Tedx Jabi: Determination, Drive, Discipline.

Ujuaku Akukwe: TEDx Jabi Licensee
Kicking off the event...

"How long are we going to be here mummy?" my daughter asked as we drove into the Sheraton Hotel and Towers venue of the TEDx Jabi.

"Maximum one and a half hours, I am just hear to listen to Sola Kuti and soon as he is done, we can leave," I replied.

We were not prepared for a long stay, we had a few other things to catch up with, I had an appointment for about an hour after the event was billed to start so we hoped it would be a quick one: in and out at the speed of light.

If wishes were horses...

DJ Fusion: Sierra Leonian wonder kid.
He built an entire radio station from scrap.

Listening to young DJ Fusion from Sierra Leone as the video of his talk at the TEDx Teen set the mood for the day, I snuck a peek at my ten-year-old daughter. She had been fiddling with her tablet and waiting for me to tire of the event so we could leave, she was engrossed with the video.

Almost at the edge of her seat, she watched with rapt attention as the 15-year-old spoke about how a found fame pursuing his hobby, building a radio station out of scrap.

That video was the perfect way to set the tone for the event as I had noticed in the hall, a row full of students from one or two schools in Abuja.

Ronke Bello: Head Sports Desk at Naij.com and
sports journalist. Nice outfit, can we kidnap your tailor please?

Ronke Bello, Head of Sports on Naij.com was the first speaker. Well, her bubbly personality was visible just under the edges of her presentation but was sadly stifled by nerves?!?!? Perhaps! Not a good way to follow up the brilliant video that he kicked off the event, perhaps she would have fared better as a mid way speaker?

Anyway the man whom I had come to hear speak, Sola Kuti, came on next and everyone perked up a little. His topic Good Governance: The Killer of Corruption, was guaranteed to tug at the heartstrings of every Nigerian seated in the hall.

Sola Kuti: His presentation was so on point, it needed
some cheesy Western music playing in the background.

Sola had the experience of being a one-time gubernatorial aspirant for Lagos State, as well as setting up small entrepreneurships in his day job as a Small Business Consultant. He was therefore able to expertly bring in a fresh perspective to the corruption dilemma in the Nigerian space, dissecting the issue and solutions from different angles that had the audience break into appreciative applause from time to time. I guess the killer punch for his presentation after he had clearly shown the difference between "corruption of need" and "corruption of greed" was, "If the government is serious about fighting corruption, then they would need to first eradicate poverty".

Simple!

My name is Kiki James and I am a misfit!
Re-inventing charity in Nigeria

Laila SMD: We must not all be entrepreneurs.
Some of us can find our purpose and fulfillment
in rendering complementary services to entrepreneurs

TEDx Jabi offered a wide and interesting array of motivating speakers. From Kiki James who spoke about the challenges in setting up a charity organisation and finding donors to help the poor, and the triumphs she found along the way; to Laila St. Mathew Daniel who encouraged attendees to "empower your weaknesses all the time and not your strengths because in your weaknesses lie your strength."

The roll call of speakers included the maverick Charly Boy (real name Charles Oputa and fondly called Area Fada) who closed the show with a big bang in his characteristic way; Buffy Okeke Ojiudu who expertly wove his presentation on "Understanding your Purpose", around the Lion King animated series; the immediate past minister for youth and sports development was also present and then... how do we talk about Sadiq Dambatta?

Sadiq Dambatta - Young. Determined
Driven. Disciplined. TripleD!

Young, spell-binding, witty and entertaining, this young man chose the theme for this year's TEDx Jabi for his keynote speech. Speaking on "Determination, Drive and Discipline", he assured all that it is in following your passion through to achievement, that you derive a satisfaction that cannot be quantified.

The verdict from most of us? Sadiq is Bae.

First standing ovation of TEDx Jabi 2015? Check!

The students from Aduvie College and Olumawu Schools were not to be left out. They put up drama sketches and expressed their thoughts in spoken word presentations that me wondering at a point how they could have amassed such deep perspectives at such young ages.

Another maverick Onyeka Nwelue walked on stage barefoot and apparently, without the permission of his village gods who promptly cut off the sound supply to his microphone and started flickering around with the lights.

Onyeka Nwelue: Whether you like it or
not, I am a University Professor without
a PhD

"Haba", he protested, "dem don follow me reach here?"

After Onyeka's village gods had been pacified and they restored his ability to use the microphones, he had the audience rolling in laughter with his presentation as he freestyled between English, his native Igbo and pidgin.

The Professor of Modern Languages and Cultures at the University of Hong Kong spoke about how he would tour the world - only 27 years old, he had visited most of the countries in the world - teaching for free. He closed his session by asking the audience what their passions were and what would they willingly do for free to make the world a better place.

At this point, you must have worked out that our planned "hit and run" turned out to be a "stay and bear witness", small wonder considering how rich and well packaged the event turned out to be. Arik Air who had thrown its corporate weight behind the event should be proud that it had contributed to the magnificent outing. One could not help but ask why the next edition of TEDx Jabi could not come a bit earlier.

So, aside from the little fact that the event had not adhered strictly to time, kicking off some ten minutes behind schedule; and the other tiny fact that my personal preference would have been for a punchier start (perhaps Laila SMD); TEDx Jabi was for me, an excellent way to spend an entire Saturday (that is if you do not have party jollof rice calling your name at a wedding or birthday party o - party jollof rice is bae).

And for my daughter, at some point during the event I turned to her and asked, "can we go home now?"

"Why?" She protested, "what are we going home to do? I am having fun here!"

Abi o! Lol.

As the 2015 edition of TEDx Jabi themed "Determination, Drive, Discipline" drew to a close, and the audience networked on their way out, I knew I would not have any problems persuading my daughter to accompany me to the next edition, she was already chomping at the bit for it.

Well done Ujuaku Akukwe, TEDx Jabi licensee.

Kudos Arik Air.

And big ups to all the panelists for making this a super awesome session.

PS: You can follow the hashtags #TedxJabi #DeterminationDriveDiscipline and #TripleD to follow loads of quick snippets from the event, and watch out for the videos on YouTube.

Networking at the event

Buffy Ojiudu - Simba knew WHO he was, but it
took the prompting and guidance of the wise old Rafiki for him
to discover his purpose. That was the drive he needed to succeed.