It pays to obey your father

TUNDE OYEDOYIN  

Tunde Oyedoyin is a London-based personal finance coach and founder of Money Intelligence Coaching Academy, a specialist academy of personal finance. He can be reached as follows: +447846089587 (WhatsApp only); E-mail: tu5oyed@gmail.com

The late Christy Essien-Igbokwe’s classic song, Seun Re Re (Do Good), was on the playlist over a month ago while deejaying at a birthday party in our office. The song should make the cut as a parenting toolkit and that it sneaks into a personal finance column underlines its credentials. Come with me to see how the dots connect.

The morning after Father’s Day, yours truly had a tear in his eyes while seated inside his favourite Pret A Manger outlet in West London, re-reading the April 21 edition of a Mail on Sunday story. The piece was about Britain’s first-ever £1 million footballer, Trevor Francis.

Though one is not in any way connected to the England legend and neither a descendant of his, hearing: “Ex-England star Francis cuts sons out of £2m will” (p.36), hit a nerve that caused the tear to crop up.

According to the paper, in the will, written in February 2019, the former Birmingham City and Nottingham Forest striker said: “I wish to make it clear in this, my will, that I have not included my children as beneficiaries due to the fact that we have become estranged, following family differences over the last several months.” Boy oh boy! For a father to have to insert that in his will must have caused him some heartbreak.

As it turned out, rather than leave his fortune to his children, James and Mathew, his instruction was that Ian, his brother and his sister, Carolyn, should oversee his £2 million estate.

Though the cause of the rift between Francis and his children was not disclosed, the report noted that in 2013, James, was hauled before the court, accused of burgling the Warwickshire home of former Aston Villa player, Lee Hendrie. His father’s testimony in court that his boys were well brought up led to the jury clearing the then 26-year old.

Francis, 69, passed away at his Marbella residence in July last year after suffering a heart attack. May his soul rest peacefully in the Lord’s bosom.

Here’s the thing. Irrespective of how old you are and no matter your profession, please be good to your own fathers and make sure it stays that way for as long as you have your breath.

Of course, it’s not because you’re hoping to have your name in the list of beneficiaries to be mentioned in their estates, it’s more than money matters.

Thank you, Nationwide

In May, Nationwide, one of Britain’s topmost building societies wrote account holders, including yours truly, saying: “When we profit, we think you should too.”

It went further to say, “we are delighted to let you know that we are giving you £100. Sharing our profits through the Nationwide Fairer Share payment is one of our ways of rewarding you for choosing us.” The money has since landed in one’s account around the middle of this month. This is the second of such letters within a year. Wish all banks and building societies were like this.

Tell you what. I’ve got an account with another famous high street name and only God knows when those people make profits. Seems “dem be chop alone”, meaning, they eat alone.

• business a.m. commits to publishing a diversity of views, opinions and comments. It, therefore, welcomes your reaction to this and any of our articles via email: comment@businessamlive.com