SUCCESS STRATEGIES AND ADVICE
Today someone asked me how I managed to gather a substantial sum of money to build two schools, train children, and undertake several projects. I want to share how we reached where we are because, often, young people get frustrated when they see people like us and assume we had some huge advantage that led to our success.
First, every “big shot” you see was once a “small shot” who refused to stop shooting. Second, you must cultivate an entrepreneurial spirit early in life. From medical school, I knew I was studying medicine to create a platform to break the yoke of poverty in my family. Medical practice provided the skills I needed to establish myself early. That’s why I didn’t become a professor of medicine, although I am a brilliant man by any standard. I settled for general practice because I believed my children would become the professors of medicine I couldn’t be. You must be intentional from the beginning.
During my youth service, while my mates were idle, I was deliberately acquiring skills. At 27, I took over as the medical director of a 40-bed hospital, replacing an Indian doctor. I was paid 1,500 Naira, and my wife was paid 500 Naira. One key to success in life is frugality, especially when a husband and wife share a common vision. We lived on my wife’s 500 Naira and budgeted the 1,500 Naira I was earning.
I also expanded the money I earned how to stretch your money in a particular direction. I bought second hand clothing from a man named Obi Alari , and we would sell the items in the hospital, where many patients, student nurses, and nurses gathered. My wife and I would go to Arara Market, specifically to a place called Free Zone back in the 80s. As a medical doctor, I stayed behind while my wife sold the items.
One lesson professionals need to learn is to set aside the garment of education and be willing to do what others in their environment are doing to earn money. We sold second hand clothing, which brought in extra revenue, so we didn’t need to touch our salaries. I continued practicing medicine and ran rural medical practices and clinics that brought in additional income. Within two years of working, I was able to buy the basics needed to start my own medical practice. I acquired surgical skills and built a reputation and relationships with my patients and the local community.
In 1988, I took my first and only loan—a 2,500 Naira loan from New Nigerian Bank, which helped me pay rent at Okebu Road. I started small and noticed that surgical cases were common where I was working in AUM. I set up a satellite practice there, transporting patients with my Nissan Jeep for surgeries at our base and then returning them to the satellite clinic.
My wife and I worked tirelessly. We saw patients in the morning at our Aba Road clinic and later at the B Road clinic. We moved between locations, performing surgeries and providing care. We lived extremely frugally, punishing ourselves so we could live the life we have today. I remember the kind of meat we used to eat—pancreas, chicken legs, wings, and necks. We deprived ourselves of luxuries, practiced delayed gratification, and didn’t live to impress others.
Through this frugal lifestyle, I managed to buy land on Numa Road for 75,000 Naira. We later sold it for 280,000 Naira, which we used to buy two properties. I started investing in real estate at the age of 29. Some of these properties were later sold, giving us the bulk of the money to buy our residence and the land where the school stands today. I also capitalized on my intellectual wealth. For every topic I was asked to speak on, I wrote pamphlets, books, and recorded cassettes at home.
God bless the family of Dr. Chuma, I mean Pastor Chuma K. He sent me a cassette duplicator, and I would preach and record in my house, preparing cassettes to sell. People would form long lines to buy them, and at one point, they even booked ahead for my cassettes. I once told my brother, Chuma, that my mouth would feed me, and I didn’t take my intellectual content lightly. I wrote books that sold well; one of them, Money is an Idiot, brought in a quarter of a million Naira every month, and another, The Cs, brought in 600,000 Naira monthly.
When I went out with my books, my wife sold them from the boot of our car. She didn’t sit in the altar; she sold books. That’s how we earned money from books and cassettes, which we used to start and build the school. We began with two flats and five pupils, including my last-born, who now has a master’s degree and is in Europe. People mocked us and called us names. I remember preaching in a khaki dress and telling people not to look down on me because a time would come when they wouldn’t recognize me. That time has passed, and we are living comfortably now. We dressed poorly and lived frugally, all while being tenants, building our residence, and delaying gratification.
We also joined cooperatives, which provided another avenue for income. I invested in real estate, and whenever we needed money, I sold a portion of the land to fund our businesses or our children’s education. We never borrowed from banks; instead, we raised money through cooperatives and learned how to establish micro-businesses within our main business. For example, my wife cooks and sells rice, prepares coconut candy from our compound’s coconuts, and makes plantain chips from our plantains. Recently, I sold a lot of gari, which brought in some money.
We learned to do small manual tasks that illiterate people did but with our education. We sold these products within our educational facility, creating an ecosystem where money circulated within our system. We even bought a printing press and started printing our exercise books. Whatever we needed, we produced ourselves, ensuring that money stayed within our system. That’s how we managed to raise money, build what we have, train our children, and reach this level.
So, what is your intellectual capacity? What are your intellectual assets? What needs can you meet in your environment? What should you invest in to generate more money? Are you into real estate? Buy land and sell when necessary. Can you live a frugal and disciplined life? Avoid trouble at all costs, unnecessary expenses, and flamboyant living. I live simply. At one time, we had 11 vehicles in my household because we provided transport for the students, who paid for the service. But most of the time, my wife and I would walk, and even when traveling long distances, I would take public transport to save money.
We conserved our resources and still do today. That’s how we avoided borrowing and never lived to impress others. I hope you take notes from what I’ve shared. If you practice delayed gratification, gradualism, and the philosophy of the ant, you can succeed. People mocked me, calling me the “Croc C.C. Master,” but little drops of water make a mighty ocean. That’s how we reached this level. Real estate helped me, and benefactors contributed, although they didn’t give me large sums of money. I invested whatever money I received to generate more.
This is my story. This is my song. If you visit my sitting room today, you’ll see books valued at over 10 million Naira. I still write and produce intellectual material. Education is not a scam when you know how to use it to create wealth.
I hope you’ve learned something, and I hope I’ve shared a part of my life with you. I remain your friend, Dr. Charles Apoki.
