As rookie stockbrokers, the first thing they tell u is that the creed is – Your Word is your Bond
You were expected to imbibe that virtue of integrity and allow it to guide you throughout your career
But for most of us, as the thing enters one ear, it will quickly go out the other ear as the Nigerian ‘anyhowness’ will capture you and drive u
So today, I sent out a broadcast asking people to tell me what virtues they had that they think I should imbibe
I got a lot of crappie responses and also got some very powerful ones
But the most powerful one was from my brother Yemi Odusanya
Yemi, a fmr Director at Keystone Bank and now on the Board of Neimeth is a different kind of soul
His approach towards philanthropy is so all-inclusive that I marvel
He called me. Edgar, Integrity is it. Not the integrity of not stealing money but the integrity of keeping to your word
He gave me instances of his tutelage under the Late Tayo Aderinokun and mentioned how no matter what, he always kept to his words
Yemi talked about the long-term benefits of this including being a reliable person with a strong positive reputation
Well, I am very proud to say that I don’t keep to my words
My word floats very easily with the undulating inputs that led to the decision in the first place
Yemi illustrated by saying, if a man promises a woman N250k at a certain date and just before the date, he catches the woman with another man, that the man should still give her the money cos he had given his word
Which yeye word? She had broken trust and as such the guardrails of the word had also been broken
My word is as good as the inputs I took into consideration in making the word
Once the parameters change, my word will obviously change
Only a mumu will keep to his words when every other thing has changed
If I promise you money cos I was expecting money and my own money did not come, like a domino your own will also not come na
If cos of that you say, I don’t have integrity then that’s on u
If I say, I will be with u by 8am and one trailer falls on the road and I get to u by 10 am and you say I’m not a man of integrity, na you get problem
In today’s Nigeria, keeping your word is so herculean that a lot of people have entered serious trouble simply because they tried to keep their word when every other thing has changed
So for the few wise people around, and for me, you must always put a caveat when giving your words….
You either say – all things being equal or God willing
That way, you have already prepared a brilliant U-turn when the expected variables occur
So my dear Car dealer in Canada is bringing my second Mini Cooper – my words are not standing cos the variables are changing fast.
This does not mean that I am not a man of honour, the variables just keep changing na why I no fit pay for shipment cost
But don’t worry, God willing or all things being equal, I will pay before the ship reach Tin Can
But wait, hope it’s not going thru strait of Hormuz cos then paradigm don scatter o
Kai
Duke of Shomolu
Last modified: April 14, 2026
