A lot of things aren't what we think they are but the fact that we are looking at things from afar makes us think otherwise. I am not the type who covets people's things but there are times when I admire people's success in life. Seeing people doing pretty well in life makes me happy, I derive inspiration from them and it fuels me to keep pushing hard.

I have a bad habit of admiring people from a distance, getting close to people because they are doing great in life is not my thing. I hate being looked down on so I always keep to my lane to avoid any form of disrespect, it's annoying to know a lot of successful people always have the mindset that people associate with them because they are successful.


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When I moved to my new apartment, there was a tenant who owned two cars. His children were going to expensive schools, they were living large and I admire him because of how he cares for his family. We do exchange pleasantries and nothing more. I got to know that he is a politician and caretaker of huge properties in the city which explains how he funds the expensive lifestyle.

During the lockdown, his daughters needed my help with a setup on their phones and I was surprised to see the machines they were using. I teased them about it and they told me the phones were just a few days old. While we were lamenting, they were doing alright and I won't deny that I just want to become successful at all costs to make life easy for my family as well.

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My admiration for him continued until an incident that happened.

I woke up on that faithful around 6 a.m. and left home for the farm but as I stepped out of the compound, some men approached me at the gate so I quickly shut the gate to prevent them from gaining entrance into the house.

They greeted me properly and said they came to see the rich tenant who lives in my compound. I told them to call his number but they gave an excuse I can't remember. They tried talking me into opening the gate but I didn't and just went to the farm.

I finished my stuff at the farm about an hour later and returned home to still find these people at the gate. It was a Saturday morning so I am not surprised that no one got out of the compound yet.

They came to me again and begged that they had to see him. It was an emergency this, it was an emergency that so I let one of them enter but as I was about to shut the gate, one of them brought out a gun. Immediately I saw it, I knew that was a great mistake but thinking about it again, they could have threatened me initially but didn't.

One of them told me to go to my flat and explained that they were police. They burst the man's flat and took him away, seeing his family cry broke my heart that morning.

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I felt guilty because I didn't even know what was happening so I went to explain everything to the family and they took me as an enemy after. I carried the guilt in my heart for sometime until the same occurrence happened again. The other one happened at night, I rushed out to see where the noise was coming from and there were police with guns and the man was in handcuffs.

I was having a chat with an old tenant so I asked what was up with the man and she explained that he was a 419. I didn't believe it until someone related to him said it again.

The height of it was when he got arrested by EFCC one evening and I was surprised. I was like all the wealth this man flaunts is someone's else sweat, I felt very disappointed in him because things weren't what I thought they were.


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Standing from afar didn't make me see the truth, this man had been arrested several times to date.

It's a good thing to take care of your family but not by duping people. All that glitters aren't truly gold and people like this have pushed their fellow humans who aren't contented with what they have to do silly things because of money.

***There is a Yoruba adage that says, a dry morsel with peace of mind is better than a luxurious one with trouble.***

I believe a lot in the adage but definitely not everyone does. A lot of people have succeeded in keeping the wealth they dubiously acquired but in many cases, more people have lost it all. Things are not what it seems for many people we admire whether openly or secretly, it's best to trust one's hustle and hope that we break through someday.

Thanks for reading.