To tackle the increasing get-rich-quick syndrome, particularly amongst the youth, that has torn the fabrics of the society, the duo of Commodore Kasimu Bushi, Chief of Accounts and Budget of the Nigerian Navy and Dr John Toro, an intellectual elite, co-authored a book titled “The Wheels of Prosperity”. Through the book, the authors proffer a comprehensive top-down approach to influence attitudes and social behaviours while propagating the basic and essential principles of wealth creation, Chiemelie Ezeobi reports
“Most societies today are challenged by a get-rich quick syndrome particularly amongst the youth. This unlawful get-rich-quick syndrome is unsocial, uneconomical, unreasonable, untenable, and even ungodly.”
The duo of Commodore Kasimu Bushi, Chief of Accounts and Budget (CAB) of the Nigerian Navy (NN) and Dr John Toro, an intellectual elite, co-authored the book titled “The Wheels of Prosperity” to tackle the menace of get-rich-quick syndrome.
Dedicated to Professor Theresa Udenwa for her mentorship and dedication to improving learning in Nigeria, the authors opined that when money is involved, many people tend to be overcome by presumptions as illustrated in the concept of money illusions.
However, they said this illusion can be surmounted through financial education, which was they set out to achieve through their book.
The Illusory Purpose of Get-rich-quick Syndrome
In the first foreword, Dr Chidi Amuta, CEO, Wilson & Associates Ltd, lamented that the get-rich-quick syndrome breeds laziness, indolence, and an entitlement mentality.
Stressing that it gives off an illusory purpose, he posited that it is one of the contemporary social problems of the Nigerian society. Describing it as the culture of quick fixes or shortcuts, he added: “at best, it has an illusory purpose to save time and energy in the effort to get things done.
” However, at its worst, it breeds laziness, indolence, and an entitlement mentality. In the social-economic space, this culture of quick fixes results to a get-rich quick syndrome or the expectations of unearned and overnight financial success.
“This unlawful get-rich-quick syndrome is unsocial, uneconomical, unreasonable, untenable, and even ungodly. A culture that urgently needs to be removed and banished from any progressive aspirational society as we claim to be in Nigeria.”
Norms as an Enabler of Social Behaviour
Sharing his views on the get-rich-quick syndrome, Mr Femi Otedola, Chairman, Geregu Power PLC, in the second foreword, noted that all societies are made up of social norms which are shared standards of behaviour.
“At its highest form, norms are codified laws and at the lowest, are folkways or traditional behaviour that influence the way of life of a community. In between, there are taboos and mores.
” Norms are learned, adapted, and shared by social groups. Amongst the youths, norms, particularly the unwritten ones, provide impressionable pathways to behavioural acceptance, rejection, or modification and facilitate social participation, influence, and leadership.
“In view of the preponderance of youths in contemporary societies especially in developing nations such as Nigeria, the place of norms in social conduct (or misconduct) becomes quite significant.
” Prosocial norms such as altruism, solidarity and volunteerism amongst youths bring about progressive change. Typically, anti-social norms such as: peer pressures; sexual conduct; attitude to the law; attitude to wealth creation; and even attitude to the future could be quite concerning. These tendencies elicit deliberate effort and action to effect remedial change.
“The purveyors of change in every society include activists, intellectuals, writers, community leaders, military leaders, and the political class. Stricto-sensu, these are the small but influential group or elites of society. Writing in the The German Ideology, Karl Marx and Friedrick Engels in 1845 postulated that the ideas of the elites are, in every epoch, the ruling ideas and are critical to societal change.
“Clearly, Commodore Kasimu Musa Bushi, the Chief of Accounts and Budget (CAB) of the Nigerian Navy is a bonafide Nigerian elite of the Marxian genre. He is a senior military officer, an intellectual, a writer, a community leader, and a moral compass.
“Dr Gimba J. Toro is also an intellectual elite in his own right. Together, they have taken it upon themselves, like Chidi Amuta in 2014 to “writing the wrong” in the attitudes of youths to wealth, wealth creation and indeed, their future.”
Recommendations
In his recommendation, Dr. Amuta said the book “Wheels of Prosperity” is expected to meet this aspiration of tackling the get-rich-quick syndrome.
He said: “The book attempts to provides basic and essential principles of wealth creation and prosperity for individuals and corporate entities as a panacea to this ugly trend of get-rich-quick syndrome.
“It offers an insight into unfailing and timeless insights into the perceptions and attitudes, the general and specific knowledge, requisite experiences, and specialised skills required to create sustainable wealth and prosperity.
“Interestingly, it is a book that would benefit individual investors, employees, entrepreneurs, business executives, corporate management teams, company shareholders and corporate stakeholders.
“Most importantly, this book would shine the light and show the path of rectitude to some of our teeming youths, who are intoxicated by the get-rich-quick syndrome.
” Consequently, and without equivocation, I make bold to proclaim that the “Wheels of Prosperity” holds good potentials to positively impact on the social and economic concern, particularly the youths. I therefore recommend the book to all who seek knowledge to improve their lives and aspire to add value to our society.”
On his part, Otedola said the authors wrote authoritatively on the need for youths to eschew short-cuts to wealth, or the so called get-rich-quick mentality.
” Rather, they admonish readers to imbibe the disposition of systematic commitment to different asset classes of investments to fulfil their immediate, mid-term and lifelong aspirations for financial freedom and happiness.
“This is the raison d’etre of this book “Wheels of Prosperity”. It provides insights into building a prosperity mindset; investing early; using the power of compounding and accelerated value; creating multiple streams of active/passive income; and applying wealth to creating human values and promoting the common good.
” I particularly find the six personality and character traits of billionaires quite instructive. I therefore recommend the book to all who seek knowledge and to all who seek wealth in an ethical but vigorous, sustainable, and beneficent manner,” he added.
Way Forward
While stressing that the Nigeria society today is challenged by a get-rich-quick syndrome particularly amongst the youth, the authors lamented that it manifest social problem with economic and political ramifications.
Positing a way forward, they said the remedy for this problem requires a “comprehensive top-down approach to influence attitudes and social behaviours.
” Massive social engineering efforts of this nature are often carried out by governments with support from the media, the academia, the intellectuals, and public-spirited advocates.”
About “Wheels of Prosperity”
According to the authors, the book “Wheels of Prosperity” is a genuine contribution to the efforts in Nigeria to overcome this social malaise as it provides, to the reader, a dozen scales of enlightenment on the ways and means to sustainable wealth creation and prosperity.
“It is an inspirational book intended to change get-rich-quick syndrome particularly amongst the teeming youths in Nigeria,” they said.
They added that the book “Wheels of Prosperity” can be described as a treatise on financial education as it seeks to engender the right attitudes to treating money matters by emphasising the need to do the right thing in the pursuit of wealth.
“It offers 12 chapters of seemingly common knowledge about wealth creation in a rather uncommon manner. Chapter 1 explores emotional intelligence and establishes the nexus between hard work and talent in the success equation; Chapter 2 provides useful case studies of some billionaires of the century; Chapter 3 presents ground rules on improving personal finance; Chapter 4 seeks understanding of business ethics and conduct; Chapter 5 veers into the utility of networking in the business world of today; and Chapter 6 explores the unfailing wisdom of improving time management which is critical to wealth creation.
“Furthermore, Chapter 7 stands on the aphorism that “health is wealth” and so the need to improving our health; Chapter 8 explores the improvement of management skills and knowledge; Chapter 9 deals with improving leadership skills; Chapter 10 extols the virtues of effective communication skills. Chapter 11 focuses on entrepreneurship education; and Chapter 12 brings the curtain down on effective preparations for retirement as a key to future. financial freedom and happiness.
“Generally, the book systematically peels off the scales of ignorance and enables enlightenment on wealth creation. It provides exploratory knowledge on some key principles as well as essential Knowledge, Skills and Aptitudes (KSAs) required for financial success.
” In particular, it promotes financial literacy critical for informed and effective financial decisions so that the reader can quickly get on the wheels of prosperity.”
The Authors
Kasimu Bushi hails from Kumbo in Donga Local Government Area of Taraba State. He graduated from Ahmadu Bello University in 1991, enrolled into the Nigerian Navy in 1993 and was commissioned as a Sub Lieutenant on 23 August 1994.
His academic qualifications include: BSc (Hons) Accounting: PGD in Banking and Finance, PGC in Public Administration and Personnel Management from the Ghana Institute of Administration; MBA (Finance), MSc Financial Mathematics; and PhD Finance.
He also has an honorary Doctorate Degree in Leadership and Good Governance from South America University: Life Member of the US Naval Institute.
Interestingly, Bushi is a Fellow of eight institutes both national and international including: Fellow Certified National Accountant (FCNA): Fellow Chartered System Accountant (FCSA-USA); and Certified Fraud Detector (CFD)-UK amongst others.
Bushi has served in the public sector for 28 years in various capacities which has enabled him to gain wide experience and expertise in public finance and accounting.
His co-author on the other hand is also a thorough-bred scholar and researcher with cognate university teaching experience in financial management.
Toro hails from Gahi-Kagoma in Jema’a Local Government of Kaduna State and has a BSc in Banking and Finance from the University of Maiduguri in 2013; and MSc in Business Administration with Finance specialisation from Nasarawa State University, Keff in 2017.
He also holds a PhD in Finance from Nasarawa State University, Keffi. He is a multi-disciplinary researcher with over 4 years experience as a part-time lecturer with the Nasarawa State University, Keth.
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The Nigeria society today is challenged by a get-rich-quick syndrome particularly amongst the youth…The remedy for this problem requires a comprehensive top-down approach to influence attitudes and social behaviours… “Wheels of Prosperity” is a genuine contribution to the efforts in Nigeria to overcome this social malaise
