To complete my student pass application, I have to complete a medical test which was why I went to the hospital – Thomas medical center – in the first place. For many years now, if you ask me why I did not become a medical doctor, I’d mention 2 reasons one of which is the smell of the place. You will agree with me that hospitals have this smell when you get in there that you really can neither miss nor shake off. Well, I just realized that Nigeria dulled me from becoming the greatest neuro surgeon of all time.
I walked into this hospital and I was not sure if it was a fast food joint, beauty salon, or even a 5 star hotel lobby. Not because of the design but the smell. I still relish the thought of it and really looking forward to going to get my report.
Yes, mentioning the report, I had the biggest personal laughing session since I arrived. One of the tests requires that blood be pulled from my body. In came this chinese lady and tried frantically in vain to find a vein. While I was initially wondering why, I looked at her skin and realized how easy it was to see her vein. Then it dawned on me….I black no be small. She later went to get a younger asian lady who after smacking and hitting eventually found the vein. This was very amusing to me!
While I’d like to stop here today, I simply cannot help myself from mentioning that a cab driver told me he has a masters degree in sex and also plays BEDminton as a sport or hobby. Geez, what will I not see and hear!
I am the author of Scaling for Success: Empowering African SMEs. I am a Partner at Sahel Capital, a food and agriculture-focused private investment firm in Sub-Saharan Africa. Sahel Capital manages the Fund for Agriculture Financing in Nigeria (FAFIN) and the Social Enterprise Fund for Agriculture in Africa (SEFAA).
I co-lead SEFAA, an impact-first fund investing in agribusinesses that provide direct or indirect benefits to smallholder farmers across 13 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. I also lead investments and portfolio management for SEFAA and manage FAFIN portfolios, two of which were recently exited. I am a director on the board of one of the portfolio companies and serve in advisory roles for several startups and SMEs.