What will you do with all the money you have accumulated?

As I stood beside his bed, watching him lying motionless, helpless and seemingly unconscious, certain thoughts ran through my mind. “Is his wish to die which he spoke to me about just a couple of weeks ago about to be granted?” In the midst of my cousins and his 95-year-old younger sister, I struggled with my emotions. All eyes were on me. “Remember, you are the doctor and you dare not give vent to your emotions! You would be asking for chaos,” I admonished myself. My uncle had asked not to be taken to the hospital but as a doctor, do I watch him die? He is 97 and had lived a fulfilled life, but should I just stand there with them all and do nothing?”

The medical “instinct” to preserve life, got the better of me and I took control of the situation. “We are taking papa to the hospital,” I announced to everyone. My uncle, PAPA Charles Ajayi, passed on to glory on the first rung of steps of the hospital on that glorious Saturday, February18, 2017.

Papa was a great man who showed that every man has something to give, no matter his situation in life. He gave his time, talents and his little treasure to his community and all. But this piece is not about him. It is only a reminder of the inevitability of our mortality – that the only certain event for anyone after birth is death. But the question has always been, when, where and how?

Several thousand miles away in Taipei City, the capital city and a special municipality of the Republic of China (commonly known as Taiwan), on January 18, 2017, the billionaire Chairman and President of the Taiwan Cement Corp, Leslie Cheng-yun Koo, slipped and fell down a flight of stairs while texting on his phone. He was attending a wedding banquet when the accident happened. Koo died two days later on January 23. He was aged 62.

When Koo was asked in an interview which he granted several months before his demise about corruption, this is his response, “Taiwan Cement Company has a firm policy about corruption. We do not engage in bribery of any kind, including lavish entertainment and payoffs to officials.” Most of the Taiwanese tycoons have bodyguards. When asked why he had none, he replied, “I think that it is a terrible insult to admit that you cannot walk among the common people without being at risk. I am not that kind of person.”

“What does money mean to you?” Koo was asked. He replied, “It’s hard for me to work only for money. I have to work for something larger than myself; for something of higher value….accumulating assets will never be my goal or my motivation. I have always tried to work for larger goals than my personal wealth.” And when asked what he would do with the money he had accumulated, he replied, “…I believe that encouraging, mentoring and funding entrepreneurs is a much better use of my personal fortune.”

My uncle and Koo have both come and gone. Where, how and when is your time? In an animated discussion I had with a friend on March 14, 2008, I asked, “Are we in this world to make money or to make friends or to build houses or to live a life of abundance and ease? Have you ever been very ill and confined to bed before? Did any of those activities you considered as important matter at that moment? What was your main concern when you thought all was coming to an end?”

The purpose of life is to give, to share, to love and appreciate the little things that the good Lord has given us. The worth of a man is determined, not by the wealth he has accumulated but, by the premium he places on those around him; those he interacts with daily; those he helped lift up from sickness to health or from poverty to abundance. No man is ever remembered for the size of his wealth, but for what he had done for the people around him.

The two stories above have some lessons for us. The story of the founder of this newspaper, Chief Obafemi Awolowo will continue to be told by succeeding generations of people who benefitted from good governance, great policies and progressive deeds of his government.

Yesterday, March 1, was the birthday anniversary of the late Dr Yombo Awojobi – the most innovative, pragmatic and certainly one of the greatest medical practitioners Nigeria has ever produced. Yesterday also marked the beginning of the Lenten season for Christians all over the world and the Muslim’s Ramadan will commence on May 27.

What will you do with all the money you have accumulated? If you have never given it a thought, it’s time you did. I suggest two options – support eye care or do something for the not-for-profit cancer centre that Awojobi commenced, but could not finish before he died suddenly two years ago. If you need more details send a text message direct or through WhatsApp to 08054005447.

Remember, don’t text while driving or walking!