Ghanaian poet, literary coach, and writer Philip Boakye Dua Oyinka, popularly known as Nana Asaase, has revealed that his first side job paid him three times what he was receiving from his regular job.
According to him, he had to rush to go deliver a performance at the Trade Fair Centre during an hour break before returning to work at Dzorwulu.
His performance was top-notch, which received thunderous applause from the audience, but what surprised him most was the payment he received from the organisers for the performance.
The poet made these comments in an interview with Amelly Djosu on Joy Prime’s Celeb Biz.
“I had exactly an hour’s break time to drive from Dzorwulu to Labadi; it was at the Trade Fair Centre, deliver, and come back to the office. That’s how I was going to spend my break. I went for this performance, delivered hands-down, and I got paid. Let me say this here: that gig paid me about three times more than my regular job was paying me,” he indicated.
It was after this experience that it dawned on Nana Asaase to pay more attention to his craft.
After a deep reflection, he began to invest more time in his craft, and today, Nana Asaase is one of the authorities in poetry and spoken word in Ghana.
He said that, “I could look unto any wall, any blank space, and see writings on the wall that you will not see or hear things you will not hear because my senses are open to receive from the divine for the things I do”.
The spoken word artist also believed that the tough experiences he had to endure while growing up were propelling him onto greatness.
He encouraged individuals, especially the youth, to take every opportunity to learn and grow seriously and not self-destruct over things they have no control over.