#OG5: Telling the Stories of Africa’s Most Ambitious Projects.
I was in SS2.
Few months after joining Arts Class — my school had 3 arms in the senior class; Sciences(A&B) and Arts and Commercial © — I wrote my first major publication. The latter usually had fewer students and one class, as it had the chosen few who thought Maths was a major hurdle to climb or were pushed there by teachers who felt that the sciences were not for you after concluding the AB testing.
I was a different story. I had a good time and passed all my science subjects in flying colours but felt that the Arts was for me. With my parents 9 hours away and the money for textbooks under my jurisdiction, I resumed the session in my new class and called my parents to inform them of my independence and that I now do Government.
Literally.
The story of how this move helped to change the narrative about Arts students for the next few years as I graduated with all distinctions including an A1 in mathematics and that of a senior, who moved from Arts to Science class that same year, to graduate top of his own set will come another day. However, after a few months in, I wrote an Op-ed to the Punch Newspaper’s editor asking why we did not have a lot of secondary school competitions for Art students.
If you went to school in Nigeria, you know this. The best we had were the essays and maybe a spelling bee. Anyway, it was published (sadly, I don’t have a copy, boarding house people palaver or the fact that I did not see the importance at that time). At that level, I had already cultivated the belief that the only way to get people to see things your way is to be intentional about how your stories are told.
More and more, as I grew up, my understanding of this belief spiralled into different spheres beyond just personal stories to how it can be used to achieve strategic objectives across the board — politics, business, community building, leadership, etc.
If you can get people to see things your way, then you have a fair chance at having them transact business with you.
In the last 10 years, I have had the opportunity to gain a broad-spectrum experience across Newspaper, radio, digital magazines, branding and brand comms — shaping how people experience the world through compelling stories — in politics, business, FMCG, banking and finance (fintech, Islamic banking), startups; to mention a few areas of sand that have my prints.
For the best part, I am just a young boy looking for opportunities to tell the stories of Africa’s most ambitious projects through compelling narratives.
Still far from where I should or will be, but with an understanding of some of the steps that got me here that a lot of younger people do not know. So I am thinking of dropping the ladder for a community of 5 to learn and grow as a bloc.
It is not a teacher/student or mentor/mentee relationship, as me sef still dey grow, but an opportunity to pool experiences and insights of a small group towards telling more African success stories. Yes! I am all for seeing how we can leverage the right stories and narratives to spur the development of the continent and this has affected my career decision till date, including working for one of Africa’s most ambitious brand design agency, FourthCanvas.
Inspired by the results in the small families by my friends, Victor Fatanmi (#FA7 and Praise Philemon (Tri — bbe), I am starting a small community of 5 people who have an eye for what should be said, how it should be said, the people who need to hear it and when it will make the most impact.
And yeah, for my set, we had an Arts class that competed with the sciences in every subject we did together. Stories inspire actions and mould experiences, and if my life goal is to see how this can be learnt and leveraged for societal good, holding the door for other young people who think same to find their way goes beyond something I just want to do, it’s a legacy I want to have, starting with this 5.
Who wants in?
