If there’s anything Nigerian youths are adept at doing today, it is breaking barriers and proving that success does not have a single route or outlook in so far as one is willing to work hard and be consistent.
The story today is that of Yusuf Ali, a 25-year-old bag maker from Kano, who quit school to become a bag maker.
As at the time he decided to drop out of school, Yusuf was in his third year in the university, dissatisfied with himself and his life, knowing he could be doing better if he just had the courage to be different, to be himself.
In his words, “I knew I wasn’t going to work with my degree, and if I wanted to be in school it should be a school where I could learn bag making. But I was so scared.”
And true to what Yusuf thought, the first month he started his Ankara bag business saw him selling 80 bags. “It’s such a small number I know, but for a beginner, that number is millions. I was just so happy to be making bags for my brand.”
Asked the exact push that led to his finally dropping out of school to become a bag maker, he said: “Well, I don’t tell this story often because it’s a funny one. But I was at a friend’s place when a Malta ad came on TV. It was for Amstel Malta I remember, and I remember feeling inspired and believing that there was space for my Ankara bags on the market although it wasn’t leather or designed by a popular name. I drew purpose from the ad message and believed; My Time is Now”.
Without a doubt, the journey will not be easy, but with the bravery to welcome failure, you, too, can be on your way to success. Remember; My Time is Now.
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