Welcome to the month of December. This month is usually very important in the business world. First is that it is the last month of the year when business men and women of all shades and persuasions come home from wherever they reside to join in the wider family re-union. It is the last month of the last quarter of the year when business men and women around the world count their blessings and note the areas in their businesses that need to be strengthened. It is the month that ushers in the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
We will, as usual, celebrate the Christmas around the world, a time we also remember how faithful our God has always been even in our challenges and uncertainties, and in times our morale is low.
I want to take this opportunity to welcome all network members of former Imo State Business Link Magazine, now renamed ROLU, acronym of Reach-Our & Link-Up Ltd, publishers of the magazine to the month of December.
There are many of our members who have not paid their dues over the years. I am sure you all know that I have now retired from work and the reduced pension I get cannot carry my family and the massive innovation we want to do on our website in 2023.
I want to use this medium for the umpteenth time to announce that we will start from 1 January to individually appeal once again to members via WhatsApp and text messages, to pay up their N12, 000 for 2023. We will give each business until end of the first quarter (March) to pay.
After that three month’s grace period, we will start an operation that will see all the businesses which are unable or unwilling to live up to their billing delisted from both our website and all our social media forums.
You should pay into the UBA Account Number 10 18 95 64 51 of Reach-Out & Link-Up Ltd.
On a final note, let us all be conscious that December is a very rowdy and possibly dangerous time. Given the low level of security in Nigeria, we will advise all our members to be extra careful in their movements. Movements in the early hours of the day and at night should be completely avoided if possible. God has been gracious to us and we only lost one member last year, possibly to Covid. We are praying to God so that we can stay intact in ROLU Family to see and do business in 2023.
Since this is the last quarter before the general elections, I hope our people will vote according to their consciences. For so long, money-bag politicians have continued to control affairs in a country they run like their private gardens. The only way to stop them is to vote for the individual who is perceived to have a sense of fairness, equity and whatever it takes to minimize ethnic politics and maximize the national spirit – one that will dispassionately look into the reasons so many people in the country are not happy and set the country on the path of true democracy where virtually everyone is happy with everyone and where fear and impunity are ascribed to the dustbin of history.
We must avoid the tendency to vote for parties, especially those that offer us money to vote for them. Nigerians cannot remain fools forever. Now that they know the game plan, they should be on top of the game. Take their money if they offer it but vote for the man you sincerely believe has the capacity to bring back security and prosperity into the country for all citizens and not just for a selected few families.
Thank you.
EMEKA
