Motivational
writer, Bukola Akinwande, speaks on her latest book, Choose to be Different,
AKEEM LASISI writes
Not
long after Bukonla Akinwande joined Redemption Light, which is the official
magazine of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, where she anchors a column
titled ‘Youth Alive, she discovered that she could do more than conventional
journalism. She discovered the real writer in her and started working towards
her first book. Today she has four motivational books, while three more are due
to be out by July.
The
titles of the book readily give her out as someone aiming to bring out the best
in readers – youths especially. They include Take a Step, Young and Confident
and the latest, Choose to be Different. On the 15-capter latest book that
treats topics such as ‘Build a Good Name’, ‘Sleep’, ‘Complacency’, ‘Excellence
Marks you Out’, ‘Can you Pay the Price?”, ‘The Power of Vision’ and ‘The
Invisible Hand’, a reviewer, Damilola Ayeni, notes that Akinwande, among other
points, stresses the need to shun complacency of vision, thought and deed.
According to her, success does not come on a platter of gold, as it has a big
price attached to it.
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“Focusing
on choice in Chapter Eleven, the reader is told that life is about choices and
the choices we make today have a lot to do with our future,” the reviewer adds. Concerning
the progress she is recording as a writer, Akinwande tells our correspondent in
an online interview that God is her driving force, while she is also propelled
by a desire to touch humanity positively.
On
her preoccupation with motivational books, she says, “My works are
motivational’ because many of us do not know the stuff we are made off. That is
why we look down and even talk down on our person. Once anyone walks with
his/her head bowed, then inferiority complex and low esteem are playing out.
So, we are challenging us that, as individuals, we need to know that we are not
a bundle of rubbish. You must annex your talent and fulfil your destiny.”
She
explains that in Choose to be Different, she is out to challenge young people
to discover themselves and make impact positively anywhere they find
themselves. “I
have passion for young people and I want them to make waves right from a tender
age. I mean, you can be a CEO at the tender age of 15. I trust God that this
dream will come to reality more in our nation,” she adds.
But
there is the fear that some motivational/financial/religious writers in Nigeria
ape foreign authors, while others argue that most financial principles do not
work in Nigeria. What is her reaction to these? She
says, “Aping other writers is bad and very wrong. Sincerely, if you don’t have
what it takes to do something, why go into it? Your work must be original. That
is the beauty and it shows creativity. Those who do that should stop it. But I
do not agree fully on the application of principles. Let us have laws and
enforce them, and then you will see great changes in Nigeria. Well, you must
study your environment too, especially when it comes to starting a business.”
On
her writing habit, she notes that once God drops an idea in her mind and she
works on it, a book is on the shelf in no time. She sums it up as ‘Grace!’
On
the challenges she has faced as a pen pusher, she recalls a physical torture
she once experienced: “When I was putting the second book – Take a Step –
together, because I had done a lot of typesetting, my third finger became sore
with pus. Well, I just went ahead to burst it and I wrapped a paper tape around
it and I continued with the typesetting. That is just one of the numerous
challenges. But the whole pain turns to gain when the book is published and
people are challenged.”
One
of her about-to-be re a leases books is titled Draw the Line.
Copyright PUNCH June 2, 2015 : Akeem Lasisi
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