Meet Our Personality of the week,
Michael Ibonye, A young Nigerian with a big dream, a young man with a young but
fast growing Career with the West African Vocation Education – WAVE …
Enjoy the excerpts of his interview
with Lady Becca...
Related stories:
Tell us about yourself
I
am a young Nigerian with big dreams. Inspired by the possibility of building a
great country, one where everyone has the opportunity to realize their full
potential, and I want to dedicate my life to building that dream. I work for a
social enterprise called WAVE - West Africa Vocational Education. At WAVE I
lead Business Intelligence and Strategy - using data to inform strategic
decision making to grow the organization. I love to travel and I dislike
close-mindedness.
Tell us about your background (growing up)
I grew up on in a fairly large family. I have 5 siblings and I'm the sixth of 6 children. I was an unanticipated child. Everyone thought my family was done having children because I came 5 years after the fifth child. So I grew up a little sheltered. We also didn't have a lot growing up, but education was something that was prioritized over everything else.
Tell us about your career and how
it all started
I
have a very young career. Post NYSC year I have been full-time employed for
almost 2 years. Before that, every experience I had was an internship that
didn't last more than 6 months at a stretch or a part-time job. It is through
the experience that I gathered from those internships and part-time gigs that I
was able to get my first full-time employment. As at the time I was doing them
I didn't quite understand how beneficial for my career they would end up
becoming, at the time I just wanted to be engaged and it has paid off.
Tell us about your achievements so
far
Hmmm.
To be honest I don't think I have any achievements to tout. I know there are
lots of young people doing amazing stuff that should be spotlit and celebrated,
but I don't think I have any of those. I'm just a pretty regular guy, who cares
about doing work that makes a difference in the lives of people in my community.
You were one of
the Facilitators at the Ready Set Work Pioneer Class of 2016, tell us about
your experience there.
Being a facilitator at the RSW pioneer class was an immense
privilege. I count every opportunity to teach and share what little insight I
have gained from experience to be a blessing. The participants were engaged and
they made the entire experience worthwhile.
You may also like to read our STORIES
What are your dreams and desires?
My
dream is to see a country where everyone has the opportunity to realize
their full potential. And I believe with all my heart that it is possible to
build such a country. The problems we face are certainly not insurmountable,
but we must put parochial interests aside and focus on national interests.
Where do you hope to be in the next
five years and how you plan to get there?
Unfortunately
I am not clairvoyant. (smiles) Anyway, I don't have that much visibility into
the specifics of where I'll be in five years, but where ever I'll be I'm almost
certain that I'll be doing work that impacts positively on the life people in
some shape or form. But again, I don't have the gift of clairvoyance (smiles).
Who is / are your mentor (s)?
My
Pastor and My boss
Why are these
people your mentors?
That's very simple. It's because they inspire me to be more and
do more, and the opportunity to be coached by them gives me an edge, because
they've been where I'm trying to go and so that learning is vicarious because I
save the time from making my own mistakes by learning from theirs.
What are your favorite quotes?
- I must study politics and war so that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy - John Adams
- You'll never succeed at what you do except you enjoy it - Anonymous
- Sometimes where you are used to is not where you are meant to be - A line from David Oyelowo in Disney's Queen of Katwe
- Success happens when opportunity meets preparation - Sam Adeyemi
- The only way to live an exceptional life is to be the one who never quits - Sam Adeyemi
- The electric light did not come from the improvement of candles - Oren Harari
Want to know more
about Michael Ibonye? Contact him via twitter @michaelibonye
More info for young Entrepreneurs
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