YOU CAN'T BE RICH AND BE DUMB

 

I find it funny that when some of us criticise popular or famous people for being ignorant and uncultured, the next line of defense by others is to say, "They are still richer than you" or, "They are still doing well".

WE KNOW.

We know that celebrities are most likely richer and better off than us. Notwithstanding, I maintain that money does not covereth all sins.

No matter how rich you are, there are places in this world you will never get into if you don't possess a sufficient level of culture.

Look at Kim. She's worth a billion dollars, but a couple of years ago she decided to go back to school and get a degree in law. She realised that despite all her money and fame, she wasn't getting the respect that other rich and famous people were getting. Even her husband's efforts to make a friendship between her and Beyonce blossom proved abortive. Beyoncé didn't want any association between her brand and Kim's.

In Beyoncé's case, she stopped granting interviews because the public kept saying that she didn't sound smart. And usually, in America, celebrities are trained to grant interviews and speak in public. My guess is that she must have hired various professionals to help her become better at speaking in public, but eventually, she opted to stop granting interviews completely.

But in Nigeria, we believe that once someone has made money or has attained a modicum level of fame, then it is finished. They have arrived, so nothing else matters. We literally worship money and rich people. Once a rich person says something stupid or behaves in a crass way, you dare not call them out because a hoard of people will be there to remind you that the rich person has made it in life, while you are still there suffering. And, just like that, constructive criticism will be reduced to the vile envy of a broke-ass.

Whether you like it or not, being knowledgeable matters. Not everybody will be super intelligent or be a polymath. But if you have the means to improve yourself, then do it. There is more to wealth than buying houses, cars, designer clothes, or travelling to exotic destinations. Your brain deserves to be pampered too.

As for me, money nor dey trip me. I don't come from a rich family, but I have a healthy relationship with money and rich people. So no matter how rich you are, the things that come out of your mouth will always matter to me.

Knowledge too is wealth.