His name is G-Wilz and he says that he is lyrically licensed to kill
- I ask every Nigerian who can to invest in our young people to please do so.
I verily believe that Nigeria will rise again. I also verily believe that the crisis we have gone through will on the long run be the catalyst that puts us on the right path.
I have multiple opportunities to go away and live in someone else’s beautiful country but I refuse. I refuse because I believe that we have the capacity to build our own country and make it beautiful too.
Last night, I drove on Bank Anthony Way in Ikeja, past the old Post Office towards the airport. In the middle of the night, there was flood lighting and many tractors humming on the right where there used to be so many old buildings and a lot of trash.
Nigerians were at work in the middle of the night. I understand that they are building a modern BRT terminal. I was happy.
Anyone who thinks that nothing good can come out of Nigeria should please come to Lagos. Almost everywhere in Lagos, a young man called Akinwunmi Ambode is making bold statements.
Where you thought there would never be street lights, the guy has lit up the skies. Where the traffic looked insurmountable, he has found creative ways to get the cars moving.
The guy is not afraid to dare. Where there is a problem, this guy simply finds a solution. Akinwunmi Ambode is a Nigerian.
Truth is that there are many Akinwunmi Ambodes in Nigeria. We simply need to find them, empower them and unleash their bold spirits to wrestle with our different challenges.
One of the big revelations of this season is our primitive inclination to invest in nothing. I have wondered why a guy needs $9 million in cash at home. What kind of spirit infects a person to have 17 cars in his residence? If the guy expects me to admire him, I am sorry to let him down. I actually think that he is sick and should be pitied.
You follow the stories of the millions and millions in all kinds of currencies stashed away by Nigerians across the world and you cannot help but develop migraine at the level of our investment in nothing.
Can you imagine what Nigeria would be if we invested all this money in our young people and propelled them to be Akniwunmi Ambode in their different fields?
I am not a rich man in any currency. I however have developed knowledge and experience that I believe can be deployed to get some young people to achieve their dreams. I have asked the good Lord not to curse me so that I can keep $9 million at home or have 17 cars in the driveway or stash away millions in unmarked bank accounts around the world, money that may never be found when I pass on. My prayer is that the good Lord gives me what I require to help people who are in need to achieve their dreams.
I am dedicating this Saturday Breakfast to a young man who today gets a chance to begin his journey to stardom. I met him in one of those regular barbing salons in the not so fashionable area of town. He was not the owner of the salon.
While he was cutting hair to eke out a living, his mind was elsewhere. I had just finished barbing my hair when he said he wanted to talk to me. I gave him my address and asked him to see me at home. I still have his name on my phone the way I stored it that first day – Uche the Barber.
Today, I join others to roll out three singles from G-WILZ as he is called by his friends who find his real names Godswill Uche Michael too much of a mouth full.
I believe in the talent of G-WILZ and have spent time and whatever resources I can muster to give this guy a chance to leave the barbing salon for good. Today, I pray that the Almighty blesses his way and that his story is that of success.
I am intrigued by his boldness immersed in what appears to be shyness. Not caring whose ox is gored, he says quietly to everyone ‘I am G-WILZ. I am the King of the Word, the Toastmaster-General and the Minister of Rap. I am lyrically licensed to kill!’
G-WILZ is an exceptional talent. He knows how to weave words together and create unique impressions. He has the uncanny ability to start a rap line in uppity English, swing to Igbo, pivot to Yoruba, come back to pidgin while keeping the beat pumping.
G-WILZ born on October 1, Nigeria’s independence day, is an original street boy and he has the scars to prove it. He has earned every degree you can earn in the University of ‘Hard Knocks’.
On his way to fame, he has done every unfancied job you can imagine. Like I earlier said , not too long ago, he was a barber, cutting fancy hairstyles in the Egbeda and Gowon Estate areas of Lagos.
Says G-WILZ, ‘I do what I have to do and say what I have to say. I grew up wanting to be a very good dancer but dancing in Egbeda was highly discouraging, so I gave all to music, irrespective of what everyone said to me.
‘I am the 3rd child of my parents and I have strived hard to become somebody in order to avoid mediocrity. At this point, I don’t think there is any amount of discouragement that can break this wed-lock of ‘my music and me’.’
As the media gathers today to roll out three songs by G-WILZ, ‘KARMA’, ‘ASIWAJU’ and ‘REMEMBER ME’, I remember how this all started and I ask every Nigerian who can to invest in our young people to please do so. You never know… you might just end up with Another Akinwunmi Ambode.
Go G-WILZ go! Go, conquer the world. Go, my guy who is lyrically licensed to kill!
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