In a growing effort to deepen cultural awareness and spiritual understanding within the national community, the Ifa Orisa belief system was used to highlight the importance of financial awareness during the 20th Anniversary of the National Ogun Festival of Trinidad and Tobago.
Chief Executive Officer of Financial Advisory Services Limited, Winston Williams, noted that money is often spent faster than it is earned, creating a cycle of spending without building financial stability.
“Can I have, by a show of hands, those of you who were taught financial planning in school? None of us. None of us. And therein lies the problem.”
Mr. Williams suggested that one of the keys to financial security is starting early, with time being the greatest ally. He emphasised that true financial prosperity begins at home yet too often individuals leave behind a legacy of debt.
“The first myth I want us to bury today is for us to understand that financial security is not the same as wealth. Wealth is how tall you build the tower, but security is whether the ground on which you build it will hold.”
According to academic scholar Dr Liseli Fitzpatrick, capitalism disrupts the ecological, communal and spiritual balance of creation. She added that, historically, people of African descent have been economically stripped of their identity for the profit of others.
“Our ancestors were violently kidnapped, enslaved and forced to work on plantations, mines and big houses for European profit and pleasure. African labour and our mineral resources formed the cornerstone and bedrock of European economic wealth and that of the United States.”
The National Ogun Festival continues in Trinidad until the 12th, before moving to Tobago from the 16th to the 20th, as it continues to shed light on various aspects of African spirituality and promote the growth of the Ifa Orisa belief system.