Career Tips for Job Seekers in Nigeria | Orifunke Lawal
I decided to write some career advice for job-seekers in Nigeria, especially fresh graduates and fresh out-of-NYSC folks, let me give you a piece of advice that you might find useful:
See your job-seeking process as a business.
When you want to start a business, you don’t just jump into anything and expect to find customers. You must be as strategic as possible.
One of the things business consultants tell you is that before you start a business, you need to do a market survey. What do people want to buy? What are people spending their money on? What is selling in the market?
Then after finding that out, you can decide what you want to start selling. That way, you’re starting a business not based on how you feel or just what you’re passionate about but what actually sells in the market.
Back to your job search…
So, you studied, let’s say Zoology at school and you need a job now. The questions you should ask yourself realistically are:
1. Are there job opportunities in my field? There is no problem admitting that there are no/limited job opportunities in the field you studied. If there are no job opportunities in your field, and you still stick to it in the hopes of not giving up, you’re certainly not being realistic and you will keep searching for a job that either doesn’t exist or doesn’t exist readily to you.
2. What sells in the market?
You have to understand that certain skills are more searched for than others. Find some time and go to myjobmag or jobberman and see the different job vacancies so you can have an idea of what jobs companies mostly need. You can also google “jobs near me” and select a field in your area of interest or competence.
3. Your aim at this point is to do two things:
a. Research the most required fields i.e., fields that most recruiters or companies are looking at hiring.
b. Research the wages/salaries of these various fields.
The essence of b above is to ensure that you’re not just on the lookout for a skill that employers need but a skill that they can actually pay for. There are fields that are quite “popular” but don’t pay much. There are also skills that are not so popular but actually pay a whole lot.
4. After discovering what sells in the market, decide what you would like to launch a career in. If you really loved your Zoology course at school, you probably would find it hard. If you’re also religious, there is a high chance that you want to keep praying and hoping that a miraculous job in your field will find you soon. No, don’t do that to yourself.
Another challenge that you might have is you thinking you’re not interested in a particular field. Please, if the field sells, I don’t know what you’re talking about. I want to start learning how to code and don’t be surprised if I become a UI/UX designer in the next year. No, I don’t like to code. But like business, you don’t need to love what you sell before you actually sell it. You’re in business to sell. If that’s what the market wants, well, what are you doing for yourself?
5. After deciding the fields that you’d like to start to major in, the next step to take is to draw out a plan to start learning actively about it. There are four ways you can learn in this regard:
a. Online courses. There are tons of online courses that might be free or paid on Google and they mostly come with certificates too. Online courses allow you to grow knowledge in that particular field. Don’t take this for granted. Blogs and ebooks are also amazing but courses are more procedural than these so it’s easier for you to learn when you’re just starting out.
b. Find the top players in that field online and follow them. If you don’t know, you can ask on your timeline. Say something like, “Do you know someone who does SEO on your list? Please mention them.” People will mention those they know and then you can follow these people, turn on post notifications for their tweets or posts, send them a connection request on LinkedIn and sell yourself whenever the need arises.
c. Look out for opportunities to develop experience. You might be lucky to find a job that pays you without experience and you might not be that lucky. So look out for internship or volunteer opportunities in this field. If you can afford it, you can write to a company that specializes in that field and ask to do a free internship with them. This is not compulsory.
d. Start to build thought leadership around this field online. This would mean taking your different online platforms seriously and regularly talking about the particular field as you have learnt. Say you’re in SEO, you can start out by doing a post on SEO once a week. Over time, you’ll register in the minds of your followers as someone who can take up roles on SEO.
This might not be exhaustive but I really hope it helps someone out there.
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Orifunke Lawal is a young professional living in Nigeria. She is a writer, content creator, editor/proofreader, brand and communications professional and a budding SEO specialist. She is the author of The Art of Social Writing, an e-book which teaches how to write for social media and make people love you while at it. She is passionate about processes, ideas, tools, structures and systems that are put in place for the establishment and development of brands, businesses, communities and individuals online.
You can connect with her on LinkedIn: Orifunke Lawal
The Art of Social Writing – Download E-Book by Orifunke Lawal
The Art of Social Writing is a guide for everyone who wants to take the bull by the horns and build their social writing skills. The book is basically me making the whole process as simple as possible for you so you can start to build your brand online.
Following my recovery from a terrific illness and enjoying the first few days of my leave from work, I decided to set out to writing something that a lot of people have asked me to teach them. As a social media writer, I get a lot of requests from people who want me to show them how I am able to come up with enlightening, audacious, sometimes humorous posts and how they can also implement the same for themselves.
I also took a survey early this year asking people what they’d like me to teach them if they had the opportunity to choose and more than a few mentioned they’d basically like to know how to write the way I write and have a loyal following on social media.
So, if you have always wondered what principles I follow when it comes to building my personal brand through social writing, how I get opportunities from social media and how I am able to get people looking forward to my posts, then this is for you.
In the 55-paged book, I have tried to cover major topics I get asked questions on a lot like:
– How to start writing on social media even if you’re not a pro.
– What kind of content to create and a few ideas for you.
– Why you should take advantage of storytelling and how to start.
– And more, really.
At the end of some chapters, I have also included a form of exercise sheet that you can download and print out to help you gain more clarity while reading.
Does this sound like a book you’d need? I gotcha! ??
To download, just click on this link: DOWNLOAD THE ART OF SOCIAL WRITING and have your copy delivered to your inbox. If you do not find it in your inbox in ten minutes, check your promotions folder and move it to your Primary tab. Cheers!
P.S: And oh, it’s free! Yes, I know it’s crazy but it’s absolutely free. You’re welcome!
“Lady with Balls” Launches #StrongIsShe Campaign for Women
“Lady with Balls”, a growing online community of ladies has launched its campaign for June tagged “#StrongIsShe”. The aim of the campaign is to share the self-told stories of women who are strong in their own rights. Every woman is strong, irrespective of whatever she has gone through or is going through. The objectives of the campaign are to:
1. Let people know that it’s okay to not have it all figured out before you tell your story. It’s okay to be a work in progress and still show the parts of you that make you strong.
2. Encourage other people who might currently be going through what you’re going through and who will derive encouragement and the balls to keep on keeping on.
The initiative which first began in July last year embarks on different campaigns every month in order to help members grow in capacity and continually support one another. This June is for the #StrongIsShe campaign.
To be a part of the campaign, read the following:
– Stories will be posted all through the month of June on the Lady-with-Balls’ social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter).
– You can choose to remain anonymous if there are details you would like to save your face for, and not necessarily just because you are shy.
– Stories are not meant to bring pity-party. They can be gruesome or crazy but at the end of the day, let us know how you are dealing and how you have dealt with it.
– If you do not claim anonymity, you will have to include your image (most preferably a clear non-selfie picture taken by a digital camera or a good phone camera, if possible). We will also need your email address so we can notify you if your story has been posted.
– Stories will NOT be altered but will be proofread and edited for errors for ease of reading of the audience.
– You can also join in the campaign by uploading a picture of yourself on IG, telling your story and tagging @ladywithballsng using the hashtags #ladywithballs and #strongisshe. Please, note that tagging us and using the hashtags is important so we can still find your story.
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If you would like to send in your story, click on this link to fill in the form: #StrongIsShe – A Lady-with-Balls Campaign
To stay up-to-date with stories:
Follow Lady with Balls on Instagram: @ladywithballsng
Like Lady with Balls on Facebook: Lady with Balls
Follow Lady with Balls on Twitter: @ladywithballsng
You Are Not Too Old
You’re not too old.
This morning, I was speaking with someone dear and I told him that whenever I find myself in a potentially emotionally draining situation, I remind myself that I am too young to be facing that kind of thing.
When there’s something I want to start, I tell myself that I am not too old for that.
Why do I do this? I do this because I understand how much pressure you could unknowingly create for yourself when you put yourself under that age scrutiny.
You’re 25, you’re thinking you’re too old for this or that. You’re 27, you’re allowing yourself think you’re too old. At the end of the day, you hinder yourself from doing certain stuff because you’ve put that age bracket on yourself.
Studies have shown that people naturally find it harder to take risks as they grow older simply because they feel they’re too old for them. This means that your chances of starting a business at 22 are greatly reduced when you’re 35 because then you want to think about your age. In that case, your age restricts you.
Other times, people find it harder to apply for certain roles and jobs as they grow older because they feel they’re too old for them.
Feeling like you’re too old can also prevent you from subjecting yourself to learning from someone who is younger than you are, to your own disadvantage.
Do. Not. Be. Restricted. By. Your. Age. Darling.
Of course, when it comes to certain immature stuff, feel free to let yourself know you’re too old for that. But do not allow yourself to be boxed into old age before you actually get old.
Like I told my friend this morning, I honestly don’t feel old. And when I am 54, I still would not feel like I’m too old. I will enjoy this baby girl status for life. ?
How has the pressure of being “too old” stopped you from doing certain things or reaching out to certain people? Do you think it’s something you should correct?
I have attached an image that you could post on your status or social media and include what you’re not too old to do.
I am not too old to start to pursue my dreams. I am not too old to leave that bad relationship. I am not too old to take that course. I am not too old to start that business or project. I am not too old to find better experiences. I am not too old to find the love of my life. ??
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My name is Orifunke Lawal and I am planning to send you posts like this all through the month of May. If you wouldn’t like that, please let me know so I can remove you from my BC list. I hate BCs too unless they’re important to me ?
Thank you! If you’re re-BCing, kindly include credit because you’re not too old to be sued for plagiarism sha. ???
WhatsApp Blast: How to Organize, Market & Monetize WhatsApp Classes
Your Total Guide for Making Money on WhatsApp
I organized my first WhatsApp class three years ago… fearfully. I had felt a need to teach a number of individuals and brands how to use Twitter. I mean, I could use Twitter very well, knew the ropes and wanted to help other people know what I knew too. Right?
But I had an issue. I didn’t know if anybody would want to join an online class in learning how to use Twitter. Let alone even pay for it. I really felt there was someone out there who needed what I had to offer but I was scared of putting myself out there. Safe to say, I was scared of failing.
But I just told myself, “If nobody enrolls for my class, what would it remove from my life?” And that was the personal motivation I needed to put the word out there.
So I embarked on this journey. I did a design on Canva to help communicate what my Twitter class would be about and I shared it on my Facebook and Instagram pages. Before I knew it, I started having comments and messages. I almost couldn’t believe it. It was scary and crazy at the same time.
And with that, I organized my first WhatsApp class.
Since then, I have organized personal paid public and private classes on WhatsApp that have turned out very well in terms of participants and, of course, income.
Having organized regular WhatsApp classes, it baffles me as to why not many people have regular WhatsApp classes yet. With how much they’ve helped me in selling relevant products of mine and building networks with people I initially didn’t know, I don’t know why many people aren’t thinking in that direction yet.
- Make money easily and without stress
- Start with zero capital
- Grow your list so that you can keep selling and making money easily
- Increase your network so that people can refer you to others
- Develop thought leadership
- Say bye to being broke forever!
What Will You Learn?
If you buy this ebook, I am going to be teaching you how to:
1. Overcome your fear of organizing a WhatsApp class, whether free or paid.
2. Turn your interests, skills and/or ideas into topics that you can teach.
3. Decide if your topic ideas are sellable so that you do not waste time or money organizing a class that NOBODY will pay for. This is called validating your topic idea.
4. Set up your class like a Pro so that those enrolling can trust and respect you, long after the class.
5. Create publicity strategies for marketing your class.
6. Find, create and package excellent and useful content in various forms for your class participants.
7. Get people to pay for your class.
8. Convert your class into an online community of people who will always want to answer to you, your services or your products.
P.S: I would also be following you up and seeing to it that you actually organize your first class. Promise!
Bonuses
- E-book on Strategic Community Building
- 21-day Mentorship from me
- Free access to paid community of Fellow WhatsApp Course Creators
ABOUT ORIFUNKE LAWAL
Orifunke Lawal is a branding, marketing and corporate communications professional who loves to develop solutions for individuals, organizations and businesses.
She has organized numerous classes and trained up to 1,000 people collectively in topics such as branding for personal and business purposes, marketing, Search Engine Optimization, community building, to mention a few.
She is the founder of Lady with Balls, an organization that helps ladies achieve their biggest dreams through the right resources, trainings and support. She is also the founder of Graduate Mentor Africa, an initiative targeted at helping students and fresh graduates build wealth during and after their higher education.
She is the author of two books; The Art of Social Writing and 25 for 25: A Memoir.
How I Want to Change the World with A Toptal Scholarship
My name is Orifunke Lawal and this is my Toptal scholarship entry. Toptal is undergoing a scholarship process for women this season. This scholarship includes being awarded funds to be able to fulfil your plans to change the world as well as a mentorship scheme to help guide you. I am entering for this scholarship because I want to be empowered to change the world; to change my world. To enter for the scholarship programme, click HERE
When I was a kid, my dad made me believe that I could change the world. He imbibed in me the belief that I could be as big as other “big” people on TV. I am an ambitious and driven individual and I would attribute that to his influence over my life while growing up. My dad’s desire for me to be an influential woman was so strong that despite the inadequacies of growing up in harsh conditions of lack and poverty, he was very particular about my getting good education and he ensured that happened. The idea was simple – all the “big” men and women he saw on TV were educated, so I also had to be soundly educated. If I was going to get to where they were, then I needed to be educated. Hence, today, education is one of the things I do not joke with. And, this also informs my firm belief that education is a priority and must-have for every child, regardless of prevalent social or economic conditions.
My dad taught me that I could change the world. The most important discovery I have made while growing up, however, is that to change the world, I have to first and foremost change my world. In essence, I really can only begin to change the world by starting with my immediate environment and community. I may not be able to travel all around the world yet because I presently do not have the means, but I can change the lives that I can afford to change from where I am at present; my immediate community.
On passion
I am a big dreamer, and as a personal life ethos I know I have enough dreams to last me a lifetime. I am passionate about young women being able to live the best versions of themselves. Growing up in Lagos, Nigeria opened my eyes to the dangers that uneducated, dependent and unempowered women face. I, therefore, continue to remain invested and active participator activities, causes and social ventures that engage in enabling women to become independent financially, mentally, psychologically and emotionally.
My vision to change the world
This year, 2018, I launched a community for young Nigerian women, I aptly called it “Lady with Balls”.
“Lady with Balls” is an online community that aims to inspire, impact and empower ladies t through vital resources, classes and a support system that actually works. At the moment, I run regular online classes for members of the community to teach them basic things that help them to be better for themselves, for their families and for their communities.
It is being a dream come true for me as I had been thinking about it for more than a couple of years. My drive is to build a community, a network of women, who are knowledgeable, confident and independent, having all the resources that they need to live the best versions of themselves. I am a huge believer in the fact that women who must change the world must first be educated, empowered and independent. So these past few weeks have witnessed me thinking and planning out ways by which I can get the lives of these women to be better.
My vision for the world is to change the lives of women by providing them with resources and opportunities to be empowered. It is not enough to tell these women to be strong, learn a skill or be educated without providing the opportunities to be. And while there sure seem to be chances like that, there is still a lot of work to be done, especially with regard to young ladies who have no access to education.
In order to this, I plan to organize events, workshops, online trainings and classes and provide them with as many structured resources as we can lay our hands on.
How I believe I can accomplish my goals
Here are three ways I plan to accomplish my goals:
1. By building sub-communities online under “Lady with Balls”, of women who will not only be taught but will also build one another. Truth be told, there is really nothing as much as being able to connect with other people who share the same passion and values with you. To accomplish my goal of helping women become educated, independent and empowered, I plan to build sub-communities. These sub-communities will cut across different ranges of sectors and they will include communities for:
-Female entrepreneurs (i.e those who have businesses and/or intend to build one);
-Young professional women (those who are employed or are seeking employment);
-For freelancers (otherwise referred to as creatives) and
-For students
The idea of these communities is to have young women of like minds come together, learn from a higher authority as often as is needed and learn from one another as well.
2. By organizing events, trainings, workshops and courses which will all be tailored to the needs and specifications of each member of the community. A popular mistake that a lot make is thinking that one size fits all when it comes to empowering people. Well, that’s not true. People have different thought patterns, backgrounds, interests and skills. Exposing and introducing them to the right kind of knowledge is crucial to be able to see results.
3. By having a regular (monthly or quarterly) outdoor outreach where I and hopefully a team of passionate minds like myself can keep reaching out to women and educating them enough to be empowered and independent.
4. By building a business around these goals (without bothering the beneficiaries) so that come what may, the dream is well-funded to continue.
Why I Need a Toptal Support
Changing the world like I want to would be difficult without the right kind of funds. With the 10,000-dollar scholarship from Toptal, I will be able to:
-Establish these young-women communities (as explained above)
-Organize regular life-changing and impactful professional events and workshops for young women.
-Organize trainings, classes and courses (both online and offline) that would facilitate the development of important skills that women need to have them empowered.
-Create a structure that not only allows me to bring that much-needed change to my community and in extension the world but also allows other people do their bit like I am/will continue to in changing their world and in extension the world.
Why I Need a Toptal Mentor
I believe the pace of life’s solutions is faster when taken on the heels of people that are already ahead. Mentorship will, therefore, afford me the requisite knowledge and learnings to do much more. In my research of the stories and impact of past winners of the Toptal Scholarship and I solidly believe that Toptal gives the right leverage I and a teeming population of individuals world over need to make those dreams a real and positive reality in the lives of other individuals like ourselves. Having a Toptal mentor will:
1. Allow me a better understanding of how to achieve my dreams; the aims and objectives of the goals I highlighted above.
2. Prevent me from making avoidable mistakes in the course of execution.
3. Help me learn all there is to learn about leading people and managing projects successfully.
Having well-articulated my vision, I strongly believe that I really can change the world with a Toptal Scholarship. Thank you, Toptal, for this opportunity!
Travelstart Nigeria And Uber Nigeria Announce Flight Partnership With ‘UberEscape’
Travelstart Nigeria and Uber Nigeria, literally the biggest brands when it comes to transportation in the country, are partnering on one of the biggest deals you can ever imagine- Uberescape! I particularly find this pretty exciting because one, it means that flights can now be a lot more accessible. More so, the ease with which you can book a flighTravelstart Nigeria and Uber Nigeria, literally the biggest brands when it comes to transportation in the country, are partnering on one of the biggest deals you can ever imagine- Uberescape!t just by clicking on your phone is really fascinating.
Source: Google
Source: Google
Travelstart is one brand which most Nigerians who fly to other countries can relate to. The brand is Africa’s leading online travel agency, providing you with the best deals like cheap flights to Dubai, New York, the UK and a lot more other countries.
How UberEscape Works
The way UberEscape works is really very simple and non-technical. From August 31st through to September 7th, 2018, you will be able to start booking your flights with Travelstart when you open the Uber App on your phone and click on “UberEscape”. When you do this, you will be redirected to the UberEscape website so you can get all the best deals on the flights to your favourite destinations. That easy! All you need to do is:
- Get the Uber App (if you don’t already have)
- Open your Uber App and click on “UberEscape”.
- You will be redirected to the UberEscape website (which is secure)
- Book your flights to get exclusive deals.
Source: Google
Want A Free Economy Return Flight from Your Destination?
It is not just amazing that UberEscape helps you to book your cheap flights very easily and quickly from the comfort of your smartphone, you could also stand a chance of winning a free economy return flight from wherever you are tavelling to. This marks the journey to UberEscape and it begins on the 31st of August and runs down till the 7th of September, 2018 and the winner will be announced on the 14th of September. To enter into the competition, follow these steps:
- Open your Uber App and look out for blank “Where to?” signs.
- Fill in your destination in the “Where to” space
- Take a selfie with it and be sure to post it on Twitter and Instagram. Use the hashtags #UberEscape and #PoweredbyTravelstart
- Tag @travelstartng, @ubernigeria and, of course, whoever you will be travelling with.
- If you’re chosen as winner, you would be winning TWO FREE economy return flight tickets to your destination.
“I Am Glad I Studied Yoruba”- Akintujoye Ayomidotun Daniel #FreshGradTales
Akintujoye Ayomidotun Daniel is a graduate of Linguistics and African Languages (Yoruba) from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. He is a Language expert and a music instructor with a keen interest in stage performances. He leads a worship ministry “TWM” and a Gospel Owanbe Music band called The King’s Kousans.
You studied Yoruba as an undergraduate. Why Yoruba of all courses?
Hmmmm….. Bẹ́ẹ̀ làá bini o…I applied for LAW but was offered Yoruba due to my low performance in the entrance exams.
What were the major challenges you encountered in studying the course and as an undergraduate generally?
The course has a very broad scope of study because it involves language, culture and literature. One problem I had at the initial stage was that I couldn’t speak, write well, and I was not familiar with some Yoruba cultural materials. Many of the things we did would have been quite easier if we were born when the value of the Yoruba culture and traditions were standard.
How were you able to overcome these academic challenges and outside academics did you encounter other challenges?
The challenges disappeared gradually as I related more with the course. I also got to know more through research. I also had a little financial challenge. I was unable to afford a lot of books. It was not a limitation though, as I was able to get all the important materials even if they were photocopies.
Did you at any point feel intimidated studying Yoruba, and how were you able to deal with people’s reactions whenever you told them your field of study?
When I first saw the course on my portal, I went to the living room and acted like a Yoruba newscaster, then I told the house I had been offered Yoruba. I didn’t feel intimidated at all. I talk about it everywhere even before people dig into it. I’m proud to have studied the course.
I understand you play various instruments and you also sing. How were you able to balance academics and attending to invitations to minister?
That was really demanding then. There were times I arrived from ministrations a night before exams. The truth is: I don’t know how I coped. I didn’t always read so much. What I did was to pay attention to details in class. I had very little notes although I never went for exams and tests unprepared.
If you have/had so much passion for music, why didn’t you put in to study music?
I didn’t want to focus on making money with music. If I had studied music, I would have had to make money with it by all means.
If you were given the opportunity to start over as an undergraduate, what are the things you think you will correct or do better than you did at first?
Few. I actually did a lot as an undergraduate. What I didn’t do was enough business ?. I would do more if I have the chance now.
So did you have a bae on campus and if yes how were you able to balance being in a relationship and academics, was it a distraction or an advantage?
(Smiles) I got committed to a relationship towards the end of my part 2?. It was no joke at all. It had advantages and disadvantages though. Bae always took care of me, even after programs late in the night. Thank God there are no night rules as such in OAU. So I made up for seeing Bae at nights. When I have early morning classes, I leave Bae on time. ?
Asides having your degree In Yoruba, what other things did you gain as an undergraduate and if your certificate was taken from you, how do you know you have what it takes to survive the outside world?
This is a big question o. Music, itself, is enough empowerment for me. I did a bit of politics then too. Plus I am a big-time thinker and man of different talents; I don’t need a degree to be the best of myself. I needed to be at the University anyways.
What are the moments or things you would miss about OAU?
I will miss the worship attitude of OAU, I will miss the ‘Arò’. I will miss my funny lecturers. OAU is such an interesting place to be generally.
Now that you are done with school, what’s next in line?
I’m waiting for mobilization. While I wait I’m doing some business, serving, teaching and taking up an internship.
What advice do you have for undergraduates and those aspiring to get into the university?
The University education on its own will not give them all they need to survive on the outside. Everyone should work on having something tangible to offer the world. Build capacity, and be versatile. Don’t concentrate on academics alone?, get involved in other life-changing activities on campus. Above all, get God ?.
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DID YOU ENJOY DANIEL’S INTERVIEW? READ INTERVIEWS OF OTHER FRESH GRADUATES HERE >>>> #FreshGradTales
#FreshGradTales is a series of interviews with fresh graduates from ALL universities in Nigeria. This initiative aims at hearing and sharing the stories, struggles, achievements and experiences of fresh Nigerian graduates. We do believe everyone has a unique story that someone somewhere would love to read and benefit from reading as well.
If you are a fresh university graduate and would love to share your #FreshGradTales, we would be glad to hear from you on [email protected].
Also follow us on Instagram: @Freshgradtales
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This interview was conducted by Deborah Bamgbose, a final year student of English, Obafemi Awolowo University. Deborah is a lover of God, words and good food. She doubles as a baker of cakes and snacks.
Life in Makoko – Director DijiaderoGBA’s Interview | The Lagos Series, Week 9
From the good to the bad to the ugly, Lagos gives you different faces. One of the faces of Lagos is Makoko, a community which hosts about a million people, according to research. In his latest documentary, Life in Makoko, DijiaderoGBA shares highly visual and emotionally intriguing stories of Makoko. The documentary is what you would call “storytelling at its peak”. The visuals, the soundtrack, the people, the place, the stories and everything are proof that DijiaderoGBA has done a more than an excellent job on this project.
DijiaderoGBA is a Nigerian filmmaker/Director, writer and photographer who, from childhood, has been a fan of storytelling. He attributes his love for stories to where he grew up. In his words, “In as much as there are many stories to be told in the world, my main focus and love is African storytelling because that’s who I am, an African.” He is basically a storyteller via films, writings and photography.
The Lagos Series engaged the award-winning filmmaker in an interview in a bid to allow him to share personal information about Life in Makoko, including what inspired the story and what he hoped to achieve with the story.
What inspired the Makoko story?
I got to know about the community called Makoko some years back and I did more research via Google and mostly, YouTube. Since then, I have always wanted to tell the community’s story. Last month, I met a tweep and we started talking about films and how she wants me to help tell her story. Fast forward, I didn’t know what made me mention Makoko in our conversation but as soon as I mentioned it, she liked the idea and told me she lived there for almost two decades!
I was so happy. We talked about meeting up and after some days, I travelled to Lagos and we went to Makoko together for the pre-production stage of the documentary. Weeks later, we made the documentary and here it is, telling the story I have wanted to tell.
What do you hope to achieve with the Makoko story?
My major aim is to help the society and the less-privileged living there, especially the kids. I called my team before we went there to make the documentary and told them all I want to achieve with this project is to get the story out and hope people see to help.
I’m glad to say last week Sunday, I was there with some people that saw the documentary and thought it was right to give the community some used clothes, shoes, food etc. We fed some people and gave out a lot of stuff for upkeep. I still want more NGOs, individuals and elite people in the society to see this project and give to the society.
What has the feedback been like since you published the video?
It’s been amazing and blessed. I have gotten feedback from people all over the world. People that never knew about the community and its people. It’s been great so far for me and my team.
Is this a one-off thing or is it a project where you also get to visit other areas in Lagos?
Well, I can’t say for now because I major in films not documentary but when the time comes and I see a reason to tell stories via documentary, I will gladly do. Lol.
If you haven’t already seen Life in Makoko, you definitely should do that here and let him know your thoughts:
HIDDEN EUPHORIA – Life In Makoko (A dijiaderoGBA film )
Did you enjoy reading this? Sure you did! Catch up on all the other episodes that we have had here: The Lagos Series
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DigiClan Lagos Meetup | A Story of Learning, Networking & Jollof Rice
Prior to now, I wasn’t very much a fan of meetups. Blame that on the fact that I get really uncomfortable when I’m among many people that I either do not know at all or I’m unfamiliar with. But then, one of the things that I am trying to do is to get out of my shell and do stuff that I naturally do not like doing- like going out of my house to an event where one of the purposes is to network. (Hopefully, one of these days, I’d write a post about why you should be eager to attend meetups if you’re someone like me who doesn’t like to go out that much).
For a few months now, I’ve been a member of the biggest community of digital marketers in Nigeria and Africa. My friend, Deji Faniyan, saw the need for me to be a part and linked me up straight up (and that’s something I am grateful for).
DIGICLAN, as the community is called, is a community of digital marketers and influencers. The overall aim of the community is to network, learn, teach and mutually contribute to our individual and collective growth as well as the overall development of the Digital Marketing Space of Africa.
Last week, I got to know that there would be a DigiClan Lagos meetup the coming Saturday. I was reluctant at first even though I knew I had much to learn from professionals who I knew would be coming around. (I don’t like meeting people that much, remember? Lol)
But one thing caught my fancy; the fact that there was going to be Jollof rice!
Yes, I know I love food that much and I am not ashamed of the gospel of food. But see, knowing that there would be Almighty Jollof instantly spurred me to prepare for it. I just told myself, “Babe, ain’t no way I’m gonna pass up an opportunity to eat Jollof this Saturday. Ain’t noooo way!”
And so, I got up from my bed, dressed up for the event against my feelings of not liking to meet people and headed out for The Virtual Hub, Ikeja where the meetup was to hold.
The event was one of the many periodic face-to-face meetups and free trainings organized by the Clan to provide answers to questions as well as share vital information on the Digital marketing space. Furthermore, it was inspired by the need for the community to meet, network, share and learn from campaign stories, successes and failures of experts and upcoming Digital media marketing professionals.
Did I love the meetup? Hell yeah, I loved it (I wouldn’t be taking my time to write this if I didn’t love it.) There were people who shared challenges that they had been having with their online campaigns and there were more than enough professionals to help them get their problems solved.
Also, I really did get to network with a couple of people who I was absolutely wowed listening to. We shared ideas and exchanged ideas. I wouldn’t have loved it if I had missed it, really.
After I got home, one of the interesting things I thought about doing was to get other individuals who attended the event to share why they decided to attend and what they learnt from attending. I got a few responses:
“The meet-up, for me, was an opportunity to network (put faces to the WhatsApp names) as well as learn, knowing the calibre of members in the group. I got to reunite with old colleagues (as well as former wedding train mate ?) And I picked one, two and plenty ideas e.g to guide with content marketing strategy.”
-Iniobong Michael Idio, Digital Marketing Executive with core competence in SEO.
“I attended the Meetup with an intention to CONNECT and LEARN. I actually did achieve all of that from the meet-up, got to meet young great minds with amazing talents, people who are open to sharing their own ideas and experiences for others to learn from. I also got to meet some people that I’ve only been hearing about or talking to on phone, so it was really nice to place faces to them and yea, I made new friends too. The experience was truly AWESOME and UNFORGETTABLE”- Nancy Abudu Oriolowo (@oriolowonancy), Digital Marketer.
“I volunteered for the events and I attended because I want to go into social media marketing and management. The meetup met my objective because I was able to get other Digiclan members to learn how social media management works and how to get the best ideas in running campaigns.”
– Abu David Itama, Brand Strategist & Content Developer.
“I was to coordinate the volunteers. Met lots of digital media-inclined personalities from different spheres of Digital Media management and learnt one or two ideas on how to better manage my blog.”
– Daphne Isaac, Entertainment and Celebrity Gossip Blogger, www.fambles.com.
Personal Verdict?
The organizers and volunteers did a great job, I must confess. The brainstorming sessions were enlightening, the networking session was fascinating. And the food…Oh God…the Jollof rice was life! Did I mention there was Puff-puff too?
The venue we used was beautiful too. Virtual Hub is a company that offers you space for events like meet-ups and seminars at affordable prices. More interestingly, they have really cool workspaces for you if you have a team or company and you need somewhere to work. The catch? You could pay daily, weekly or monthly and the charges are understandably moderate, to be honest.
I look forward to more DigiClan meetups like this. The experience I had has made me more open to going out to events more and meeting more people.
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