By AbdulQudus Abiola Ojomu
– Advocate resilience, excellence in business dealings
– Intelligent, emotional and social quotient vital for effective mentorship: Oba Matemilola
– Advocate resilience, excellence in dealings
The 14th Olowu of Owu Kingdom, HRM Oba (Prof) Saka Adelola Matemilola has emphasised the importance of mentorship, saying it is vital to the success of individuals, especially young people in every facet of endeavour.
The first class monarch made the remarks while speaking at the second edition of the Nasir Giwa Mentorship (NGM) conference, held on Saturday, November 25th, 2023 at Zone Tech Park, Gbagada Lagos.
Themed: “Solving Tomorrow’s Problem Today: Empowering the next Generation of Solution Seekers” the conference attracted great minds from all walks of life, including the CEO of Cowrywise, Mr Razaq Ahmed; Assistant General Manager, Optimus Bank, Mrs Titi Adams; Co-founder/Partner, Verod Capital, Mr Eric Idiahi, among others.
Muslim News gathered that the conference started with three pre-events that ran simultaneously. A free medical check-up, a CV writing workshop anchored by Alhaji AbdulKabir Kuye of KPMG and an SME business consultation forum.
In his keynote address, Oba (Prof) Matemilola who graced the event with one of his wives, Queen Aminah Matemilola, reiterated that not only does an individual who aspires to be a leader needs a high intelligence quotient to succeed but also emotional quotient (EQ) and social quotient (SQ).
He added, “It was not until I took Alhaji Nasir Giwa as my unofficial mentor (because I never told him) that I started improving myself in skills related to EQ and SQ. These skills then complemented my high IQ”.
Oba Matemilola, who extended appreciation to the convener, Alhaji Giwa, concluded his keynote speech with a Hadith of the Prophet (SAW), admonishing the audience to “Take advantage of five things before five things: youthfulness before old age, free time before business, good health before illness, wealth before poverty and life before death.”
Subsequently, two insightful panel sessions emphasizing the theme of the conference were held. The sessions provided an opportunity for attendees to learn from professionals who have succeeded in their various fields.
The first panel session with the topic: “How I built it: The untold failures before the big breaks” featured speakers such as the MD of Ardova Plc, Moshood Olajide; the CEO of Jarus Homes & Investment Ltd, Suraj “Jarus” Oyewale; Co-founder/Partner Verod capital, Mr Eric Idiahi and a partner at Banwo & Ighodalo, Ms Azeezah Muse-Sadiq.
During the session, Mr Moshood said: “The three main things which were critical to my career growth are hard work (following the Prophet’s (SAW) statement “pray and tie your camel”), the zeal to learn new things and humility.”
On her part, Ms Azeezah Muse-Sadiq said even though she graduated with a second class lower from the Law School (the first time she would not be in the top five of a class), the grade served as a motivation for her to succeed.
She said, “Failure is not the end of the journey; it is a stepping stone. Failure is when you don’t take the opportunity from your mistake and when you accept that mistake as the obstacle and don’t move past it.”
The CEO of Jarus Homes & Investment, “Sir Jarus” as he is fondly called on X (formerly Twitter) added to the discussion when asked how easy it was for him to switch jobs in different sectors.
He said, “Irrespective of the company you find yourself in, the principle of success is the same , “excellence”. It doesn’t matter whether you are in the energy sector or corporate finance. Also, networking is very important.”
The second panel session went underway with speakers such as the Assistant General Manager, of Optimus Bank, Ms Titi Adams; CEO of Cowrywise, Mr. Razaq Ahmed and the Project Lead at Archivi.ng, Fu’ad Lawal. The session was titled “I have an idea: what’s next?”
When asked why he chose the niche of saving and investment which his app, Cowrywise is based on, Mr Razaq said, “Perhaps there is no specific reason for choosing this niche. But, if I were to construct one, then I would say that is what I know how to do best. It is my career path”
Ms Titi Adams while explaining the metrics one can use to measure if an idea is worth implementing, said, “You need to do a lot of research, you need to check which environment you find yourself and start small.”
She cited the example of an idea like “agent banking” which was pioneered during her time with one of Nigeria’s leading banks, Guaranty Trust Bank.
She said, “We had to research how it is being done in different countries and now it (agent banking) has paid off.”
Earlier, Alhaji Kuye, while giving tips during the CV writing workshop, warned participants to avoid providing unnecessary details such as state of origin, date of birth, religion, and club memberships, unless requested.
He also cautioned against overloading a CV with all work experiences, saying that the focus should be only on relevant ones.
According to him, “The key elements of CVs are short bio including full name, phone number, email address and probably your LinkedIn profile link. Career objective is another one. This gives your prospective employer an overview of who they are about to engage.
“Educational background and work experience are other important elements. Volunteering experience is also part of it. This is crucial as it showcases the social aspect of your character. Many organisations prefer individuals who contribute to society over those who solely focus on their work.
“As for the CV writing pitfalls, avoid misaligning words, dates and other details. Avoid exaggerating your competence/experience. Limit the number of hobbies and interests. Do not send the word document version of your CV unless advised to do so,” he added.
The highlight of of the event was the presentation of “awards of appreciation” to each of the speakers, who were presented with plaque awards by the organisers.
The conference also rewarded participants in an essay competition whose title was the theme of the conference.
Following a brief presentation by the top five essay participants, Nusaybah Fuad-Gafar, AbdulRoqeeb Bello and Nurudeen Ogundipe won the 1st, 2nd and 3rd positions respectively.
Companies such as Nestlé, Lotus Bank, Leadway Pensure, Kaid Charity, and Rashak Agro Ltd among others supported the hosting of the NGM Conference 2.0.
