Chinedum Treasure
Anambra based 26-year old carpenter, Nelson Emmanuel Okafor has opened up on the opportunities that abounds in learning crafts particularly carpentry.
The CEO of Carpenterway also lent his voice on Japa syndrome and advised young people to look beyond white collar as the only way to achieve success in life.
He challenged Nigerian youths to be humble enough to take up any profession regardless of how ugly or unattractive it is.
Nelson advised them to deploy the same brain they use to scam people to think of how to learn and better their skills in order to earn honest living.
Speaking exclusively to our reporter he maintained there remained dignity in labor, especially in recent times where fraud has become the order of the day.
He said, “If there is one thing young people should learn from me, it is the fact that there is dignity in labor especially in times like this when fraud has become the order of the day. It’s now like the most sort after job description for every young person right now.”
“There is dignity in labor and instead of jumping into fraud, use that same brain you want to use to scam somebody to think of how to learn skills, better your skills and earn honest living from it.”
“My venture into carpentry has taught me a lot, but one thing that stands out is, no matter how ugly the job is or how unattractive the profession is, you can make a lot of money from doing whatever as long as you have garnered the dexterity in that particular field.”
“No matter what you do and depending on the amount of time and commitment you put into the it, you can make as much money or even more than those people that do the cleanest jobs.
“I have handled an interior job worth over 200 million. I have an edge over regular carpenters and interior designers because I am educated and also, as an interior designer, I am not just an interior designer that does designs, I have the artisan skills.”
“First of all, I am a carpenter and I had to learn the skill for a couple of years before I become a certified interior designer so it gives me an edge over regular interior designers since most of them just get to direct or supervise projects.”
“For me, once I find out that someone is not doing the job the way it should be done, I’d have to do it myself and because I am a young person, it does help in hastening up the whole process. I am also very innovative and I do not work with just what is around me.”
“My work is actually world class and I look up to a lot of veterans in the industry and imbibe the ideas I get from them into what I do. I recruit my fellow young people and it makes jobs really smooth, fast and innovative.”
Asked whether he had ever contemplated quiting the job, Nelson said it was already late to quit as he had gone too far into the profession.
He added, “I think in the early stages of the enterprise, there was a lot of doubts and discouragement but right now, we are knee deep into the whole process and it is too late to quit.”
“Also, we have built a structure and on days that I feel too exasperated from everything going on, I just take a break and the company is still being run by the structure that has being erected. It is a valid feeling but it shouldn’t weigh anybody down as long as it is what you are passionate about.”
On where he drew strength to forge ahead, particularly during his lowest period of life,… said, “It is God who gives us the power to make wealth. I draw strength from God”.
“It is just like there is something weighing you down almost every time and if you come out of one challenge, there is something else that weighs you down.
“To be honest, my only source of strength is God and I try to build a cordial relationship with Him since I don’t involve myself in any fetish or diabolic things.
“Once it gets really overwhelming on me, I just take a break and when I am mentally recuperated, I come back again and keep moving but giving up is never an option. When it gets overwhelming, I just ghost and unwind and then come back better than I left.
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