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 »

“Today is my birthday, and I want a gift! The gift I want is for you to on my behalf credit the following account with whatever is laid on your heart to give. Little Saints Orphanage, Skye Bank. Acc No: 133170005200. Please do it on my behalf and kindly let me know about it. Thank you.”

I would love to write about my birthda, but I’m sorry, I can’t. I must pour out my heart in another direction. My eyes have seen the evolving of the glory of the country called Nigeria. Nigeria will be great again! Out of the shambles of the current hopelessness, out of the fabrics of this current decaying state, out of the depths into which we have plunged, Nigeria shall arise again!

A new crop of leaders are arising in Nigeria, a blend of people who have participated in the old, yet remained untarnished and those who have hitherto considered themselves too principled to participate in valueless politics. A new breed without greed, a generation that will raise, build and repair the foundations of the New Nigeria. My eyes have seen the glory to come, the exciting days ahead, and the desirable paradise that will be crafted out of the once deplorable nation. While I see the beauty and the spendor of the glory however, my eyes are not disconnected from the sacrifices that need to be made. The challenges that lie ahead, and the hurdles that must be crossed. I have interacted with the future, shaken hands with them that are about to be, I have viewed the Resumes of great ones, and tomorrow excites me. Change is coming, change is here. Change is looking for volounteers and my answer is totally yes! 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 »

What I want to write today is an article I will love you to pirate. I’ll like you to dub it, and put it on your blog post. Modify it if you like, give me credit if you want, or give me none at all. They say we’ll achieve a lot more if we don’t care who gets the credit. 

I have refrained deliberately for a long time to make any comments about our National Rebranding exercise. I hope I will be able to say what boils in my throat and wrists tonight, without making too much reference to it. For all it’s worth though, I think the fundamental error I can see, is that Nigerians have not been made to own it, and hence rather than having people championing it, and helping others buy in, what we have is criticism and condemnation by the same people who would have been it’s champions.

Having said that however, I have a proposition of an exercise that we can own as Nigerians. It’s a simple idea and it came as a fallout of a discussion that ensued in my office yesterday.  It’s an answer of what we can do to focus our leaders on the problems that we have as citizens and to assist them in giving it the attention it deserves. We no longer need any assitance from any source to know that our most crucial problem in Nigeria is Leadership! If we are all on the same page in this realization, then our efforts towards a better Nigeria must be channeled to support, focus and direct our leaders. Continue Reading »

Announcements: The New Nigeria Club online conference will hold on Thursday the 19th of February, 2009 at 8pm Nigerian Time. We’ll be doing the conference on skype, if you are interested in attending send me your skype ID on my deolu@newnigeriaclub.net or write it here as a comment.

I got up really early this morning, I wanted to be ready for 6:30am so I could make the Lagos to Ilorin trip on time and return on time too. My Secondary School (Federal Government College Ilorin) was celebrating their 36th birthday, and I was invited to come and speak to and inpire the students. I had done the same thing last year, so I guess I’m gradually becoming a regular item on the founder’s day celebration . It was a bit stressful for me getting up, as I was truly tired, given that I had an engaging weekend. Over the weekend I had spent about 3hrs of my Saturday in a church I was invited to speak in, a good part of the rest with the organizers of HR MBA. Sunday had also gotten me going from Church to HR MBA, and then to Realty Point office where I facilitated for IFA and then back home late. I eventually went ahead to sleep on Sunday night around 3pm and knew I had to get up for 5:30am if I was going to make the Ilorin trip and be there on time.

It turned out to be a really packed day for me, I’m on my bed now, trying to retire for the night, and I can safely say that I feel really invested (spent) today. My mind casts back at the scenery of  FGC Ilorin, everything still looks pretty the same way I left it 15yrs ago. The assembly hall is still incomplete, the sports pavilion still looks like it’s in development. Save for a few “new” buildings here and there which are actually balanced out by the buildings that have deteriorated, the school is still basically the same. I had given scholarships to a few of the students last year, but looking at their faces today I was motivated to increase the number of students enjoying the scholarship.  I had spent over 9hrs on the road, travelled long distances, risked not making money today, given of my time, my effort and fallen into the risk of being misscontrued. On my way back however, I recalled a thought that stayed with me through the weekend and gave me inspiration. It said “It’s criminal to live cautiously like that! ” – Matthew 25:26b 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 »

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 »

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 »