“… for as long as the earth remaineth, seed time and harvest shall never cease…..”

Can you guess what the most popular discussion on Broad Street, Nigeria’s financial nerve centre was last week? Before you think too deeply, let me help you out. It was ‘Soludo’s Denial’. Can you imagine the Central Bank Governor denying that he instructed banks to stop margin facilities? He seemed to be saying that the banks only responded to a rumour. Even at that, can one blame the bankers? Is not ususally said that ‘in every rumour is an element of truth?’ If i can remind you, those that never believed the rumour of recapitalisation and acted promptly came out victorious. come to think of it; if the CBN never instructed or never thought of stopping margin facilities, why the sudden change of nomenclature and why ‘custody account? Is custody account not an existing instrument in the Nigerian market? So, why didn’t the Governor come out openly to tell the banks and thw whole nation that he never said so when the news hit the system even before the negative impact began to manifest.

Anyway, it’s very important in times like these for investors in the stock market to know and understand what it takes to be a winner in any market. There are a number of principles that are important to note with regards to investing in the market:

  • Strength of Mind

Please note that the capital market is not an arena for feeble minded individuals who are risk averse; definitely not a venture for ’small’ men and women (not in size but in mind). The stock market is a place for fighters and hard fighters for that matter. That’s why the emblems are “bull” and “bear” and not “chicken” and “mouse”. You must note that even when the market is down, it’s referred to as a “bear” market not a “chicken” market. The bear is a wild animal though not an aggressive one.

The word ‘capital’ before the market in this sense dosen’t just connote huge and long term funds as the books say but also describes the owner of the funds. Who is a Capitalist? A capitalist represents a strong-hearted, strong-willed, die hard individual who never says ‘quit’ in his quest to acquire more and more wealth, reagardless of the negative situaltions he may have to encounter – forget what some dictionaries may have to say. I am talking about the man who will always stay to regain after a session of losses. Don’t be offended but may I tell you this; if yo quit at a time like this, you are chicken-hearted; you only belong to the money market where small money is made and not the arena for the real men. Going spiritual, the holy book recommends milk for the babes and strong bones for the men. It also says that if you quit in the days of battle, your strength is little. For the best sojourn in the stock market, always remember that statement credited to Robert Schuller: ‘Tough times never last, but tough people do’. The stock marktet is for the tough people……….Obabolujo Abayomi