Sometimes, what one ‘looks for in Sokoto (Town) can be found in Sokoto (trousers)’. So says a Yoruba adage. It is also one of the lessons I learnt from a timeless book titled ‘The Alchemist’. This has both spiritual and physical dimensions. It teaches spiritually, that what one is desperately searching for to take one to the next spiritual, or even material level is sometimes already within that person waiting to be acknowledged and awakened. And on the physical level, that a lot of the pleasures many go to great lengths for are either in the home or certainly within reach.

I start with the physical. Ten years ago, my close friend Wole Adeloye celebrated his 60th birthday at a posh hotel in London near where he has resided and built a life for himself since the poorly conceived and badly executed Iron and Steel initiative by the Federal Government fell flat – he was among the highly trained but unfortunate pioneer staff. A few years later, the faithful again met at a beautiful resort in Greece for his wife’s 60th. That had more or less been the pattern for their landmark birthdays. Only this year’s celebration was different. I don’t know why Wole, aka as Kunle to the select few like me who watched him grow up at Ilesha, decided to come home to Nigeria this time. But whatever the reason, ‘East or West, home is best’ goes the adage. And I do know that Wole had been intentional about using home grown things in recent years and unlike many, would prefer a local alternative if he could find any of quality.

So it was that we found our way to a Lagos based resort for his 70th. I had heard of Lakowe Golf Resort along the Epe Express Road but hadn’t been opportuned to visit. It didn’t disappoint. Any lover of nature would love the serenity and the ambience. I took long walks in the evening and morning and was taken in by the romantic interlock of land and water and the freshness around me – a younger me could have played in the water games that splashed around. I could easily have been anywhere paying good dollars that many of us no longer have, for this privilege. Except that I was home in Nigeria. I have been lucky to have travelled far and wide and I believe my country Nigeria has much more to offer the tourist world. That is why the story of Obudu Resort makes me sad.

That is why the stories of Idanre and Jos hills, Yankari Games Reserve, Ikogosi Warm water and the like make me feel disillusioned. On the other hand, I am refreshed by the continuing success story of ‘The Whispering Palms’. God has endowed us with many things; of that there is no doubt. People should be flocking to us to explore the beauty of the entity called Nigeria and not the other way round. The only snag is the human factor and I saw a bit of that even on my short stay at this resort where certain services could be sometimes tardy. But then, that happens in many places as well.

Now to the spiritual dimension. Staring at me and daring me to ignore them, as I am writing this are two books on my shelf. They are by two world bestsellers. ‘What on earth am I here for?’ by Rick Warren and ‘What should I do with my life?’ by Po Bronson are two different but compelling books asking the same perennial question that almost everybody has asked themselves at different stages of life. The issue was again addressed during a short exhortation by Professor Oyebanji Oyeyinka at the birthday. A first class brain, Professor Oyeyinka has led an impactful life serving international organisations for over three decades in several parts of the world. His current stint is at the African Development Bank (ADB) where, as Special Assistant to Dr Adesina, he is a valuable member of the Think Tank. His heavy workload has not stopped him from churning out books after books – I have two dealing with underdevelopment in Africa on my shelf. We all know that Dr Adesina’s tenure as CEO of the bank is over.

So I asked Professor Oyeyinka what his retirement plans were. After all, sixty is the age when retirement looms for most people. Seventy, if you have managed your body well. Otherwise both the mind and the body could be screaming ‘enough’. But my friend who has already crossed over to the seventh floor, quietly brushed my question aside. I was to know why at the exhortation where he stated in his brief address, that age was of the mind and should not be used as an excuse. To buttress his point, he listed great men who were still relevant in old age. According to him, Winston Churchill became the PM of Britain at 65. Leonid Hurwicz was awarded the Nobel Prize for Economics at 90. Doris Lessing for Literature at 87. Rita Levi-Montalcini for Medicine at 77. Thomas Edison was still inventing at 85 while Benjamin Franklin helped ratify the US Constitution at 81. More poignantly, Moses started a new phase of life at 80!

Speaking of a new phase, the celebrant asked for Seventy Million Naira as donation towards a cutting edge treatment for Sickle Cell – a million Naira for each year of his earthly life so far – and since he hoped to live up to 95, he pledged to personally give 25 Million Naira to the purse. For context, his mother is still alive at well over 95. The last time we spoke, he had reached his target. So what is the excuse of anyone who believes a life of impact ends at 70? Or even at retirement? Dr Chris Kolade put it succinctly to me years ago when he said ‘Until the good Lord says it is over, who are you to decide otherwise?’ As I was rounding up this essay, I came across the story of a Nigerian/American who just earned her PHD at 79! Her inspiring words were ‘I don’t set expiration dates’. Neither should we. In fact, those words should be internalized by everyone.

The last word belongs to Professor Oyeyinka. He said, ‘my absolute belief is that you can make a difference in your world. But first, you have to make a difference in your life. Do not use old age or youth as an excuse.’ In other words, the power to make a difference lies within you. In your ‘sokoto’ (trousers) and not ‘Sokoto’ (town). Great things await you at any age and any disposition. Don’t pass the buck by way of excuses.