Nigerian man: oh God!! We die everyday on our roads; we can’t boast of electricity for half a day constantly; the police that are supposed to protect us are stealing and killing innocent people; we have no food to eat, no water and no accommodation; our schools have no books and no real teachers, our hospitals are eyesores. We’ve been praying to you to make our country be like other developed countries which you made but you have not answered us, why? Why?
God: don’t make me laugh. Are you asking Me to make your roads, provide you electricity and water, provide you schools and hospitals, etc? I did not make those developed countries as you claim. They made themselves, by their toil, their collective will. Read their histories, the people chose the leaders that would lead them and they are ready to fight for what they want with their lives and to defend it also with their lives.
I’ve given you more than enough in this country already. It is yours to choose the leaders you want. It is yours to decide which system of government is best for you. It is yours to spend your money wisely. It is yours to fight and die for the country you want.
Nigerian man: but God our leaders have………
God: shhhhh!! You people in this country complain and pray a lot, when all you need to do is take your destiny in your own hands. Now the 2011 elections have come again, time for you to go out and vote in the right person that will make your country better and take you to the promise land. The voting process starts in April 2011; have you registered and made plans to vote, have you encouraged people around you to do same; your family members, school mates, friends, co-workers, church and mosque members and even that stranger along your path? Ahaaa!! It is either you “VOTE OR SHUT UP!!” Ha ha ha.
Nigerian man: Man God eh!! You too much!! I have registered and I must vote and encourage everyone to do the same. Na “VOTE OR SHUT UP!!” I go also support and join the group on facebook and invite all my friends; we go dey torchlight and share information wey go move our kampe country forward even after the elections.
Nigerian man sings: “VOTE OR SHUT UP!!” “VOTE OR SHUT UP!!” “VOTE OR SHUT UP!!”
www.facebook.com/voteorshutup
http://www.voteorshutup.org/
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Within a world that has been seeing its fair share of ups and downs; I have personally seen the good, the bad and the ugly. With a global recession looming above our shoulders, it’s our youngsters who face the biggest difficulties within the upcoming years.
My name is Sabirul Islam, and I for one am delighted to be writing this foreword for Oseyomon Solomon Ighodaloh who has shown dedication and passion to have written a book to make the future of young people across the world a success.
I came across Oseyomon at the Under 30’s Financial Summit, in Awka, Nigeria where I was invited by Withworth entrepreneurship consultancy, and endorsed by Professor Uche Azikiwe (the first first lady of Nigeria) to inspire the youthful and passionate Nigerians. My vision is to promote entrepreneurship across the world and inspire as many young people to create opportunities through my company called The World at Your Feet. The talk I gave in Awka was something which I personally felt was very different and challenging. And to have come across so many motivated individuals who wanted to make a change within their lives was something of a blessing.
I can personally say that growing up in very similar backgrounds; it’s a form of motivation in itself to want to do something unique and different to be someone extraordinary who can get their voices heard. I feel the vision of Oseyomon through this book, it illustrates his desire in wanting to not just make a change in his life but help others along the way.
Having personally written a book myself called The World At Your Feet; Three Strike to a Successful Entrepreneurial Life, it gives me pleasure to have inspired Oseyomon into publishing his own book. For me, age is no barrier having set up my own first business at 14, written my first book at 17 and now aged 19; it goes to show that age should never come in the way in stopping all young people out there to do the same. It’s all in the matter of ‘How?’ I personally feel that this book illustrates the strength and depth into personal beliefs and values behind success and creating opportunities and to have read this book with such a great smile on my face, I feel it’s a change to how young people can see a greater vision whether they are born and raised in very difficult situations or not.
A message I would like to pass on to everyone is that through this book, the vision of a person will grow, the belief within a person will grow and the knowledge of understanding of a young mind will grow. So I hope that this book can bring a smile on to the face of many people across the nation and across the globe as it definitely put a smile on mine.
Oseyomon is someone who will now only grow with confidence and it’s an honor to have written this foreword.
After meeting Oseyomon through at the Under 30’s Financial Summit in Awka, Nigeria and hearing about Oseyomon vision for ‘developing success’ there was much I saw in him that I admired and his drive and determination led me to accept his humble offer to write this foreword. Oseyomon is not someone who is a pessimist but a person who seeks to succeed and along the way make success happen for others.
I hope you enjoy this book and you take the steps necessary for you to create the future you deserve!
Sabirul Islam.
CEO, the World at Your Feet, United Kingdom.
From zero to hero
•Obinna Etele dropped out from medical school to attend to his entrepreneurial passion.
Today, he wants undergraduates to be like him
By PETRUS OBI, Enugu
Thursday, April 3, 2008
•Obinna Etele
Photo : Sun News Publishing
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In this interview with Daily Sun, Etele gave an insight into his programme. Obinna Etele is a graduate of the University of Lincoln in the United States of America. Before going abroad, he had to abandon his studies at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka where he was studying Medicine to pursue his entrepreneurial passion.
Early education
I entered the University quite early, and never knew I had a vision better than medicine. When I discovered my talent was more in becoming an entrepreneur, than being a medical doctor, I had to abandon medicine. Today, that desire of becoming a medical doctor has completely died.
After realizing my dream of becoming a successful entrepreneur, with a bachelor’s degree in Business Studies, a diploma in Law in International Trade and a certificate in Information Technology in UK, Obinna returned home with an initiative targeted at changing the mindsets of undergraduates in Nigeria towards entrepreneurship in a programme I call Undergraduate Business Conference.
Take off point
The conference took off in Nigeria in July last year and was successfully hosted in Enugu and Lagos respectively in collaboration with the center for Entrepreneurship and Development Research, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and with the support of the Vice Chancellor of the university, Professor Chinedu Nebo.
It is a new initiative that changed the mindsets of undergraduates. At the conference in Enugu alone, we had thousands of people. In Lagos it was the same thing. The undergraduate business conference is one that has come to stay. It has been packaged to change the mindset of people to let them become more entrepreneurial. We believe that students can pursue a major course in the university, but we also believe that its high time our students became more entrepreneurial in terms of thinking because there is no job and the unemployment rate in Nigeria is going higher and higher.
Our belief
We believe that a student after graduation from the university should be able to think of an initiative, an idea, implement that idea and start work on it. You must not be a business man to do business. You can be a medical doctor and do business, after all many professionals do business. So, we believe that if these students can be given early knowledge while in the university, once they come out, they should be able to stand on their own, and become employees. We cannot continue to have a situation where people spend four to five years in the university only to come out unemployed; there is no difference or gap between you and the illiterate because you cannot find a job; you have wasted your years in the university.
So, the Conference we have founded, which I am the Head, executive council in the UK is an initiative that has come to change the mindset of our people in the sense that we want employment to reign; we want our students to turn into employers rather than be unemployed.
Initial perception
Initially, many people were ready to partner with us in terms of organization, business and companies; but one thing you have to understand when you are in course of making a change is to look out for the best. So, we came in and we saw that UNN was ready both in cash and in mind they were highly ready to support this course knowing that our students need a change in the way they think; it’s a thing of the mind. Now tell me why a student in UK will work while studying, and a student in Nigeria will not work while studying. This is based on the foundation they were given in school. So, we decided to take the university that understand what we are talking about and went into partnership with UNN and we made headway at the first conference at the Protea Hotel, Nike Lake Enugu and the second one at Victoria Island Lagos.
Target audience
Initially we were focusing on students but at a time we saw that we had a message of change so we expanded it to include university lecturers, professors, fresh graduates, but our main target remains the undergraduates.
At the end of year conference, we were able to distribute thousands of questionnaires; we analysed the questionnaires to find out if the programme was worth it, and we found out that majority of the participants want the programme to spread.
Expansion
Thus, we are thinking of a bigger conference this year; this time not only a conference but a business training which you can also call a master class, a business plan competition and an award night and dinner to honour people that have shown concern and who have contributed to students entrepreneurship in Nigeria.
The conference will be free to all participants bearing in mind the financial situation in the country and the importance of the message. Our sponsorship comes from With worth Entrepreneurship Consultants, Centre for Entrepreneurship Development, UNN and perhaps other individuals.
Our role model
The conference took after “Business Stardom’ in the UK , which is organized twice a year in Birmingham and London. Etele said it is what he has repackaged and reshaped to suit Nigeria. It is a business conference sponsored by banks and UK government and other independent institutes in UK for every unemployed, and those who have desire to start a business or improve on his business.
We want to, one day, become a converging centre for the whole of African students and young entrepreneurs because our target is the youth.
2008 conference
This year’s plan is based on the success of last year’s conference. It was successful in terms of attendance, the support and the message. We were also able to realize about N1 million; people donated to support the programme. We want to expand the conference and make it more educative. It will be held at the Ekpo Refectory, UNN. The university is ready to host up to 15, 000 people. Experts including successful women entrepreneurs are expected to speak at the conference. We want to teach the people not only what to do but also how to go about it; that’s why we have tagged this year’s conference ‘In search of Financial Excellence’.
Banks are going to be our biggest partners this year. We might not be looking at the bigger banks. The CBN has provisions that every aspiring businessman can obtain loan from the Micro Finance Banks. And, the UNN Vice Chancellor has promised that we would partner with students who have good initiatives. Office of the VC is ready to put pen on paper when these students present their business plans.
They can sign on their behalf. What it means is that they will have part ownership in the business. That’s why we made plans for business plan competition. But, for the students who don’t make it to the final list on the judges desk, we plan to call in the banks. The Centre for Entrepreneurship and development Research is there to give certified reference that these persons have attended the conference. So, we have to teach them how to secure the loans. We shall also teach them how to write a business plan, and a feasibility study because these are the things the banks will look out for.
Seeing is everything! Your sight determines the quality of your life! What and how you see will determine your advance in life! What and how you see will determine whether your life will be played out in high definition tech-no color or in black and white. Your perspective of life will determine your additives in this life.
Two persons look at a cup with water at the half way mark and one sees a half empty cup while the other sees a half full cup. The difference in perspective looks slight but is far more differing than often realize.
One has a positive perspective which provokes creativeness while the other has negative perspective which stops the creative juices from flowing.
As you come into school, you are left with different choices, and most especially two choices; to do right or to do wrong, to choose failure or to choose success.
But remember, failure has no friend. It is of course a looser and no one is born to fail because God can not waste his time creating failure. It mostly befalls a person if he is lazy and doesn’t see reasons to succeed in life. So to give failure a wide berth in your life, endeavor to succeed in all that you do, more importantly in your career.
For every human being there is a dream. The dream to be great in life, this dream may begin as soon as one start being conscious of him self. So, what are your dreams, what do you see in your future? What profession do you dream of? And in all, how do you see your dreams?
Remember all dreams need some push or efforts to come through.
If your sight determines your life then you have got to work on your seeing. You have got to make sure that you are seeing right. There is more to seeing than meets the eyes! Don’t just fold your arms and nurse that dream to be great, do something!
