Some years ago, my University research group decided to have a party. I volunteered to prepare Nigerian dishes, jollof rice, and pounded yam. A few members came to my home to pick up the food, but it was not ready (Nigerian dishes take a really long time to cook, a story for another post).
I offered them some drinks from my refrigerator as I was packing up the food. Since I was busy, I told them to get any drink of their choice. One of them brought out a Coke in a glass bottle and then asked me for a bottle-opener.
“Use your teeth,” I thought to myself. I remembered I could be held culpable if someone lost a tooth from cracking open a bottle of coke in my apartment. Instead, I said, “Give me a minute. I will be back soon”. I dashed to my friend’s apartment to get a bottle opener.
“Ogbeni, you get opener?” I almost spat my words as I asked my Nigerian brother.
“Babe, wetin you wan do with opener?” he asked. Nigerians! Always replying to a question with another question. I decided not to be sarcastic, so I told him I needed to open a bottle.
“Use your teeth nah…”
“I no fit o!” I replied as I walked out of his apartment.
I had concluded to offer my research member another drink when I returned to my apartment. To my utmost surprise, he had opened the bottle. My research members were enjoying their drinks as they flipped through TV channels. They were undoubtedly oblivious when I walked into the room.
I was curious about how my lab mate with the coke bottle (let’s call him Tanaka) opened it.
“Tanaka-san,” I called. “どうやってやったの?”
“ああ. With your bottle opener.”
I knew I had no bottle opener. Perhaps, I did own one and wasn’t aware of it.
“Please show me what you used,” I asked Tanaka. He comes to my kitchenette, and he shows me the kitchen scissors. On the side of the scissors, it is curved in a strange C-shape.
“This is a bottle-opener.” He said. “It is scissors and a bottle opener too.”
On a typical day, I would have felt embarrassed. Now, I have humbled myself to learn from anybody irrespective of age or experience level. “I had no idea, but thank you so much,” I replied to him.
Sokoto is a state in North-western Nigeria.
Shokoto is trousers in the Yoruba language.
These two words, almost similar in spelling and pronunciation, have different meanings. There is a Nigerian saying, “The thing wey dey for Sokoto dey your shokoto.” This literally means what you are searching for far and wide is actually in your possession. Sometimes, you may not even know you have you are seeking.
In my case, I had a multifunctional kitchen tool and had no clue about its uses. It took someone else to show me how to use what I had. Now, I would not have known, but I asked. I humbled myself to learn how to use what I had in my possession.
We often believe that our success lies in Sokoto, not in our shokoto. Then, we seek means to go to Sokoto, sometimes at selling our shokoto.
Before going to Sokoto, why don’t you self analyze what you have in your shokoto.
1. Identify your edge — your unique selling point.
2. Ask friends and family what they think your edge is.
3. Be willing to harness the tools in your shokoto for success.
4. Learn! Grow! Keep on improving!
