Abraham Akpan
5 min readOct 6, 2017

STILL ON THE MARTHA- A guide to discovery

Making important decisions concerning our career path, are very hard. Yes very hard because most times we are usually afraid of the consequence that might carry; either good or bad.
It was time to take the next leap, having ticked all the achievements on the list.

It was time for the long haul commitment (I don’t trivialize commitments at all). But since I was just coming out of a long-term relationship that lasted 5 years and we decided it was time to call it quits and tow a different path (this was hard because I had planned to spend the rest of my life on this path).
I had finally fallen in love (yes true love) but to two personalities, please don’t blame me. The truth was that these personalities — my side chick and main chick. They were very unique individuals and gave me a unique grasp of two worlds that I longed for. But it was time to stop, to stop playing games. I needed focus, to stop my heart from falling in love up and down.

I was in a dilemma because I love each equally (or so I thought) and I didn’t want to be with one and still keep imagining how my life would have been with the other person. I wanted to be faithful…one man to one woman.
For the purpose of this discussion, I have decided to take a little bit of literary license and name them Mary and Martha.

Mary was the quintessential lady, she was extroverted, bright, intelligent, smart, had the curves to die for and liked the public space.
She was that lady whose presence along had the capacity to light up anywhere she was. She was the public speaker, the mentor, the boss. She never shied from the public glare and enjoyed the public attention (the more the better!).

She was very articulate and was a wonderful teacher. She had won many awards for her power of oration and had a lot of people who liked her “sweet mouth”. To cap it all, she was a gold mine with endless potential.
Martha, on the other hand, was the direct opposite of Mary. She was the writer, the planner, the entrepreneur. She was that go-to person when you wanted things done.

She had so much power and drive, that sometimes I felt she gave too much to people and got so little in return. She was selfless menh!
She was comfortable being in the background and shied away from the spotlight ( I still don’t understand this). How can someone this kind of gift and talent shy away from the public stare? She was a holder of numerous awards and fellowship and yet she still didn’t like the public attention.
Her regular weekend was slouching and the couch in front of the television, sleeping or reading a book. (and she called that a social life).

But still in all this I loved her, she was a part of me and she helps complete the void that Mary could not fill.
If I told my Bishop that I loved to two ladies, I am sure with an incredulous look he would have barred me from any spiritual activity in the sanctuary till I got my salvation back.
The truth was that I loved both Mary and Martha because they were my Ying and Yang, they simply made me complete.
So I have made the decision, yes the decision to marry them both, yes marry them both! Call me an Oliver twist, Oloju Kokoro, long throat.
Yes, I deserve the names. At least it is my marriage and if I can keep a peaceful home, please don’t drink acetaminophen for my headache biko!
Yes, I have just told you the story of my life till this point, so before you finish the final judgment, read to the end.

I studied biochemistry for 5 years in the university, a course which I absolutely love. I struggled at some point but at the end, it ended well.
But it took me going on industrial attachment to know that what I really wanted to do (I was miserable only after 4 months)
It was a difficult decision to let biochemistry go, for a path of self-fulfillment ( I wanted to become a lecturer in molecular biology and transform the world of science. I was your typical nerd).
I knew deep down that down that road was only a journey that my Mary and Martha could get me.
I decided to fully embrace these two parts of me fully, and I can say that there are few people who can do the thing I do.

They were my Ying AND Yang!

Growing up I was always the planner, I planned every one’s birthday, wedding any, name it I was the go-to person. I was naturally a leader and since I could remember, I was always leading at one point or the other.
Today, I am a programme strategist, a content developer, an entrepreneur, and creative writer.
I do a lot of strategic planning for organisations and cooperate bodies but most especially start-ups, because I am very passionate about innovating and transforming the systems to make them more productive and efficient.
I am able to combine this part of me to produce outstanding results
and well on my way to become the foremost risk and productivity expert in Africa.
I want to use this skill to grow the next generation of giant businesses and contribute my quota in growing the economic ecosystem of not only Nigeria but the world at large.
Thank you for being part of this journey.
Let’s do this together!

Facebook- Abraham Iniobong Akpan

Twitter-@liegeteam

Blog- abrahamcreatives.blogspot.com.ng

Abraham Akpan
Abraham Akpan

Written by Abraham Akpan

Human Capital Development|Innovation|Programmes| Mandela Washington Fellow

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