Investors are kings – lessons from Egypt (Part 1)

Edited by: EPHRAIM AMA MBANASO

An investor is somebody who invests. The Encarta World English Dictionary defines investor as a person, company, or other organization that has money invested in something, especially one that holds stocks in publicly owned corporations.

Investors are always forward looking and planning for their tomorrow today. They are the rare breeds who for better rewarding future, deprive themselves of certain immediate pleasures. In so doing, they accumulate resources in form of savings for onward investment in the productive sector of the economy. In the financial system, investors constitute the surplus unit that provide the funds needed by the deficit unit for productive purposes. Simply put, they are the engine that drives not only the financial system, but the entire economy of any nation. They are kings and therefore dictate the flow and pace of virtually every facet of human endeavour.

The Christian Holy Book, the Bible tells how the nation of Egypt became a world power in early historical times through shear forward looking and careful savings and planning for the future. The Bible in Genesis chapter 47 gives an account of Pharaoh, King of Egypt and the dream he had concerning the economy of his land. In the dream, Pharaoh saw seven fat cows emerging from the Nile and another seven lean cows emerging from nowhere to devour the fat cows without any visible sign of improvement in the stature of the lean cows. Another scene in the dream also showed seven heads of thin grains devouring seven heads of fat ones still without any visible change in the appearance of the thin grains.

According to the story, Pharaoh became perplexed as he could not make any meaning out of the dream. He then had to call for the wise men and magicians in the land to help him find meaning in the mysterious scenes he saw in his dream.

By divine insight, Joseph who was a Jewish slave and prisoner in Egypt at the time was able to make sense out of the dream after several magicians had tried without success. The seven lean cows and thin heads of grain Joseph told Pharaoh, represented seven years of famine. The fat cows and heads of grains on the other hand, represented seven years of plenty. He then counseled Pharaoh of the need to save at least 20 percent of all that was produced in Egypt during the seven years of plenty for use when famine comes. For his ability to interpret Pharaoh’s dream and the wise counsel he offered, Joseph as young as he was, and despite his status as an ex-convict and a Jew, was appointed Prime Minister in Egypt.

The predictions of Joseph as the story goes, became a reality after some years and because of his wise counsel which King Pharaoh bought into, Egypt was spared of the wide spread famine and food shortage that hit the entire world then.

Egypt, according to the story, became so important that many nations had to pledge allegiance to Pharaoh in order to be allowed to buy grains from Egypt.

Lessons from
the story:
Lesson I - The Inevitability Of Boom And Doom Times:
Bret Harte (1836-1902) a US writer once said, “The only sure thing about luck is that it will change”. This confirms the age long adage that the only thing constant in life is change itself.  Everyone including countries at one time or the other experience a period of boom and doom or lean times. The history of mankind is replete with this reality. Further down from chapter 48, the Holy Bible narrated the coming to pass of the famine predicted by Joseph and all that went with it.

Earlier, the Bible equally gave accounts of two famines, one in the time of Isaac, Joseph’s grandfather and the other during the days of Abraham, his great grandfather.

Periods of lack, doom periods or lean years is a reality that man, despite his advances in the sphere of science and technology has not been able to obliterate. Rather, some fanciful names such as the great depression, austerity measures, melt-down, economic slow-down, etcetera have been conjectured which more or less mean the same thing - famine.

Nigeria has had its due experience of doom times. The periods of austerity measures, structural Adjustment Programme, SAP and the current economic melt-down all represent economic doom periods in the history of Nigeria. For individuals, doom times or lean years could come about as a result of:
•    general economic depression;
•    job loss;
•    sickness;
•    retirement due to old age;
•    Misfortune such as accident or disaster of several forms; etc.
It is important here to point out that doom times are not necessarily due to one’s own making or due to one’s sins as was at earlier believed.