Bovi Ugboma: So you think you are a Success?!

By Bovi Ugboma

I was driving to a location on Saturday the 12^th of  November when my phone started beeping, signifying I had a “BB” message.  Since I was driving, I had to force myself to not pick the phone untill I got to the next traffic stop, and that I did. It was Isaac Oladipupo, the creator of SoarNaija.com. We had previously courted the idea of having me as a contributor on the site, and now Isaac was ready for business. I will spare you all the drama of how we mildly debated what I should write on. Ordinarily I would have loved to write on entertainment but the fact that I am an entertainer just didn’t let the idea sit well with me. Then he suggested the comic page to me and, because of that, I officially put Isaac among the group of people who can unintentionally kill a man’s career by making him a stuck character. So Isaac now wants me to limit me to comedy, simply because I’m known as a comedian and do stand up comedy. Mcheeew no way!

Long and short of the matter, we settled on having me write on Success, since that was the core focus of the site aside entertainment. I had told Isaac to let me express myself, he has agreed to let me write on success, and now I’m wondering if I have made a wise decision. First off, I think it is only successful people that should have the temerity to write on such a sensitive and broad topic. Two, success is relative, so how do I write week in week out on a topic with such divergent views? Well, the last question gave me the perfect answer. If success is relative, I shouldn’t be scared to share my personal views, experiences, theories, ideas and solutions to this widely adored word called “success”.

So here we are, and here is my debut piece on SoarNaija.com – “SO YOU THINK YOU ARE A SUCCESS?!”

As a kid I was a television addict. I was so addicted to TV that I would watch the colour bars before the national anthem at 5 o’clock in the evening. I would watch the news in English and all the local languages that I didn’t understand.  Luckily my mother realised this early enough and she would scream “When you grow up and get married, you may watch TV to your satisfaction. But for now, you must read your books.” Of course I couldn’t understand what she meant then. As a substitute she got me pacesetters series and a few James Hadley chase novels. She made sure I read the dailies once she returned from work, and that was how I developed the reading culture. Today, I am well aware of the fact that if not for those papers, books and novels, I may not be as good as I am at what I’m do. Does this mean that one cannot achieve success without books? No necessarily! But it is surely an added advantage.

Rather than defining success, I want to dwell on what we mistake for success as a generation. Due to the nature of what I do, I have come across so many youngsters who tell me stuffs like “Please give me an opportunity to perform at your show. I know I’m very good,” “After my first hit, I know I will blow,” “I am funny, I want to be on your show,” “You don’t know me? But my video is on MTV” and the likes. I call them the “quick quick generation.” All of a sudden, nobody wants to break a sweat, nobody wants to accept failure and try again. Sadly the energy and enthusiasm they generate blows up in their faces at the first sign of disappointment and it leaves a trail of a tragic generation  spreading across the world like a loose virus.

I have also taken out time to study everybody we see succeeding in their endeavours and I’ve realized they all share something in common- they failed at some point or points on their way to the top. They suffered rejection, they settled for humiliating offers, they faced debilitating circumstances, they were broken at some point, they felt like giving up at times, they questioned their talents sometimes and they cried several times. Personally, I think these are all prominent, inevitable “bus stops” on the road to success. Permit me to add that even Justin Beiber who became a worldwide hit at the age of 16 went through most if before achieving success.

One thing I do hold responsible for this crave for instant success, though, is the popular but slowly dying world of cyber crime. A couple of years back, internet scams were the order of the day. I know cafes that were especially dedicated to night browsing for young boys and girls who had “mugus” to chat with online. I know of parents who sponsored their wards to browse or buy laptops so they could succeed and make quick money in the scam business. What I didn’t understand however is the thought these people had that internet scam pays faster than legitimate business. If only they knew that the hours they spent daily and the sleepless nights would have fetched them the same amount of financial success if their energies were channelled into positive and honourable ventures.

If entertainment has proven to be an escape route for many a stranded youth, if entertainment has proven to be a substitute for cyber crime, this same entertainment is proving to be a disease that kills faster than the defunct ebola virus. I say this because the average youth dreaming of making it big in entertainment tends to think success is defined by screaming fans, camera lights, night clubs, willing women,  sex, alcohol and drugs. Thus at the first whiff of public recognition, they drop their work tools and start to “live the life”. It might interest you to know that, over the decades, the ratio of artists who made a good first impression and crashed woefully to those who have remained steadfast is something like 5/1. I dare you to do the math. I honestly wish I was at liberty to name them, but there is no need. Just look around you, there are so many one hit wonders not just in music, but in all spheres of entertainment.

So what is the way forward? I strongly feel the entertainment industry is still in its formative stages. The structures are not standing upright yet. I sincerely feel the biggest challenge is to start to get proper management for these young talented people who want to be successful at what they do, especially entertainment.  That way, their excesses are curbed from the very beginning and like plants in a garden, they are properly watered and nurtured into genuine stars. I crave the birth of more management companies in entertainment. We cannot afford to have our young ones getting desperate for success by any means necessary. It will breed desperation, and desperation breeds diabolism and suicide, which ultimately results in destruction.

Do you see what I see? This is not a prophecy of doom. But if we allow what many of the youths believe to be success to continue, then we are on the road to perdition. Stay inspired till I come your way next week!

Bovi Ugboma is a multiple award-winning comedian, actor, writer, MC, poet and producer! Follow his tweets @OfficialBovi