Profile of Speakers @ Yabatech Taking Advantage of Change Summit

Hi folks, Just to show the profile of two of our speakers at the Seminar Taking Place this Saturday in Yabatech.

OLUTOYIN DANIEL OGUNMOLA
Olutoyin Daniel studied Computer Science and Economics in Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. He has a Masters Degree in IT Management and Organisation Change from Lancaster University Management School, UK where he finished with Distinction and has an award of the most collegiate student in a class of 58 students from 18 countries. His work was also awarded the best Masters Dissertation in the course for his set.

Olutoyin had worked as Software Developer, System Integration Analyst and Technical Business Developer for telecoms and aviation industry. As a seasoned IS Strategist, he presently work as the Group Technical Officer for MTECH a technology firm with branches in West and East Africa. Raised from a humble background, he has intense passion for supporting the less privileged youths in an all-rounded way through inspiration, motivation and knowledge.

DAMOLA GIWA
Giwa Adedamola studied Economics in University of Ilorin . He has an MBA from Obafemi Awolowo University , Ile-Ife. He is a Chartered accountant, a Chartered banker and is in the process of becoming a Certified Information Systems Auditor, haven passed the required CISA examination administered by the Information Systems Audit and Control Association of the USA .

He is currently the head of business operations of Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers Limited which is the leading stock broking firm in Nigeria . As the business operations head, he provides leadership for the client services and operations teams of the company responsible for the delivery of excellent service to the company’s clients. He is passionate about people development, nation building and believes he is called to be a channel of blessing to the less privileged.

Note: This is a great opportunity. Please invite your friends to this epic event. Wont you rather be in the gathering of the great?

Yabatech Hosts- Enviable Youth in Taking Advantage of Change Seminar

Yabatech Hosts- Enviable Youth in Taking Advantage of Change Seminar

Come August 27, Yabatech will be the home of the capacity building programme.

Venue is Engineering Block (MELB 3-10). Time is 10am prompt

Yours trully. Wale Micaiah, Oluyemi Adeosun, Damola Giwa and Toyin Daniel will be there.

You need to take advantage of this.

Democracy or Enlarged Monarchy? - Your father, Your future

Governor Jonah Jang of Pleateau state appoints son as special assistant on special duties! Osun state Governor appoints Bola Ige’s son, Bisi Akande’s Daughter as commissioner. These are just recent examples of families been perpetuated in government. I want to look at this from an objective point of view and not in any way judgmental.

Are these people constitutionally eligible to be appointed into offices? The answer is yes! Are they qualified in terms of education, work experience and the ability to deliver the dividends of democracy to the citizens? Most likely yes. However are their not other families in those states who are also equally qualified to fill those offices? Most likely yes.

While I congratulate these people on their appointments, I also sincerely wish them well as they attempt to add value to governance.

If our parent’s accomplishment and attainment determines how far we will go, what is your hope and the hopes of the commoners? My father was a proud civil servant. Would I also end up as one ? He gave me education which I am eternally grateful for, but would I one day be selected and honoured as a special assistant on xyz? Not likely!

Do capacities to function in certain offices run exclusively in certain families? I doubt this assumption. At a time, Kanu Nwankwo and Ogbonna Nwankwo were both playing in the National Teams, Sunday Oliseh and Azubuike Oliseh also, if not the cold hand of death that snatched away Iginiwari George, the younger brother of Finidi de ‘ Finito’ George, he would have also played for the Eagles. Altlanta 1996 had Celestine Babayaro and his elder brother Emmanuel Babyaro on the same team. Yes, the Uche brothers are playing for the Super Eagles so why can’t 2 sibblings be in government? Perhaps the best reason why family members excel in certain endeavors of life is that they are exposed to the internal working system from a tender age. Today 2 or 3 of Abedi Pele’s children have featured for various national teams in Ghana, and in all sincerity, those boys are stars.

The bottom line is, if family members have the ability and well withal to deliver result in whatever endeavour they represent the State or Country in, they have my vote. In fact, wouldn’t you rather prefer GEJ with his brother as V.P but with 24hours power supply and good road?

So folks don’t envy the Sarakis, or the Yarduas, or the Tinubus. Envy is pure waste of time. What advantage will you confer on your children? I think that is what we should ponder about.

Asiwaju said “power is not served alacate” i.e. “nobody will give you power, you take it”.

Who do We Report the Police to?

The strength of the institutions in a country ultimately determines the growth and development of the country. If the current image and attitude of the police in Nigeria is in anyway a mirror of our future; perhaps it is high time we began to think of relocating.

Yesterday, I took a bike from Iyana Oworo (in Lagos) through Bariga to Fola Agoro a distance of less than 4 km and met 4 police check points. Ordinarily; one should be happy that security in his area has been tightened, however, I realized that the objective of the check points was not to nip crime in the bud. All the policemen were doing was extorting money from commercial bus drivers and motorcyclists.

Not once did they attempt to search the bag I was carrying. My motorcyclist ended up paying 50naira per checkpoint making 200naira even though he had charged me 130naira for the trip. If such case was reported or an incident occurred as a result of this ignoble exercise by the Police, my favorite Police PRO Mr. Frank Mba would have said something like this: “in the police log book only one or at most two of the check points exit”.

Who do we report the police to? One thing was apparent, a few of the officers were also “high in spirits”. They were far from courteous in their extortion business. I also noticed little resistance from the bike men and bus operators. That something has gone on for so long does not make it right. Longevity does not equal legality.

I challenge my police brothers to pick up okada business if they feel it is that lucrative. It is not an excuse to say they are poorly paid. After all nothing stops them from resigning and become a bus operator.

The government and the police management may perhaps not have the political will and moral conscience to fight this anomaly. I challenge the transport union to rise up and fight this menace. Enough is enough.

@ Adeosun Oluyemi Theophilus

Foursquare Host Enviable Youth Training

Enivable Youth in Collaboration with Foursquare presents a capacity training programme.

Featuring seminars on:

Career Development
Leadership Development
Budgeting
Leveraging on Social Networking
Escaping the poverty trap
Documentaries
Role plays etc
Date: Saturday 13th of August 2011.

Venue is Ilupeju Foursquare Gospel Church @ 33, Iseyin Street, Palmgrove, Lagos.

Time: 9am Prompt

Admission is free to participants.

Facilitating:

Wale Micaiah
Oluyemi Adeosun

Equivalent of Strike in Non Unionized Private Sector

Many organizations today are without a union, most especially firms in the Banking and the Telecoms sectors. Unions are usually taken for granted in the manufacturing sector of the nation. Even though the Nigerian Constitution allows for freedom of association many employees in the service sector are scared of unionizing so they won’t loose their jobs. Where there are unions, it is easy to embark on a strike as a last resort to get management to accede to the demands of the workers. However workers in non unionized organizations also have demands, grievances and opinions.

In addition to better welfare, employees may be asking that you let them contribute, suggest and make intellectual input. People like to be treated as if they count and truly matter. Organisations that deprive their employees of such opportunities usually end up with dissatisfied personnel.

How do they channel this to management? Murmurings, complaints, withdrawal of enthusiasm, good will, “demarketing” etc. Sometimes you see a group of employees chatting at the dinning and they suddenly keep quite when a senior official or someone close to Ownership/Management enters. You begin to see people reading and sharing Tuesday Guardian at work.

When some employees exit the organization, others rejoice with them and wish they were the one, some even chant “ours will come soon”. To the business owner, he may feel at least these employees cannot and have not downed tools. Yet the organization is losing out big time.

Yes, creativity is been stifled. Employees will begin to leak company trade secrets without a second thought. New and prospective employees who go the extra mile to consult with existing ones will be discouraged from joining the work force, and if they have, they are advised to keep their doors open to new and better opportunities as soon as possible.

Passionate workers radiate enthusiasm, you can feel it in their vocal pitch, and you can see the twinkle in their eyes. In a survey carried out to determine employees work engagement status: 29% were found to be actively engaged, 54% non engaged and 17% actively disengaged. I know whatever an organization does it is impossible to please all employees! However, when 70% or more of the company staff are just marking time; something drastic has to be done. The opposite of love is not hatred but indifference. Indifferent employees are not productive. Indifference creates a disenabling environment.

Do your employees see themselves as stakeholders or partners in your business? Or are they just another factor of production, holding a stick that can break at any time? Google for instance does not have a union. Yet the employees are extremely happy to work there. Former Google staff a few of whom I have met still speak of their experience while there with nostalgia.

Having satisfied employees is not a function of the business ownership structure i.e. sole proprietorship, partnership or even public liability company. Also it is not a function of the income of the organization. It is largely as a result of how management values and treat people. Yes that is what makes an organisation to be an Employer of Choice. It is all about Social responsibility to all stakeholders including employees.

I believe that Human Capital is the most critical resource in an organization especially in this knowledge age.

Are your workers on a form of “strike” and you are not aware?



@ Adeosun Oluyemi Theophilus

Tenure Extension; a diversionary technique?

Mr. Wazobia got home late one Friday night tired and hungry. He was met by his wife with a warm embrace. He quickly settled down, took a shower and his seat at the dinning. His wife joined him at the table and started chatting away about what food she will prepare for Saturday night dinner.

Wazobia managed to keep pace with his wife thinking food was on fire and almost ready. After an hour of gist, he asked his wife about dinner. She responded that she would set a committee up comprising the 3 children to decide what to eat so that they can go ahead to buy the food stuff and commence cooking preparation to cook it. Haba!

If Mrs Wazobia is your wife what will your reaction be?. Disgusted? Awed? Sad or bitter?Well permit me to liken “Gudluk Jona” to Mrs Wazobia. He has as abandoned pressing issues of poor infrastructure, electricity and energy crisis for a problem or solution that may not be required until 2015.

Who told him we are complaining about duration of tenure? I would rather prefer a life president who provides all basic amenities than a single-tenured president without tangible achievement. Those who voted him to power most likely wanted him to face the pressing issues on ground. I make bold to say that it does not matter how long tenure is but how well it was spent.

Something tells me that tenure extension is a gimmick to get “Naija” citizens to shift attention from Boko Haram issues and poor infrastructure.

What a mighty mindset he has.

Creating Your Own Future

Just decided to share some pictures from a seminar i facilitated at RCCG Igando Lagos on July 17, 2011. The event was a success to the glory of God. Special thanks to Pastor Farounbi and his amiable wife. Bro Wale Micaiah was extremely crucial to the success of the meeting.