Self-Motivation, Personal Growth and Entrepreneurship Development on DeoluAkinyemi.com

“Advertorial – An Alliance for Progress meeting on behalf of Prof. Pat Utomi, would be holding at Golden Gates on the 10th of July, 2009. It’s a fundraising dinner organized for all who have interest in electoral reforms, and practical solutions to ensuring that the people we vote for in 2011 and beyond win! If you are interested in being a part of this dinner with the greats, the entry ticket is N25,000 and N10,000 for young professionals. For more details email : joshua.olaomi@newnigeriaclub.net”

Sitting beside the intensive care unit of the hospital in Ilorin where my mother was before she finally transited to glory, gave me a shocking realization. Every time power shuts down, some lives are endangered. I noticed with amazement that even my mother who was in the most funded section of the hospital regularly had her existence dependent on a UPS. The UPS was no different from the small ones supporting a personal computer. My mind wandered back easily to the road accidents that I have seen on my road travels over the past few weeks, and to the other thousands of lives lost uncelebrated. It is real, that we are losing people who ought to be alive daily in this country. And no, we are not to blame, it’s all the fault of the government, isn’t it? I’m here today to show you that our enemies are closer home than the government. In the year that King Uzziah died, Isaiah saw the lord!

Everybody who has the capacity to lead us, who has the potential to be voted for, who is a leader and has earned the trust and respect of people in this nation, has committed a great offense. Our negligence has put the wrong people in power, made our hospitals unequipped, left our roads as deathtraps, and have assisted in killing, murdering and sentencing many young talents and future leaders to early graves! The silence of your pastor, your CEO, your mentor and yourself is the reason for our bad roads, is the reason for the deplorable state of power in Nigeria, is responsible for poverty and the deathroll in this country. If you know how it can be better or know leaders, like we all agreed a few days ago, that can make things better and don’t position them, we have sinned! Continue Reading »

Today, I really want to welcome you into the second half of the year 2009. The match started January 1 this year and it was you vs 2009. It’s a great time to ask yourself what the scores are, and what your strategy for the next half should be. It’s a good time to do your life audit, and a good time to seek Gods face afresh for direction, for grace and for help! While this is something I’ll like to write about very well, I’m sorry that today I must write about something else that really bothers my heart – Nigeria!

I’m sure you read the title and wondered what was going on, I’ll like you to join me in this video I’m about to paint with words. Sorry, I could have done it on You-Tube, but our link in Nigeria is not strong enough to allow most people to watch it, it’s even going to be difficult for me to upload. So bear with me, and use your minds eye to follow me in this journey of our imagination!

Imagine with me if you can, that Pastor E.A. Adeboye indicates interest in becoming the president of Nigeria. What do you think will happen? Let me tell you what I think. First of all he’ll likely win, I do not attend the Redeem Christian Church of God, but I know many people from different churches and religions who will gladly and passionately vote for him. We’ll have the largest voters turn out in the history of Nigeria’s voting. I know many churches that will align, I know many people from diaspora that will fly in if voting was restricted to Nigerian soils. I know that many things will shift, peoples attitude to participating in Nationhood will dramatically change, Nigerians will know that something different was in the air.  All our dreams and aspirations for a New Nigeria would all of a sudden seem possible to millions of Nigerians who believe in this man of God.  All these if he indicates interest in becoming president, now imagine what is possible if/when he wins. In case you don’t know who Pastor Adeboye is, he’s the General Overseer of the Redeem Christian Church of God, and Newsweek ranked 49th most influential man in the world and 1st most influential person in Nigeria. Continue Reading »

I had two great meetings yesterday, one was the Future Movement’s steering committee meeting, and the other one was a  New Nigeria Club Online Conference. I’m so thrilled at the key issues we were able to trash out in both meetings yesterday. I’m particularly impressed with how much we are achieving with the online conferences, technology is sure making things easier.

There was an interesting eye opener during the NNC online conference though, and I think it’s an idea I should quickly bring back on board and re-communicate. With so many great heads brainstorming together, we were able to obtain a good variation of personalizing our issues with our leaders’ name concept. I was thrilled with the additions and have decided to capture it as Rebranding Nigeria, Reloaded! Rather than sound abusive or use words that might ultimately lead us nowhere, we have decided to add an interesting positive tweak to the personifications. Here are the thoughts. Continue Reading »

Yesterday night, I got an sms from someone yesterday that Dora Akunyili might actually be looking for the New Nigeria Club. That I need to get searching and find out exactly how to link up with her.  I took the information in my stride, showed a few colleagues with the intention of getting all the creative juices flowing. I continued through the night and slept, only to be woken up this morning by a phone call from senior officer in the Ministry of Education. 

The question rang clear pulling me out of dream world, the assumptions the same – “Dora Akunyili is looking for something in the perimeters of what you people are doing in the New Nigeria Club!”  That got me to an early start this morning, checking the news and rummaging through the dailies, the TV and all sources of information on what exactly could be happening. What exactly does Dora Akunyili want, and how does it concern us at the New Nigeria Club?  My search was rewarding, but it didn’t leave me with answers, it left me with questions. Questions are not bad however, wisdom is a function of questions, intelligence a function of answers. I’ll like to call an emergency meeting, online and offline of New Nigeria Club members, let’s brainstorm on this together, and let’s see if we need to be invovled with this. Continue Reading »

As I sit here, right here and now, I’m watching the inauguration of the president of the United States of America – Barack Obama. As I watch, my ears are getting hot, and my stomach turning. My heart yearns for a fresh breath of political leadership for Nigeria. My soul and my heart prays for Nigeria – “God, please, give us leaders!”. In the breath that I utter the prayer, I recieve a call from another comrade, he called to tell me that right now he is just calling me to tell me that he is praying that God should give us leaders!

Praying this prayer, I also hear God loud and clear – what are you waiting for? God will not come down to give us a leader, God will not cast his votes with paper, God will not write his name in the clouds. God will do it through you and I, through hands and hearts that are willing to engage themselves in the process of change. If we don’t have good leaders, is because you and I don’t think we deserve it enough. If we live in darkness, it’s because you and I didn’t switch on the light. If we live in the past, it’s because we have mortgaged our futures. Continue Reading »

In the wake of this year, I described the things that we’ll find happening in the economic terrain in 2009. I described a story where the first sign in war led famine, was things becoming expensive. Well, we are not so far gone in the year and it’s happening already. I’m not merely writing a report of the state the nation, I’m writing to give you an idea of my analysis of what is happening, and to give you some guidance into what you can do to make the most of this time. I will offer guidance, no absolutes. Let’s say I’m learning not to put myself in the position where people hand me responsibility for their choices. 

First, when you hear anything is happening, the first thing you ought to do is understand why. If it get’s resolved without your understanding why, if it happens again, you are in a fix. Let’s say for example you are trying to run a particular software, the software stops on a particular page and refuses to go forward. The average person begins to pound on different keys and “Wala!” the computer begins to work again. If it happens again, he’ll possibly waste a lot of time again, banging the keys without knowing which of the key combinations unlocked the page. He might even end up destroying the computer. We will never be able to accurately and efficiently solve our problems if we don’t take time to understand the root causes. So, why is the Naira sliding, where will the slide stop, how does it affect you and I? What can we do? Continue Reading »

 “For behold, darkness will cover the earth  And deep darkness the peoples;  But the LORD will rise upon you  And His glory will appear upon you. “Nations will come to your light,  And kings to the brightness of your rising.” – Isa 60:2,3

In my native language there is a proverb that says that describes an unfortunate situation. It’s the situation where the person you have trust to help you blow out specks from your eyes has pepper in his or her mouth or where the person you depend on to scratch your back has thorns in his or her hands. When war gets to a point where the choice men of war in town begin to run, what becomes the of the peasants?

One of the shocking headlines in the dailies yesterday was the FG of Nigeria and it’s agencies have budgeted N2 billion to fuel their generators in 2009. The state house – the seat of power and the home of the president was said to have a budget of about N27 million for fuel and another N14.3 million for maintenance. The Police force will spend about N110 million while the national assembly, over N466 million for acquisition of alternative power, fueling and maintenance. 

What instructions can we take from all these? Read on. Continue Reading »

I’m sure by now it’s no longer news, that a convoy of armed Navy men, maltreated a young lady by the name of Uzoma Okere. They beat her up and stripped her of her blouse, leaving her bra exposed on the streets in broad day light. This constitutes a breach of fundamental human rights, a lack of respect for human beings, and a national shame at the time when the world celebrates democracy.

There are some things within the events that have unveiled that I actually am happy with, and I want to take it up as a conscious effort we can make. Within 3 days, the media had responded, the matter had reached the senate, the Governor of Lagos had called her up and a lot seemed to be happening. It seems like it deserved to happen like that, but that’s not the Nigeria I knew some years ago. The speed of circulation of information about this matter could not have happened 8yrs ago! As a nation, we are changing, to get better, we must take responsibility, and yes we can!

Here are a few key highlights of what happened that was good, and how we can all help to replicate it. Continue Reading »

If you are in the UK, then you can make it a date at the 5th Annual Best of Nigeria Conference at EXCEL, the exhibition center at London Docklands. The New Nigeria Club will be showcasing some of it’s achievements and projects at stand 14.

Peter Oluokun and Rhoda Obeto are the main drivers of New Nigeria Club in the UK, and they are getting things done so well, that I am inspired.

We talk a about Nigeria, the problems, we seldom talk about the solutions. Then we start talking about solutions, and seldom take action. Then we take action and seldom connect the actions together to make up systems that make the actions we take catalytic. The process of change must leave talk to action, must leave action to catalytic, and must leave the catalytic to the epidemic. What Nigeria needs is not another great idea, but another great execution. Continue Reading »