Year in Review: From Breaking Tv Screen to Serving Egusi.
I was at the Car park on my way to Lagos when I got a congratulations notification from Otiga, a colleague of mine at work. See, life comes at you really fast — one minute, you’re serving egusi in a family gathering, the next minute, an award is waiting for you at work. I really won’t say the year started well like that especially because I had to bear a cross for 12 months. On top of that, I broke the TV at work and trust folks to make fun of me for a long time.
But one thing was certain at the beginning of the year: I needed to be better, professionally. One of the crazy projects I managed has to be the launch of a Fintech product. It was an impromptu brief and as fate would have it, I was going to lead the execution. Man, it was challenging and demanding. I had to manage a team of over 1,000 influencers and celebrities in order to make the campaign successful — thanks to my guy, Favor, it actually went well. In fact, we generated a lot of earned media.
Plot twist: I almost fought with the client and my bosses had to step in. Though the client immediately apologised, I think it made our personal relationship better.
Another project I managed this year was the launch of a global product in Nigeria. Fam, product launch is actually a huge one for me especially because you’ve a lot of thinking to do. Budget was over $200k and it was a tough one for most of us. I had sleepless nights and nightmares because really, I had to make things work. One had to prepare for impromptu meetings with top directors and man, you can’t just afford to goof. The campaign was very successful at the end.
So here: Know your onions. No, it’s not pride. Once you develop interest in stuff, you will always find a way to make yourself better. Generally, I think I have been able to garner the trust of most people I’ve worked/working with.
Apart from training thousands of SMBS and Jobseekers on the Google digital skills project, one key highlight has to be when Shola called me, ‘Guy, the bosses requested that you train at the Fuel for your Hustle session in Lagos’ — meaning I’d have to share the same stage with Lanre Olusola, Juliet Ehimuan etc. Imagine a boss calling you that other bosses requested for you directly. This one session is different because the key stakeholders will be at the event and again, I can’t afford to goof. How did it go? Well, I took selfies with these stakeholders at the end of the event.
I really had it in mind that I’ll always be occupied, no matter what. I really don’t like being idle, I detest it a lot. Because of this, I got over 20 online certifications this year.
I also made quite a lot of relationships this year. One of them has to be the Vice Chancellor of a popular school in Nigeria. He called me one time and he was like ‘Olaitan, i can’t afford you. Can you refer some people for my ICT department?’ For my mind I be like ‘ ah, this man should help my solution, don’t do like this sir’. 😂
One memorable thing for me was also my vacation outside the country. I remember buying a pen and I be like ‘me sef don shop for dubai be that’. My Dubai experience was quite memorable, the highlight has to be when I went to their internet city, the construction of their next Burj and co. Those people have started executing their plans for the next decade. God, when?
‘Olaitan, you’re going to be the coordinator of this internship program’, Lara said and I received the information with mixed reaction. See, I love challenges but this one again? Na wa. I’m actually glad I was chosen for this because I had the opportunity to interact with some of the brightest minds in the world. Guy, you’ve to prepare before you interact with them, else you’ll just fall your hand.
From Solomon who is a content badass to the ever efficient Otiga and the hardworking Julius, Tolu, Henry and Ruth - they all inspired me to be a better version of myself. Torera is a great animator but she no draw me till she comot. I’m also glad I met the brilliant Sandra, Zahra, Michelle and I owe Cynthia a lot.
Managing them taught me a lot of things. Actually, human beings are very annoying [I annoy Tokunbo a lot too] but really, you have to manage them. I learnt that power can be very intoxicating and you can easily be a dictator if you’re not careful — if you don’t do it, another person will. Above all, I’m proud of their growth and I really can’t wait to see them at the top.
To crown it all , I was chosen to be part of the advisory board of a new company this December. It is a huge one for me but really, we grow when we face challenges. I also won the team member of the year award at work. I really don’t think I can describe how excited I am to have gotten this recognition. Anakle is an agency filled with the smartest people in the world, these crazy guys solve problems that are often too tough to handle and I’m so glad they found me worthy.
Either way, disappointments are quite normal and I’m used to phrases like ‘e go be’, ‘We move’, ‘Unto the next one’ etc. I also learned that not all doors are for you. It’s good that young people are hungry for success but really, it takes time and conscious efforts. Communication was also a big deal for me. One minute, I am thinking of reaching out to this person, the other minute, i have forgotten and it is quite bad — I have resolved to work on it, even if na text.
I am also glad I was able to share links with some of my friends who were in need, some of them got jobs too. I look forward to doing more of that, subsequently.
The year won’t have been memorable without the help of my colleagues, friends and bosses and I really am indebted to a lot of people.
Maybe next year, Cupid and I will iron things out too. If not, we move.
So much to say but really, e go be.
Lessons learnt, unto the next one.
