Femi LazarusCEO at Femi Lazarus Consulting

Societal systems are built for order and control. #aflmentoring #reels #femilazarus

21 Oct 2025 · 3 min

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2:46

In this mentoring segment, Femi Lazarus critiques the prevailing narrative that individuals should simply "do what you like" in their careers, arguing that great people are raised to be responsible rather than to follow fleeting passions. He highlights how most people do not get to study what they truly want because economic viability and employability pressures dominate educational choices, forcing many into fields like mathematics even when their interests lie elsewhere, such as the arts. Lazarus points out that this misalignment is a systemic issue, noting that classrooms have remained largely unchanged despite broader societal transformations. He then shifts focus to Western societal structures, warning that the same economic imperatives will soon be introduced in Nigeria, potentially deepening poverty. He illustrates the fragility of employment in Canada, the US, and the UK, where a two‑month job loss can quickly lead to homelessness, underscoring the precariousness built into these systems.

Chapters

The statement, do what you like, where did it come from? Do what you have to do, that's the right thing. Great people are not taught to do what they like. They are raised to be responsible. That's why you see somebody leave an opportunity and then say, I just— me, what I like is to rap. And the guy can't rap a thing, and he stands for the mic and he say, yo, yo, yo, Yo, yo, Oga, this is not your calling. There's nothing here. Say, but I like it. What's strategic about that? Nobody will tell you that where you're going is wrong. See, to unpack some of our challenges is not awful. If I ask all of us here, how many of you indeed studied in school what you wanted to study? You'll be shocked. So it means that this is— look, please don't laugh it off. It means you found yourself in a situation where you couldn't choose your future. And there seemed to be an assumption that it's like that because you are not smart enough. And now they are finding out that art students don't actually need mathematics. How many people have had to wait a writing while because of maths? That is not part of the system they should be judged with. I think it was this guy that said every, um, organization in the past 100 years has changed form except classroom. And why did you even want to study what you wanted to study? Because there is a belief that is economically viable. Why is it economically viable in respect to employability?
What's the Western world built on?
Because they're about to introduce that in Nigeria soon, and it's going to increase our level of poverty, and I'm going to tell you why. And of course, I can also tell you, um, so if you, if you, if you don't have a job for 2 months in Canada, America, or UK, you're going to be homeless. 2 months is even long. That's when you have good savings and you have good friends. It's, it's so easy to be homeless.
So the system doesn't afford you a break. Societal system is built for order and control. Those who build it don't live in it.