When I first saw the pictures from UK popstar, Tinie Tempah’s photoshoot online, done by the renowned photographer TY Bello, I thought it was just brilliant. Shots taken in a simple Lagos neighbourhood, featuring a proud son of the soil, who was representing Nigeria well in the Western music industry. Tinie Tempah looked dashing in his tradition Nigerian attire; the surrounding was perfect, even the ‘bread-seller girl’ was the perfect ‘prop’- a ubiquitous finding on many Lagos streets. But in fact, the bread seller was not really a prop.
Apparently, Olajumoke had unintentionally photobombed the photoshoot session (after TY Bello got her verbal consent to include her in the picture), and literally and metaphorically walked into what would later become success and stardom.
The 27-year old has become, almost overnight, a Nigerian sensation; the poster child for the Nigerian Dream- one where success and good fortune unexpectedly falls in ones lap. Nigerians, in our almost trademark super-religious and superstitious nature, see her story as the ultimate miracle; the kind that make people attend all-night vigils for prayers and deliverance, and get many self-proclaimed ‘men of god’ a sizable congregation, along with its perks.
Just like getting that high-paying job without any prior relevant experience or connections, or conceiving a child even after doctors have confirmed a lady infertile, Olajumoke’s story reminds many people that no matter how far-fetched one’s hopes and dreams may be, anything is possible, especially when backed by faith and religiosity.
But that’s not entirely true.
Frankly speaking, Olajumoke – a name which when loosely translated from Yoruba language means ‘Cherished wealth’ (another reason why parents should be extremely careful with the names they give their children; Goodluck Jonathan is another case in point) – was extremely fortunate.
Her apparent success, by way of modelling contract, new luxury home, education opportunity (she doesn’t speak English and hasn’t had much education), television interviews (from NTA to CNN), and endorsement deals, is rather overwhelming, for someone who just few weeks ago was a simple bread-seller, struggling to provide for her family.
One starts to wonder, what then is the recipe for success? Many Nigerians would define success as having a lucrative career, financial security, fulfilling family life, great social network among other things. Well, Olajumoke has shown us one major ingredient for success, and it’s something that we don’t necessarily have a hand in…Serendipity.
Serendipity is not just plain or ordinary luck; it is an occurrence of events in one’s life, whereby everything falls into place, regardless of the choices we make, whether good or bad, but in the end, things just work out for the ultimate best.
Olajumoke could have been hawking her bread on any other street; she could have been stopped by a prospective customer as she walked that street, and may never have made it in time to reach the field of TY Bello’s camera lens. A million and one other things could have happened differently that day from the moment Olajumoke woke up that morning, to when TY Bello spotted her, but Serendipity made everything fall in place for her greater good.
In the New York Times Bestseller, The Start-Up of You, written by LinkedIn cofounder Reid Hoffman, and co-authored by Ben Casnocha, the authors admonish reader to “Court Serendipity and Good Randomness”. They acknowledge that a lot of the successful people in the world of business today owe much of their ssucces to fortune. BN
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