 My name is Hadi Yasin Bakalua Seshwanyi, based here in Uganda. I'm a guy who worked as a security guard in the UK for 19 years, and then I was like, hey, I've had enough. I need to go back where I belong. This is Africa, this is Uganda, where my love is, my motherland. I came in back here, realized that there was a problem in construction. There were many Ugandans working in diaspora, and they wanted to construct. They wanted to do something back home, but they were afraid. They couldn't do it. Many people were eating their money. And I thought to myself, this must be an opportunity. That was a problem. When I say to myself, listen, if you want to make it in life, look for a problem. And when you see the problem, just come up with a solution. For the last two years since I opened up my company, I've constructed over 200, 200 structures for people I've never met. They only see me on social media. This is my story, and I've made it. You can make it. Africa is wonderful. I can't believe that I'm meeting you. Because everyone is saying, Maya, if you need a royal Ugandan story, I mean, a royal Ugandan diaspora story, I have to meet you. You need to meet Hajima Kalwa, he's the guy with the story. I'm glad. Nice to meet you. Nice meeting you to my brother. The way people are telling me to meet you, which means your whole story will inspire the entire diaspora to return back to the motherland. How long have you been back? I've been here for two years. Two years? Yeah, two years. And you built a mall in two years? Yeah, I've built a mall. I've built ten other apartments as well. That's for myself. And before that, I had 35 apartments. And that was before I left London. No. You did all this in two years? In two years. Were you born in Uganda? Yes, I was. I was born here. I left Uganda when I was 19. And I stayed in the UK for another 19. So my life has been 50-50. But my heart remained in Uganda completely. I never connected with the UK. Never. Before I continued. If you've done all this in two years, when I came to this country, I realized that so many people are telling me that anyone who makes it big in Uganda is a friend of Musa Veni. I don't laugh. Are you a friend of his excellence? If everyone who makes it here is a friend to the president, he must be having many friends. Because we have many billionaires here who are quiet. You never even get to hear of them. Come on, people are making it. And when I sold out my story actually, the first thing I started doing is trying to change people's minds. I tried talking to them. Now what you're hearing, that is a poor mindset. You know, in your mind, if you cannot make it, if you don't see it for yourself, you cannot see it for others. So when others make it, you're like, nah, it's impossible. It is impossibility all filled up in your mind. Come on, you must be having the same story actually. Well, on your side, who's Wade? What is he trying to do? He's nothing. Because I can't believe it. All the stories that I've done, incredible stories, but at the time I post the stories, people are like, ah, this person is in bed with the government. And I don't see it that way because I see people who started from scratch and have made it big in the country. Why you left London in the first place? I started... You know, when I was up there, I was a security guard. I had a lot of time to read. And I used to read a lot of inspirational stories. I saw people who came from scratch to being some, from rags to riches. And I thought to myself, I think I can do it. So from the word go, I was enriching my mind with good ideas. I knew it was possible. And I wasn't letting anyone tell me that it wasn't. So from the word go, all the money I had, the little I had, I was already planning it. You know, what is making people not make it in life is just living a life without a goal. Life without a purpose. Life without direction. From the word go, I had my direction. Actually, it doesn't matter how much money you're earning. What you need is a goal. Once you believe in your goal and you're going to go for it, no one is going to stop you. Trust me, there's nothing waiting for you apart from success. That's what I had for 19 years. And along the way, as you try to make it, the difference between someone who's going to make it and someone who's not going to make it is consistent. And for 19 years, I was like, listen, I'm going to make it in real estate. The reason why people are failing to make it in real estate is lack of consistency because it takes a lot of time. Someone who genuinely makes it in real estate will have to be able to withstand 10 years of pain, of displaying, and I had to do it for 19 years. Come on, what was left apart from success? 19 years. 19 years. And actually, I never saw myself in the UK. I was there, but my heart was in Africa. I knew there was no way out. Come on, I read stories. The difference between us and people who fail to make it, they don't analyse, they don't understand stories. I had seen people there from university. They go, they get good jobs. They go on finance. They end up having lots of loans. Then what happens? That's their life. They are captured. They become prisoners for years. I've seen suicide stories. People committing suicide. Why? They don't have way out. It's like working going back home, working going back home. I did all the jobs, cleaning, working in factories, all of that. I did it. But what I realised is the money is not even enough to save. It's not even enough to save for you to do something here. Even if you are working double shifts, because the tax is very high and the cost of living is very high. So on average, everyone ends up borrowing money to survive or to want the nicer things. And I said to myself, listen, actually there's one quote I read. I wasn't born to go work, pay bills and die. I was like, listen, I think this is what I'm doing. I have to change it. It's not working, pay bills, die. Here I am in Africa. You called me last night. You said you wanted to meet me. Here I am. I'm living my life my own terms. I can be where I want with who I want anytime. This is the freedom. It's until you make it, until you test that freedom. That's when you know that listen, it was worth it. I can wake up anytime I want. That's what I want. What did your friends tell you when you wanted to leave the UK? I saw it earlier. Someone who doesn't see it for themselves, they can't see it for you. And let me tell you what it is. The people who believe in you last will be the people who know you. Pre-conceived denotion of someone. For you, the people who believe, who don't believe who you are, like how big you are. Are you a family? Are you friends? Why? They saw you as a little boy. They saw you begging for one dollar or two dollars. They saw you going to the well. And they're like, who's this guy? Whatever you're trying to do, they're just like, that guy, he's got too much here. Who does he think he is? To them, what they believed in me or what they spoke about me, it didn't matter to me. This happens to everyone. So to them, it was theirs. And what I did, I think I heard Steve Harvey say it. The quickest way to destroy a dream is to tell a big dream to a small brain. So you are busy going around telling people I need to do this, this and that, this and that. Come on, they don't see it. They're not seeing the larger picture. So when you force it into their brains, what's left, apart from destroying it? So I was doing it and the job I was doing was, wasn't one of the biggest jobs. Come on, I was a security guard. For 19 years? For 19 years. I never changed a job. I was doing the same job. But listen, I had laid out my plan. I knew exactly what I was making. I knew my transportation. I knew what I was paying. All my bills. And I knew my balance. So I was working on the balance. I was working on the balance. And every four months I had made it that I was coming back to Africa. So I was always in the know of what was happening here. That's why even when I came back, it was so easy for me to integrate. How easy it was? It was easy. Listen, the first thing you need to do in life is to believe in yourself. This is something you're not going to get in class. It is something your parents are not going to instill in you. It's going to be you. The day you wake up and know that life is 100% my responsibility. There are people out there who are saying, oh, we are waiting for this government to come. Oh, I wish this government could do this and that. There was an American president during his inauguration. He said that this is not time for you to ask what the country can do for you. It's time for you to ask what you can do for the country. So it's not what others can do for you. It's you. Listen, when you go back in your bed, it's those questions. Normally, I summon myself in a meeting, personal meeting. I summon myself. Listen, yes, we need to sit down and I speak to myself. What's my relationship with my future, with my money? It's me. And I go through that conversation myself because the best conversation you can have is the conversation you have with yourself. So I make sure that I always review what I'm thinking, what I'm planning, and that is by myself. I make my decisions. I'm ready for the repercussions and what happens in the end. Once you know what's exactly happening in your life, you see, you don't allow things to happen to you. You make things happen. That's the road I took. I sit down on a daily and I review my life and I do it. That's why people say, oh, you cannot make it. Come on, he must be connected. Listen, people tend to mix what they want to be with the how. That's where they fail. You must know what you are or what you want to be without mixing how. Once you know that I want to be this, I want to be known as the most famous YouTuber in Africa, you make that decision. It's done, it's done, it's done. Then the how will come. But during the process, once you go on mixing them, your subconscious mind keeps on pulling you back. Listen, I'm a small boy from Ghana. Come on, there are many people out there who are doing it. It's that conversation you have with yourself. No one stops you. So just imagine if you met two people in a day and you told them what you're going to do and they told you that you can't do it. Listen, ten years, who knew that you're going to be here? Who knew that you're going to fly? Now, tell me, who believed in you in the beginning? They thought you were crazy. Listen, if they were like, this guy, I don't know why he went to China. I don't know why he had all this education. He should be putting on a suit, going to the city, looking for a job. What is he trying to do? Going in front of the camera? Trying to talk to everyone in the world? Is he crazy? His parents must be sick. Oh, they must be crying. They made a loss. Exactly. But hey, even your parents didn't know what you're going to be. So it's a matter of believing in yourself. Before coming here, which means you've saved a lot of money to come and invest in your first project in here. Actually, I saved some money at the beginning of 2003. I came back, you know, in real estate, you know how property tends to increase in terms of value. I bought this place like one and a half years ago. But if you go back and evaluate it just 18 months, it's not of the same value. Exactly. Okay? Now, I bought my first property after spending like two years in the UK. I was being paid the minimum wage. But the first thing is knowing all the information you need in the sector you're going to be investing in. So I knew exactly what I wanted. That's why even the little I had, I was valuing it. Okay? I came in here, I bought my first property. I think in today's equivalency it's around 1200. But after like 10 years, I sold it at 160 million, which is like 17 grand. Wow. That is Great Britain Pound. Exactly, appreciating. Yeah, it appreciated. In real estate, it's about being patient, being strategical and being patient. People think that they are going to wake up one day, they buy a prime land and then they start constructing. No, that is not an advice. I'm going to give someone who's trying to make it. Okay? In Africa, if point A is developing, just know that point B is going to be developing very time soon. And then point C will follow. Now what you need to do is to go in point B and apply a piece of land. If you cannot afford point B, go to C. That means you just have to wait a bit longer, but it's going to happen. Listen, land does not produce. But human beings produce. So the population, the demand is going to be there. It's a matter of thinking about it. And that piece of land, which I bought so cheaply, actually I kept on coming back here and I saw the guys I left who were still here struggling. They had made it and I was like, how did they make it? Listen, I go to England, Queensland, and I come back, these guys are driving Range Rovers. What's going on? What's going on? Now, in Africa, when someone makes it, instead of you coming close to them, asking them like, listen man, how do you make it? It's everywhere. It's in to us. It's inbuilt in us. What I did, I used to go to those people who have made it. Try to be friend of them. Most of them are not going to be welcoming. You know that. But come on, if you want something, you humble yourself. You see. And what you are exposed to, you manifest. All right? I used to speak to them. I go around. I even used to check out beautiful buildings. I used to go to places like Cololo Munoño. Like, you see beautiful things. And I was like, all right, I think I can do this. Now, I had started with building like the small ones, which I could with my little I had. Then I realized that the place had become prime. If I could sell off this piece of land, you know, someone had given me advice. The land was going to give me some good money. And I tried it. And bang! It paid off. Someone bought it. And I went somewhere. I had already bought another piece of land for years. This had increased in value. So what I did, I put there something good. Beautiful. Actually, I went to China. Really? Yeah, I went to China my first time. Even my friends were discouraging me. Why are you going to China? Who's going to ship this and that? All those guys, they will steal your money. And I was like, listen, I was going. And guess who was telling me? My good friends. So it is always those close to you. If they don't have the courage, they don't have the interest, they don't have the information. So they don't have the same vibration as you've got. I went to China, brought my 20 feet container here, had beautiful tiles, beautiful lights. And I built very good rentals. All the small scale, but very beautiful. Within no time, someone reached care. I was like, all right. I think I like this. I think I like this. I was like, you like it? How much are you giving me? And the amount he said, I'll keep it to myself. But I was like, no, this is not happening. This is not happening. I got the money. Now, mathematics don't lie. When you're in a field, you start doing the calculation. But still, that mindset of going back to England and work was still, you know, disturbing me. I got the money, put it on the account. Went back, put on my uniform. Went security guard on the door. Good morning, sir. Good morning, sir. Good morning, sir. But I kept on thinking. I kept on writing. I was scared of coming back to Africa. I've seen many failed stories. People have come back here. They have come with the money, but they have failed. I was like, should I go? Should I not go? And if I go, I'm just going for like two, three weeks during my holiday. I'm just going to spend everything just, you know, recklessly. And you don't know how long it took me to write that resignation later. Actually, I wrote it, put it in my email, and I had to listen to a lot of motivation. I was listening to that, listening to that, just to get the courage to press send. And I remember. It's like yesterday it was around three in the morning. At night, I pressed it. I gave them the date. I said I was going. And this was like two weeks before. When the day came, and I saw someone walking into the door to relieve me. He's a good friend of mine, Stanley Robertson. He's a Ghanaian. Oh, wow. Very good friend of mine. I didn't want to say anything, but I had told another friend. He was a Cameroonian that I was going. I didn't want to tell anyone. I didn't tell my wife. I didn't tell my kids. Because I was so scared. I didn't want to tell anyone who can tell me that I wasn't going to make it. And when I walked out of that building, took one corner, second one, I started crying. I started crying. I didn't know what I had done, but I was flying into something. I was scared, but at the same time, after 19 years, it was the first day I was walking home knowing that I'm not coming back to work. So I was scared, and at the same time, I could feel the freedom. I was like, all right, now from today, I think life is going to be my responsibility. You know, when you wake up for all those years, expecting a paycheck, and you're not going to get it another month, you are counting, you are seeing all those bills coming in. It must be a different thing. But I went back home. I had saved some money, put it onto the account for my family to feed on. And the following day, I was on the plane. I came back here. And when I came back here, I had drawn all the apartments I wanted. I had the plans, and I was ready to do it. Worked one month. It was already going up. And we had some family around us. You know how Africa is like. I got arrested. I was all over the news. And that's even how I came into media. I came in for all the wrong reasons. And when they arrested me, I was in prison, and I was like, all right, now I think I messed up my life. I resigned my work. I came here, started construction is halfway. And here I am in prison. And I've left my family in the UK. The judge in the first place had taken me, they called me to remand. They take you some time there as they are investigating. But we managed to fight it. And after a week I was out. But you know, they were after me. Come on, I was making headlines here. I was making headlines. And people were going all over this guy. He came from the UK. He's coming to take his father's things. His father died. And he's here to grab everything. Like all the stupid stories were going all about me. And I didn't know how to do it. It was false. It wasn't the right thing. And I got one person, you know, a social media person. And I said, listen, I've managed to build my apartments. This was like now after six months. And they're done. I want to do a story about my apartments. Show them to people. Show them that this guy was a security guard. He came in here and he has his property. He's not fighting to take what belonged to the family. He was trying to put sanity in the family. So it was like a damage control program. We sat down. I told people my story, how I was in the UK. And when people saw the apartments I constructed, they were like, listen. This guy was a security guard. And he came up with this. But I was telling them how many years it had taken me to construct. You see, when you're telling your story and people see some genuinity in it, they can actually connect. Exactly. If you tell your story and it has got a background, people can buy into it. There is so possibility in it. Because I told them I was buying this. I was selling this. I was doing this. And then I was being paid this amount of money. I didn't know how it was going to capture the people. The following day when that program was posted, forget about the damage control we were doing. And when I looked at my phone, during the interview I had given out my phone. Oh my God. It was bang bang bang bang bang bang. Listen, I tried to make it in Africa. I tried to construct my house. Oh, my brother ate my money. My friend, we are not even talking. Some people were like, OK, all right, OK. So how do you want me to help? Can you help me? Can you help me do this? I was like, all right, I don't think I can do that. I don't think. And then I was like, listen. These guys are calling me, asking me to help them construct their houses. How do they even trust me? There's a saying that success finds a prepared mind. I was like, listen, I need to be prepared. I've waited for an opportunity. But an opportunity is not going to be packaged. Like, all right, yes, and this is the opportunity. God has sent it today. And I thought to myself, this must be an opportunity. Is it Jack Ma? He says, yeah. Just find a problem. And work out a solution. You get the money. I was like, all right, they're stealing your money. You're working up there. Listen, I've been there for 19 years. I know how it feels. Let us do it. And that's how it started. For two years, I've built hundreds of houses for people. That's why they were saying, look for this guy. Now understand. Understand. Yeah. You know what? Before I continue, I want you to take me around some of the properties that you think I need to say, which is close by. Sure. And then, yeah, we take you from there. Woo, great story, man. Let's do it.