Nigerian Youths Must Expand Their Minds Beyond "I Must Hammer" By Cliff Odebala Clarke

 I moved into a self contain with 3kids after a long protracted period of financial drought.

It was a self-induced financial wilderness experience because I wanted to complete a novel digital advertising turnkey technology in record time.

I was writing computer codes almost 16hours daily and it took 13months to get completed. I had no food or money to pay rent, so I had to move into my mum's house during this period.

Immediately after launch of the tech startup, it became a national phenomenal. The technology was widely used by most of the national dailies to stream adverts.

We were serving over 30million Nigerians ads daily but we weren't immediately profitable because every income was spent to acquire server assets and code maintenance.

Within this period, I got a small office and employed 2 persons to join the team.

8months after launch, a media buyer from Canada approached me for a merger or total takeover. After considering all the terms and weighing my current financial predicament, I opted out for a buy-out.

The company was bought for $93,000. I was very excited. I bought a land and a car immediately and started building a 6 unit of 2bedroom flats.

I had to sell out because of the societal stigma of being seen poor. It didn't matter what you carry in your head. Your intelligence means nothing. So long you are poor, you are a nobody. I wanted to at least be seen as a 'somebody'.

While living with my mum, my extended family members saw me like a problem child. A no-good child or an unserious person.

After the sales of my most advanced project till this very day... I became an instant name in town. Many didn't know exactly were my sudden wealth came from. They nicknamed me, Ogbusheleshe One. Some called me So Much Money. It felt good.

Some said I did blood money others said I have 'thumb printed', but I felt good because my mum will be happy that I finally made it as the insults and pains of seeing her eldest son jobless and wasting his life around the computer was so much for her to bear.

The media buyer was actually contracted to woo me into selling the startup by a top Digital advertising and search engine firm in the US. They killed the startup instantly.

Until you have had the basic things a normal person need to carry on with life, dreaming about a successful business will always be about money.

I have been offered over N150million by media buyers for Xera after they saw the blueprint but I had to turn down the offers.

I had the courage to turn down these offers because I now have houses, a reasonable bank account balance and a thriving construction business. I am no longer driven by money but a legacy, a vision and a clear goal of what I want to achieve for my kids and society.

Billions in dollars are achievable but our minds must evolve beyond the concepts of HAMMER.