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

Yesterday was quite a full day for me, it was a day in which many things simply came to a head. I had deliberately refused to comment on a number of issues for a while, hoping that in the period of my silence things will bounce back to normalsy. The more the days pass however, it’s becoming clearer and clearer that we are approaching a failed state. Optimism is good, if it is bound at the bottom by reality, at the top by faith and at the sides by work. Baseless optimism is a cancer, it’s false hope and mere lies.

Rather than confront our issues and do what we need to do to save our nation from a head on collision course with failure, we tell ourselves it’s all going to be well, God will do it, we make God out to be our slave. In the face of unconstitutional behaviour, in the face of  televised dishonesty, of forgeries at the highest levels, of being labelled as terrorists, of no power at home and a vacuum in the seat of power, the elite in Nigeria have not heard the drums of war. We pacify ourselves with phrases that show that even if we lose all, we still have something. We are voiceless in our own country, slaves where we should have been princes, our young sons and daughters flee from our shores preferring to be slaves abroad than at home, and our elders have nostalgic memories of when they were slaves to colonial masters. This house is falling, and those who exercise the power of faith limit it to their words and are slow to back it up with action.  My brothers and sisters, if we continue to fold our hands we will soon have them cuffed. History is replete with trends we can learn from, the distance between our current state and people seeking refuge in other nations as refugee is not as far as we have been deluded to think. The time to have a stand and stand for it is now! Continue Reading »

I want so say a big thank you for bearing with me in the last few days for my consistent inconsistency in updating this blog.  Travelling, being busy, or being out of internet coverage areas must never ever be good enough excuses anymore for me.  I will strive to ensure that I do not allow any of those to deter me any longer from ensuring that there are new things to read.

There have been a lot of new things, and the longer it takes to write them the more I fear that they moved down on the priority scale of what to write. I am yet to give a clear perspective and opinion about Mauritius and what I learnt on the trip. I haven’t also shared my perspective and timeless education available on the current saga of rusticated bank MDs. I haven’t commented on many things, maybe I should simply go to other forums where they have been talked about and back track here. Today however I want to answer a question someone asked me, “What does Adeolu Akinyemi want to achieve with the so many things he seems to be doing at the same time?” “Where is the convergence between, New Nigeria Club, Holidays and Cash Ltd, The Future Movement and so many other things that seem to be going on?” In this article I will share what I shared with him, and hope that some other people’s sincere questions will be answered. Continue Reading »

It’s 2am and I’ve never caught myself so drained and saddened by what I see Nigeria gradually decaying into. When I close my eyes, I see the Nigeria of my dream, the Nigeria where candle lights are remembered only as instruments for romantic dinners and not alternative sources of light, a Nigeria where my son grows up not to know what a generator is. A Nigeria where even when it rains, we know when we are at the beach and when we are on the road. When I close my eyes I see the most desirable nation on earth, but these days, that it’s 2am and my eyes are still open, the realities that my eyes see in the 20 plus hours that I am awake are making it difficult to hold the dream of less than 4 hours.

My clarion call goes to all able bodied Nigerians above the age of 18!  My clarion call goes to the criminally silent enlightened elites! My call goes to the spiritual leaders who exist as islands of prosperity in a poverty stricken country! My call beackons to churches who find nothing missing in the rate at which manufacturing companies are closing to provide them with warehouses to store the hopeful souls of irresponsible citizens! My call goes to all who are comfortable in Nigeria, who have done well for themselves and don’t think long enough to know that the society that is unelightened will ultimately burn their houses. My call goes to you and I, who have been more accustomed to talking than doing, who have lofty ideas, puritan ideals and score woefully in political participation. My clarion call goes to all who think themselves too clean, too sacred, too neutral or too important to be involved in the polity of our nation. My call goes to you in diaspora, you who know the answers but remain dislocated from the questions! My call goes to all of you, we need all of you. We are bashed as a nation, buttered with shame on both sides, but our ego is intact and incorruptible. We’ve been too proud to beg, I beg you all, let’s come to our rescue, before this titanic collides with the sure iceberg ahead and doubtless sinks! Continue Reading »

“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 »

There is so much to see about Egypt, interestingly there is so much to say as well. The Egyptian civilization is the oldest dated civilization. They have islands and temples that date back to 5000BC. Some of the sites are breath taking and some of the history, mind boggling. Egypt has managed to preserve a lot of it’s history, maximize the use of the Nile and  sufficiently diversify it’s sources of income. 

One thing you cannot but notice about Egypt however is how grossly similar with Nigeria Egypt is. I have traveled to a few countries, but I’m yet to see so much similarity. Egypt also is a land so blessed, but it’s people so poor. When I listened to our tour guide describe Egypt, and the resources he knows that Egypt has, my mind wanders freely back to my country. I’m not every normal vacationer in Egypt, my eyes are covered with the lens of my nations transformation. Wherever I go, one this is on my mind – what as a Nation can we learn from these other countries to better the lot of our nation Nigeria? So, today, from the Land of the Pharaohs, from the land where life after death means more than life on earth, from the land of many temples and rich history, I bring you Lessons from Egypt! 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 »

I want to use the medium and opportunity to say a big thank you and congratulations to all those how have been a part of making the New Nigeria Club a Success in the last one year. It all started as a dream in the mind of one, then a few, then a crowd.  January 1, 2008, over 1000 Nigerians gathered together to witness the birth of history, we had dignitories, the media was present, and the Ballmoral hall was filled to capacity. It was the beginning of a long walk, a long walk that will ultimately lead to freedom! A long walk that will lead us to a nation that is the most desireable country to live in on earth. A walk that will deliver the future!

It’s been one full year, in that one year, we have dared mighty things, we have braved odds, and Nigeria has felt our presence. It however is only just the beginning. We have done things that have made many wonder how all that was possible in just one year. Our name went far ahead of us into places where we were not even known, even into places where we may never be known.  The New Nigeria Club, formerly registered as the New Naija Club, has been an inspiration to many Nigerians, a thing of pride to many others and a God given idea to most. As I reminisce over the past one year, I am full of gratitude to God, and I am grateful to you as well, that you did not stand by the sidelines but participated in delivering the future. Continue Reading »

It had never happened before in the history of Nigeria, but it just happened, or was it a dream? The Electoral process this year was impossible to toy with, the nation was almost unanimous in it’s vote for a true leader. The voice of Nigerians was not muffled, it was loud and clear! The time for change had come, and even the weather bore witness with it’s stillness and calmness. A rainbow stained the skies, it was as if the divine supported us with a message of not forgetting. With the unity characteristic of Nigerians only in the support of our national team, Nigerians were united and with a landslide victory declared the end to the rule of recycled furniture (sorry I meant leadership) and substandard officers. The wind of change blowing all over the world, had made it’s way to Nigeria! The results had just been announced, and the people had been rewarded with a leader they could call theirs.

The government has not started to operate, it hasn’t been sworn in, but already the hope in the air is so thick it can be felt. The people are celebrating and excited! They say beginning is half done, it feels like it truly is. All our unsubstantiated proclamation of a New Nigeria now seem real, all our cries to be the most desirable seem no longer a pie in the sky. Our differences seem buried in a new vision to be a part of the new, and dissociate from the old. We score more airtime on foreign stations than even our own, the world is awed. The world seems as confident in our future as we are. It all seems amazing and like a dream. I cast my mind back and asked my self,”How did this happen, how did we do it, what did we do?” I remembered the faces, some names, some voices, one by one it all came back to me, I remembered the people that brought about this great change, and my heart was gladdened. It had taken us a few years, but alas! Here is how it all started. 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 »

I was at the Sex2Sex conference organized by Praise Fowowe over the weekend, and by all standards it was an exceptional event. Such events ought to have more sponsorship, corporate and government! But thankfully we all didn’t have to wait for the government to do what we knew was right. It’s alright to take responsibility and it should always be something to be proud of! New Nigeria Club was a proud part sponsor of the event.

There were a lot of very interesting things I learnt and discovered at the Sex2Sex conference. For starters, I was able to hear Toyosi Akerele speak for the first time, she is an impressive and very driven young lady. She is the founder and manager of RISE network, and I have no doubt the network is one to watch out for. I also had the opportunity of listening to Tara FelaDurotoye. She spoke after I did, and she was on fire. I was impressed with her depth and her convictions, I was also moved by her style and story. One key thing I discovered, which added up in my mind, was the fact that her husband Fela Durotoye also took exactly the same type of Oath of Sexual purity that I took (for more information, click on the category on sex). I had never heard him speak about it before, neither he me, but it added up nicely. Maybe one day I’ll be able to do a list and we can make it fashionable to be faithful and stay pure. I also listened to Praise Fowowe, his passion was simply contagious as the crowd stood a number of times to agree with him. His message was clear, “you can hold your body, don’t use condom!”. “Don’t use rubber gloves to kill someone and say you didn’t do it.”, “Don’t put out the shares of your private company except you want to take it public, cover your breasts, make your privates, privates”. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to tell you about what I said, I’m sure you can get the tapes for that, but I can share some thoughts with you on what Prof Pat Utomi said during the event, I have captioned it, the pursuit of Immortality. Continue Reading »