FOR MY SUPER FANS

I am so excited to announce that the blog has crossed the 25, 000 views threshold. This happened barely three days after I celebrated the 24, 000^th view. I was planning something big for this achievement but it totally just creeped on me. I had been thinking about what to do for this milestone crossed and no matter what I thought of, I knew it had to be for the readers of my blog. I finally settled on dedicating this achievement to my ‘super fans’. These people have been instrumental to the growth of my blog (and other platforms) and I just want to use this opportunity to appreciate them. They include;

Abe Onche, who has been my friend for years now and my one of my biggest support systems since I started my blog. He has urged and prodded me to do more and be more. There are many times I have felt like quitting because it is a lot of hard work but Abe would have none of that. He is the typical annoying optimist who always believes the sun is shining even when it is dark. I on the other hand can be a bit of a realist. Okay! I am very much a realist! This means that when I get tired of putting out content and following my dreams, he is always there to give me a ray of hope. I am not always eager to hear him out and many times, I am deliberately difficult but if I didn’t have him to push me, this blog would probably have gone to sleep now. Abe shares EVERY single post I put up and I know a huge chunk of the views comes from his friends on social media. To crown it all, Abe puts up money for my platforms. He was my first investor and that is why he likes disturbing my life to put out stuff and you know someone believes in you when they not only put in their time and energy but also put in their money.

The next super fan, or in this case fans, are my sisters Enigbe and Sadiya. They HAVE TO live with me and deal with my crankiness, quirkiness and sometimes, downright craziness. In spite of all that, they are very supportive of my work and passion. Since I have been out of work, they have been my support until I find my footing. I am their older sister but they contribute financially to my work. And when they cannot contribute financially, they share their data with me to make sure I am always online. Yes! My sisters are better than yours! I was so humbled when I caught them googling cameras to buy so I can put out stuff daily. They wanted to surprise me with one but we all had to agree it was not feasible at the moment. The positive thing for me was the thought. From the moment I started my platforms, they have had so much belief in my abilities that I honestly feel like I can touch the moon from the comfort of my room. 

Someone else I really want to appreciate is my home girl Oluwashadeayo Opeyemi. Shade is such an awesome woman and a caring friend. In spite of how busy she is – AND SHE IS BUSY – she always manages to take out time to read my blog and share on her social media pages. I lived with Shade for two weeks and I know how hectic her life is. She has a 9-5 job but spends three hours GOING to work and three RETURNING home from work. While with her, I used to follow her to the office and though I just sat down and fiddled with my phone, I was always bone tired when we got back home. You can imagine what Shade, a manager at a top sales firm, feels at the end of each working day. With all of this, she still manages to read my posts and share them! Did I forget to mention that she also puts money to my work? She is awesome like that!

Another big supporter is Peter Cheman Koti. He was my colleague when I worked with FM and TV Gotel. He is an on-air-personality who presents about five shows and produces so much more. He is also second-in-command in the FM unit and a very busy man. He works Mondays through to Saturdays and probably rests only on Sundays; though I know he prepares for his shows for the week then. With all the work he does, he manages to follow my platforms and share almost everything I put up. He has called me on many occasions just to tell me ‘well done Ramat. Keep the good work going.’ He is the same person who gave me opportunities to be on his shows when many people wanted to hug the mic for themselves. I am proud to say the Peter is good people.

Ite Thomas is the next person I am calling my super fan. Ite is an officer of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and a very intelligent man. The first time I met him was when he called in on one of my shows. We were discussing leadership and governance and his response was so enlightening, I wanted to have him as a guest on my show. From that day, I looked forward to having him call in on my show. What Ite gives me is a healthy discussion on whatever I write. I always like to hear his point of view after each post and he never disappoints. His knowledge and understanding of topical issues is just amazing. Even though I have not met him physically, I feel like I have known him for years. I see him as one of my closest friends.

Another person who I have interesting discussions with on any post I put up is Sanusi Yahya. I have never met this man but we have such wonderful discussions on social media. He has such passion for knowledge and is so eager to analyze my content with me. He retweets my posts and follows my platforms and I am more than honored to have him as a super fan.

Mbaidom Isaac Ibrahim or Micah as I call him is another super fan. I met him at a meeting for young leaders and influencers called JForce. He had this wonderful voice and an even more wonderful mind. I follow him on social media and see the great stuff he is doing. Micah shares a lot of posts and even takes time out to discuss some of my views.

Finally, I am really grateful to Annabel Alto Offah. She is a student in Yola who reads and comments on anything I put up. Like Micah, Sanusi and Ite, she is someone I have never met but who believes in me so much.

These people are my super fans. I wanted to have a dinner with them but Abe is in the United Kingdom, Shade is in Lagos, my sisters are in Kaduna, Peter, Ite, Sanusi, Micah and Annabel are in Yola and so, you can imagine how impossible that would have been; well, technically possible since we could have dinner over skype. I also wanted to send them airtime but that is in the bag for now. Y’all know a girl is, as them church folk say, very rich. (Rolling my eyes).

Anyway, I may not be able to do much for my super fans at the moment but I want to use this opportunity to thank them for believing in me and helping me amplify my voice. Every time you have shared my work, read a piece, listened to a podcast and watch my video, you have contributed to making me a bigger person and my dream that much more cogent. I owe some of my successes to you guys. You have been my free ad campaigners and I must say, I am honored to know you all!

This post is not just for the super fans; it is also for YOU! Every time you have read my post, watched a vlog, listened to a podcast and shared anything I put up, you have made this dream more real and I want to say I LOVE YOU! I am most grateful and I am humbled that you think my voice is worth being heard! You rock! To eternity and back!

Thank you!