When I was in university some years ago, I was primarily involved in journalism. I loved it. I was also a part-time Geography teacher in a private high school while running tutorials for my peers and juniors. Then I took on debating and public speaking in my second year and won a range of competitions; I then interned as a… Read More »For Discovery, Before Purpose
The first time I met him was in March 2015, and at that time he was remarkable in an unremarkable way; he was a chubby little boy with a curious dress sense and an eagerness to stand out. We later joked about his checkered shirt and tie combo on his first visit to South Africa to participate at the second… Read More »He Taught Me Leadership: Mubarak Adetunji
“I am a Nigerian going to school here in the US, but I’ll like to eventually have some impact in my home country, and I’m just not sure how to go about it. Do you have any advice for me?” The question was asked by a young lady named Simi, after I had delivered a talk to a room full… Read More »Before Opportunity Strikes
I have never formally had a mentor. I don’t even know if that’s true, but I don’t recall ever entering into a formal relationship with a person and agreeing to be mentored by them. Yet, I have been helped along my personal and professional journeys by several people whom I will consider my mentors; some were academic mentors who guided me… Read More »Is Mentoring Overrated?
When I saw the neighbourhood in Leribe where Khesa grew up, saw his father, met students at his former school, interviewed his former school principal and spoke with other community members who had witnessed his evolution, I couldn’t have been prouder of the young man who symbolizes the strength and grit that I desire to see in every young man across the world.
I have just returned from a three-day experience in Istanbul, Turkey, where I had the great privilege of attending the third edition of the annual Al Sharq Youth Forum, and to network with leaders of some of the world’s foremost youth organizations. My insights from the weekend supersede the fact that global change is indeed possible, and that consensus on… Read More »Change Is Possible; Consensus Requires Effort
On this day, June 16, 38 years ago, about 20,000 students from across schools in Soweto, South Africa took to the streets to protest the injustice in the South African education system. These protests were in concert with the nationwide outrage against the oppressive Apartheid regime. As those children stared down bullets and police batons, they demanded for an education… Read More »Day of the African Child
Having spent the last seven years of my life in and out of education – teaching in six schools in three different countries -, I attended the World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE 2013) in Doha, Qatar seeking clarity about my capacity and my role in helping to transform education, with a strong focus on Africa. As a young African… Read More »Emerging Thoughts on 21st Century Learning Skills
Everybody loves gold. It sparkles, glitters, beautifies everything around it, adorns the lives of its users, and most importantly enhances the economic and social stratifications of the world; gold separates the ‘haves’ from the ‘have-nots’. Ever since gold was discovered in the world about 7000 years ago, it has attracted the fascination of man, and it became associated with wealth… Read More »Forget the African Gold