Closing: Lessons Learned
Chapter 6
During the lockdown in 2020, I asked myself what I will tell my children in the future when they ask me “Daddy, what did you do in the lockdown?” I realized that I would not be able to give the excuse that there was no time, because there was plenty of it. So I decided to work harder and be more productive — on the job and off the job. At the end of 2020, I already had my Scrum master and Supplier Quality Professional certifications and also released my first ever spoken word poetry album that was rated top 5 spoken word albums from Nigeria.
In addition to being productive, I became “reproductive” and had my first child. Indeed, 2020 changed the game for me. I recommitted to the message Myles Munroe once preached that changed my life. He said that the richest place in the world is not Dubai or the headquarters of the biggest banks nor is it the biggest Diamond mines. Myles said the richest place in the world is the graveyard — because that’s where you’ll see songs that were never sung, books that were never written, ideas that never actualized, businesses that never started…dreams that were never achieved. So I rededicated myself to dying empty!
The Motivation
In 2021, I started my MBA at Edinburgh business school and started thinking about solving some key problems in not just Nigeria, but Africa. I took time off social media. The principle of sacrifice is that whenever you’re adding something, there’s something you’re subtracting. I spent months thinking deeply and researching; I thought about the mobility problem, traffic issue, the global warming, parking issues etc. I also spent time trying to rediscover myself and spending more time with people offline; I wanted to be a source of inspiration and joy to colleagues and everyone connected to me directly or indirectly. A colleague once asked me why I was different from other senior managers in the organization and treated people of lower grades (even the janitors) very well. I told him it’s because I know where I am coming from.
How could I forget my journey? I told him about an event in 2019 when I was already a senior manager and tried to get an information from a field engineer (several levels below me) and behold, it was Nsor. Another event in 2016 when I scolded the director of one of our vendors on a job not done and he was really apologizing and promised to send one of his boys over to our office, and guess who? Yeah, Mr B.J! Or about some of the managers in Petrolseal that I used to aspire to be like now addressing me as boss with the highest magnitude of reverence. I cannot forget and that’s why I always try to inspire the younger ones in the organization to dream beyond what their eyes can see and that nothing is impossible. I make sure that whoever comes in contact with me doesn’t remain the same. I saw it play out in the lives of Temi and many others who started as trainees and grew to become strong forces in IHS.
Thinking ahead
In 2022, I got bored with work at IHS and decided to channel some energy into building the startup to solve a major transportation issue in Nigeria. Late 2021, I had started discussing with Bimbo Fabelurin; a brilliant IHS colleague, about carpooling. She was super excited, passionate and well knowledgeable about it. I also reached out to Laolu, a genius classmate from OAU and an Artificial intelligence expert who helped discuss with Ishola — one of the best software engineers from Africa. Weeks later we knew we needed someone who was well experienced with the Nigerian tech ecosystem, had strong leadership qualities and is experienced at developing and executing strategies, and we reached out to Jide Bello who I also had discussed the idea with in 2021. Tobi a financial expert who is my friend also helped reach out to Bisola for legal advisory. Now the Greach team was ready — all enthusiastic about solving this problem! The assignment was clear — to create a platform that fills up empty seats of verified drivers with verified passengers going the same route. We are well qualified to solve this problem with over 40 years combined experience across different sectors and world class organizations such as IHS, Microsoft, GE, Cummins, Google and Amazon.
I resigned from IHS on the 16th of September 2022. I was leaving when the ovation was loudest. When I already took on a challenge to solve a complex problem in Africa and in the world. When I had impacted tens and hundreds of lives both directly and indirectly in the organization. It was on my send-forth that I understood that people do not care how much you know, but want to know how much you care. Emphases were not made on the projects I did, but on how much I touched their lives one way or the other. I was leaving when I had greatly rubbed off on my closest friend — Victory, who was going to be my successor for the Principal Project Specialist role. Leaving when I had shown the world that nothing was impossible for those who believe; that if you can see it, then you can seize it. I was signing off when I could confidently document my journey and say “I came. I saw. I conquered”
So what next? I will spend the next few days traveling to some places I’ve never been before outside Africa. I will spend time with my friends and family. And then get ready to take on a new challenge that will further position me for global opportunities and visibility!
Thank you for taking your time to read this journey and I hope it inspires you one way or the other to boldly pursue your dreams, and rise from your “East”!
To know more about the startup we built: Kindly visit www.greach.co
