I have a dream….
Whenever people are asked to talk about their dreams, there is always a sense of pride in their hearts. I’m also not left out. At the moment there is a smile on my face as I talk about my sustainability dream. My sustainability dream for the future is to set up an academy where young individuals can be taught entrepreneurial skills with a mindset of sustainability. Before I go further, let me share with you my technical definition of sustainability.
Sustainability refers to the ability of a resource to be fully utilized in the present and transcend to the future generation without a depletion in its capacity. In a simpler term, I see sustainability as revolving around the principle of the ripple effect. How the actions or decisions of an individual affects others.
It is because of this understanding that a desire was birthed in me. A desire to set up a training center where youths would be taught about the ideology and precepts of sustainability while acquiring technical skills. Skills that would help them earn a good living. The vision is for them to become sustainability leaders so that they can impact change in their communities. Just like the saying, “each one, teach one,” the goal is for the flame of sustainability to be spread across the country quickly. Achieving this would mean I have contributed my quota in ensuring that future generations meet a sustainable world.
When the Scales fall off……
As an emerging entrepreneur, my life goals were centered around making enough money so I could live a comfortable life. My definition of a comfortable life referred to the ability to meet my needs, my immediate family members, and lend a helping hand to others. This view was soon discarded.
In the year 2016 Mr. Lawrence Afere, the NELIS Coordinator for Nigeria stepped into my college campus. Mr. Lawrence had been invited to deliver a talk to the undergraduates of the college. His speech was about farming and its importance. As a young individual who was passionate about making it in the agro-based industry, his speech came at the right time. Before leaving, he dropped his contact details.
Thereafter, I contacted him and began to follow him on social media, learning about the work that he was doing at his initiative — Springboard. So when he posted about the first NELIS Africa Summit online, I was interested. The summit was to be held in Lagos, several kilometers away from my city of residence. Because I had no money to transport myself to Lagos, I decided to sell my mobile phone so I could attend the summit. This turned out to be a good decision.
At the summit, I learned a lot about sustainability from the teachings of different speakers. The speakers espoused on topics like leadership, government, personal and community development e.t.c. Their teachings made me experience a shift in my ideology. I now saw reasons why I shouldn’t focus on myself alone but should also be concerned about the success of others. Thus I resolved in my heart that I was going to follow the sustainability path. This was my tipping point.
Walking the path…..
The summit had birthed a hunger for sustainability in me and I wasn’t going to let it starve. So I began to feed it by learning more about the subject by reading articles. Not long after, I organized a NELIS Symposium for youths, hosted in my college. The theme for the program was: “Empowering the youth through sustainable enterprise.”
The speakers that were invited for the event taught the attendees about leadership and entrepreneurship. The program was an eye-opener for everyone that attended because most of them knew little to nothing about sustainability. It also helped them understand the importance of having skills and marketing their skills.
Due to the success of this symposium, I was able to gather like minds together and we formed a team. This team metamorphosed into a NELIS hub. At the hub, we began holding meetings bi-monthly, sharing ideas, and planning different community projects to be carried out.
My team and I organized an orientation program for the freshman class of the college. Speakers were invited to sensitize the undergraduates on how to succeed academically, the importance of entrepreneurship and self-development. Like most young Nigerians, they were unaware of how to leverage their skills to lead a better life. So the training program was done to put them on the right track.
In response to the pandemic, my team and I participated in an outreach program targeted at a rural community in Akure. This outreach funded by NELIS was carried out in Aule Village. We sensitized the residents about the importance of washing their hands with soap and water regularly, use of nose masks, and avoidance of crowded gatherings. We also distributed reusable nose masks to them. This is not all. The team also carried out a sensitization program on radio stations to make the residents of the whole city aware of the Covid 19 preventive measures.
A Flowing Vessel……
One of my core goals in life is to be the most value-adding individual anyone would ever meet. Yes, you heard me right. I know this is a lofty goal to aim for but I’m already on the path. Every day I am always on the lookout for someone I can impact; someone that I can add a drop of knowledge to; someone who I can inspire to take a positive decision.
Having dropped the “me, myself, and I” mentality, I am ever ready to lend a helping hand to those around me. The NELIS motto says, “One World in harmony.” I have come to understand that the only way to achieve this is if everyone is happy. So my goal is to put smiles on people’s faces. This is my first offering to the world.
The next thing I hope to give to the world is my Integrity. My word is my bond. I mean what I just said. I have learned the importance of this attribute. The sustainability dream can only be achieved if its leaders have integrity. Going forward, I hope to pass on this torch to others till it spreads across my country.
A Different man……
A sustainable network helps an individual connect with other high achieving individuals. Individuals who are achieving success in their different fields. Individuals who are change-makers in their communities. Like the saying goes, “If you want to fly with the eagles then you have got to stop scratching with the chickens.” Thus if you want to get to the top, you have to move with people who are already there.
Personally, the sustainability network has helped in my business growth. Because a good number of the people in my network have become my customers. Also having this network has granted me access to information that could help my business, e.g grant applications, loans e.t.c. Listening to the inspiring stories of the people in my network have motivated me to do more. It has also made me recognize the importance of collaborative work.
Thanks for reading to the end. I hope you enjoyed it.
Article by: Oladotun Kayode Peter
