complexity and larger scope, a longer time period for achievement and vice versa. This helps to better keep your mental time budget realistic."

"After defining your goals or whilst defining your goals, an additional step you will need to take is to 'define your motivations'. Now this may not directly give a final verdict on whether or not your goal will be achieved, but it will definitely determine how fruitful the journey will be in terms of fulfillment, especially when you reach the finish line, and how ultimately healthy the goals you are chasing will turn out, regardless of the outcome. So what are your motivations? And what are the reasons you are taking up some of these problems you wish to solve? Aside from personal interest, desire or need, there are additional core or external reasons and values which tend to contribute a great deal to how healthy the motivation that drives you and by extension, most of your path will be. On the journey towards every goal, the path is usually as relevant as the finish line and can serve to strengthen the wholesomeness of your existence and wellbeing, and ensure your potential success does not cost you or others or society a problematic price. And this is where the importance of morality in your driving principles come in. Even if only in the most objective sense, it can make the world of difference. What is the quality of the tomorrow you dream of? What beautiful visions do you hope to bring to life? These should be a part of your motivation."

Taking another breath, Ade steps down from the podium and comes to stand directly in front of the audience, saying, "Now before we continue, I'd like us to quickly appreciate something. Look around you. Before we all came into this auditorium today, someone thought of organizing this program. Some people contacted the speakers, invited them and designed the order of events. Some wonderful individuals contacted the school authorities to get their permission for us to use this auditorium. And some very creative brothers and sisters cleared, cleaned up and designed the entire place to look as beautiful as it is today. Can we please give them a round of applause!"

Everybody claps in appreciation.

Then he continues, "Did I forget also to mention that we had an incredible anchor earlier.. who presented the event, ushered us in and made us all feel so great?.. And then to crown it all, you all, wonderful people are seated here, giving us your time and attention, as we share the messages we have for you today. Please one more time, kindly give yourselves and the organizers of this program a round of applause!"

Immediately, a round of applause ensues, with rising energy and verve across the auditorium.

Ade continues, "Yes.. everybody is a stakeholder. We are all working together to make this program a success. We all need assistance. We all need input. We all need contributions, partners and factors of implementation outside of ourselves to make beautiful goals like this a success. So after defining your goals and motivations, you need to also identify potential stakeholders and articulate their roles. Stakeholders refer to individuals who have personal stakes or can contribute to the establishment of a solution to your identified problems. People who can contribute to the success of your set goals, by virtue of their capacity, influence, interest or proximity to the factors required to create impact, deliver value or services. Your goal or enterprise can have a variety of stakeholders. And in the real sense, every single person who is involved or associated with your enterprise is actually a stakeholder. This includes you who are the innovator, your teammates, volunteers, staff or coworkers, your target audience or in the case of a business, your customers, your mentors, supporters, personal cheerleaders, contractors, freelance professionals, small, medium and large scale partners, investors, community leaders, community members, socially influential individuals, schools, companies, health institutions, non-governmental organizations, relevant bodies, unions, associations, security providers and official local constituted authority. These are all stakeholders that you could involve in your project or in achieving your goals. And sometimes, especially when you have a very good social networking strategy, you may not even need to pay for it."

"Now, when considering this, it is important to note that whilst many entrepreneurs may be tempted to focus greater attention on external stakeholders whom they perceive to be the most influential or possess the greatest amount of material resources, it is very important to recognize that each and every stakeholder plays a delicately important, unique and sometimes irreplaceable role in every effective journey towards a goal. And it would be very unwise to underestimate or neglect one or more key stakeholders, because it may make you miss out on integral benefits or cause outright harm to the achievement of your goals, in a case where the right implementation strategies, engagement and nurturing skills could have led to their ultimate effectiveness or success. Similar to you and other people invested in your enterprise, one of the most valuable stakeholders you could have could be your target audience. Who are your target audience? The people you are trying to impact or render services to. And this is one of the many reasons why effectiveness of service and product quality are highly important. If the quality of your impact, value provision, connection, follow up or level of satisfaction inspired by your brand and your cause is strong enough, your target audience could very well become a nearly infinite pool of devoted supporters, new contributors, volunteers, staff, return customers and participants, professionals, expert services, feedback services, social, cultural or trend update services, networks to other individuals and potential factors required for better impact creation or production.. etc.. I hope we're all following."

"Yes sir!" echoes Shola loudly along with some other students who are fiercely taking notes on their seats, in relish of the amount of distilled value they have so far acquired for their time. Jimmy on the other hand feels a bit lost in all the words, but nevertheless tries to listen anyway, to see how much more he can sit through. While a number of people in the audience seem to be enjoying it, he would've preferred it much better if the speaker made an effort to give more definite examples, emotional anecdotes and relatable stories than a string of lengthy theoretical yarn. Looking to his side though, Wilson and Shola seem so ecstatic, like they are having mental orgasms. The last thing he wants is to appear like he is not following by maybe bringing out his smartphone, so he makes sure to keep listening as intently as possible.

Climbing back up to the podium, Ade clears his throat, swallows some saliva and continues, "Having established your major goals, motivations and identifying stakeholders, you will need to then brainstorm and think of an actionable plan or set of plans that you can employ in your final action phase. You'll also need to come up with a process of engagement that you can maintain with each of these key stakeholders who can help to make the successful achievement of your goals possible. The aim here is to provide an answer to the question, 'How?'. How will you take action? How will you execute your plan and objectives? This process is called 'outlining your strategies'. And it involves two phases; a phase of fragmented strategy formulation and a phase of strategy arrangement. During the first phase, you will need to conceptualize logically and emotionally viable or logically and emotionally intelligent approaches to addressing issues, solving specific problems and achieving the specific goals set before you, first in a manner that is independent of order, and only seeks to link cause with effect and challenge with mitigation. So if your goal is to get from here to the National Museum at Ring road, Benin City and submit a printed file, you'll need to identify without order that you need a means of transportation from here to Ring road be it private or public, bus or taxi, depending on your budget. In the case of public, you'll need to take a transport vehicle from Sakponba to Ring road and also a tricycle from the university gate to the main Sakponba road bus stop. You'll also need to transport yourself from this auditorium the the university gate, and you can devise strategies to do that, either by walking to the gate or taking an intra-school cab. These are independent plans or solutions that have not yet been arranged in the order of which should come first or second or third..
In the second phase, you can then begin a strategic arrangement of all these solved micro problems in order of efficient and timely importance, based on the available time, resources and other things at your disposal, including your skills and preferences. So then, you can articulate based on your budget that you need to first walk from here to the main university gate, print out the document at one of the shops around there, then enter a tricycle to Sakponba road. Afterwards, you can then take a bus from the bus stop to Ring road where the National Museum is located."

As he reaches this point, members of the audience begin to clap and the environment regains a jubilant ambience once more. As the applause comes down, he prepares to conclude,

".. As we conclude, there are a number of things we have mentioned so far which may concern many innovators today particularly with regard to skills and resources. How can I do this? What is my capacity? What are the things I have at my disposal?.. These are some of the many questions we are bound to ask when goals lie before us. And it necessitates the next stage of problem solving- Identify your resources, your capacity and your skill base. What are the things you currently have or are available to you, and how can you use them to achieve your goals? Resources and capacity could include personal skills, acquired knowledge, professional expertise, facilities, gadgets, infrastructure, social networks, capital goods, manpower, skilled contractors, funds, et cetera. You need to learn to become more actively conscious of these things without getting too overwhelmed by them because in life, where there is a will, there is always a way. Do not be too quick to dismiss your abilities or the living and nonliving elements of the environment around you as simply causal or only for engagement, because every single thing on this planet has the capacity to be productive. You just need to learn how to engage with them well enough, in ways that are goal oriented..
While you objectively consider the things you have, also consider the things you don't have and figure out ways to get them. Develop a success mindset today, one that encourages you to carve out paths where there may seem to be none. If the path ahead seems tough due to a limitation of resources, adopt this mantra, 'everything I do not have, through diligent effort, I can get and I can gain access to, through help from others who have them or who can get them.' Think to yourself. 'What are those things I do not yet have or are perhaps not available to me, which could impact my goals?' Is there a way I could embark on a journey to get them? Is there a way I could build my capacity to manifest these things just like others?.. And should this therefore form a part of my implementation strategy? Deciding to answer these questions wisely, diligently and optimistically will make you a relentless winner."

"Finally, after considering all the elements of planning or while articulating them on the field, 'take action'. Take action and continue taking action, one step after another. Even if things slow down, carry on. Even if you fall, rise up and keep going. If you are unable to be as consistent as you had hoped, it is never too late to begin. Unless for some reason, your goals were a mistake from the very start, don't give up. Everyone falls at some point. Everyone slows down at some point. It doesn't mean that all hope is lost. Ask those who have made it, and they will tell you one very special thing- that it is because they didn't give up. As you go on your journey, with each stage, measure your impact, tap from the benefits of improvement, establish healthy habits, create healthy bridges and savour the fruits of the journey of progress. Thank you."

* * *

Glossary:
"Las Las.." - "At the end of the day.."
"Shola, how far nau?" - "Shola, how are you?"
"Bro, I dey o. How your side? " - "Bro, I'm doing good. How are things at your end?"
"Ee dey well, my guy! Abeg you fit send me that girl number?" - "It's all good, my guy! Please could you send me that girl's number?"
"This girl for our class nau, wey ee sister marry that day.. Stella." - "The girl in our class whose sister got married the other day.. Stella."
"Ah.. Na music I dey hear for background so?.. Which side you dey?" - "Wait.. Is that music I hear in the background?.. Where are you?"
"Na me and Wilson.. we just say make we reach here, learn from the speakers small before we come for the match this afternoon." - "It's Wilson and I.. we just decided to quickly attend the event and learn from the speakers a little bit before coming for the football match this afternoon."
"And una no even call me?? Una sef.. I no dey like wetin una dey do o! We dey there together when dis guy dey talk about these things.. and una no even fit hala me sey una dey go the event. " - "And y'all didn't even call me?? You guys though.. I really don't like the way you act sometimes. We were there together when the guy informed us of this event.. and you guys didn't even deem it fit to call me and let me know that you'd be going to the event."
"No.. bro.. I be no know sey you be wan come.." - "No.. bro.. I didn't know you had wanted to attend.."
"Why I no go wan come??" - "And why wouldn't I want to attend??"
"My bro.. see.. no be so. I no be know sey you dey this interested, if not, I for call you.. And based on sey we get our semi-final inter-faculty match later today, I be no know whether you go fit make am. Even me sef, na work I first come for oga Cosmas shop this morning, before Wilson hala me sey ee dey school, na'i we align sey make we go this event. Since 9:30am na'i we dey here this morning, and na jus now, by 10:15am dem wan finally start. And the good thing be sey ehn, we dey talk so.. if you wan come, you go fit still come. Dem neva start things proper. You fit still make am.." - "My man.. it's not like that. I didn't know you were this interested, if not, I would've called you. And also, because we have our semi-final inter-faculty match later today, I wasn't sure whether you'd be able to make it. The main reason I came to school this morning was to work at Mr. Cosmas' shop. But then Wilson called me to tell me he was in school, so we met up and eventually decided to attend this event. And despite the fact that we've been waiting here ever since the official start time at 9:30am this morning, they're only just beginning the event now at 10:15am. The good thing is.. since we're speaking right now, if you'd like to come, you can still come. They haven't yet started things proper. You can still make it."
"Anyhow sha.. Where I dey no too far from school.. I fit start to dey drive come. " - "Anyway though.. Where I am right now is not too far from school.. I can start driving down."
"Ehen.. that one just beta. We go keep seat for you." - "Exactly.. that's perfect. We'll save a seat for you."
"Where d event dey hold? Na 600 LT? " - "Where is the event holding? Is it at 600 LT?"
"Okay.. we go see nau." - "Okay.. we'll see you there."
"Who be that? " - "Who was that?"
"Na Jimmy. Ee dey vex sey we no call am. I be no even remember sey ee be wan come for the program." - "It was Jimmy. He's angry we didn't call him. I didn't even remember he was interested in attending the program."
"Jimmy??.. Ee even know the name of the program sef, wey ee dey vex?? Abi na because ee hear sey we come na'i make am wan still come? " - "Jimmy??.. Does he even know the name of the program?? That he's this angry?? Or is it just because he heard that we came, and also wanted to come?"
"Abeg, I no just want wahala. As ee say ee dey come so, make we keep seat for am." - "Please, I just don't want any trouble. Since he said he's coming, let's save a seat for him."
"Chai.. My guy wan combine social entrepreneurship with G!.. Haha.. " - "Dang.. My man wants to combine social entrepreneurship with internet fraud!.. Haha.."
"Guy.. rest nau. What if he wants to explore other options?.." - "Cut it out, man. What if he's interested in exploring other options?.."
"Explore other options, my foot!.. E dey find money grab. Hope sey you tell am sey no be money dem dey con share for here?.. And no be how to make quick money dem wan teach?.." - "Explore other options, my foot!.. He's looking for a money grab. I hope you told him though that they won't be giving out any money here?.. And that the lecture isn't going to be about how to make quick money?"
"Ee do, Wilson.. Ee do. If ee wan come, make ee come. There's no harm in him attending. At least, ee fit still hear something for here wey go change ee mind.." - "That's enough, Wilson.. That's enough. If he wants to attend, let him attend. There's no harm in him attending. At least, he might even hear something that may change his mind.."
"And you no call am?.." - "And you didn't call him?.."