Olasupo Abideen Opeyemi, 22, started his non-governmental organisation at age 19, as an undergraduate of the University of Ilorin. He tells HABEEBLAHI MORAKINYO (300-Level Law, University of Ilorin) how he hopes to change the mindset of Africans.
TEll us about your background?
I am a passionate strategist, public speaker and entrepreneur. I am the founder of a non-profit making organisation called Brain Builders International which focuses on producing a generation of Africans that are critical thinkers, problem solvers and passionate about Africa’s development.
How did you come up with Brain Builders International at the age of 19?
As a teenager, I was overwhelmed – and for the most part – surprised by the bad news I was bombarded with about Africa. There was this ‘sympathy’ and burden of emancipation for the African continent that was coming foreigners. The Nigeria I saw then was of people spending billions on political campaigns, cars, etc. It didn’t make sense to me why foreigners had to come all the way to help us. I thought we had more than enough to sort ourselves out if we chose to. The creation of Brain Builders International was my own way of correcting the wrongs I noted in my society by creating a platform to engage other Africans in Diaspora for the purpose of contributing to the continent regardless of our location.
What are some of the challenges you faced when you started?
As a student, I was faced with challenges of insufficient time (combining my academics with selfless service to humanity). I needed more than 24 hours a day to accomplish my tasks. Financially, I fought a tough war to implement my laudable projects. I also lacked the experience and knowledge required to start up and fund an organisation; I was left at the mercy of my instincts and passion which was not always realistic. Lastly was how to get highly intelligent, vibrant and competent team that will deliver on the standard of professionalism we set to achieve.
How did you overcome those challenges?
As a motivational speaker and consultant, on one hand I inspire people to know that it is not the lack of resources that hinders us but the lack of resourcefulness and like Steve Harris said: “It is not what you don’t have that limits you, it’s what you have but don’t know how to use”.
One after the other, I found smart ways around those challenges, for the first one, which was time management, I had to always prepare my schedule for the day as early as 4am. The second one which was funding, our strategy was to keep things simple, fresh and relevant. At least 85 per cent of the work we do at Brain Builders International is volunteer-driven. We continuously try to develop mutually beneficial relationships with our volunteers. Also, I chose a line of business that didn’t require so much capital. So, what I did was to go into providing services instead of selling a product. I only need my brain, laptop, internet connection and my phone. The dining area in my home became the office space. I simply sought partnership with established firms in my line of business, I had acquired some capabilities that the firms needed critically and that formed the demands and economic realities. I also took a volunteer job with a consulting firm where I acquired so much more in terms of skills, at this point, my competence and skills began to speak for me.
Thirdly, because we are in a nation where age and several years of experiences are celebrated above critical competencies, skills and capabilities required delivering results, while at the firm that I volunteered with, I got more people recommending me for trainings and other consulting firms also used me as a resource and faculty.
To address the challenge, I smartly adopted a different model, I engaged more students and community members in the organisation whose competencies I can attest to on a project basis, that way, we did not have these competencies resident in house but we could access them any time.
Why did you choose civic engagement and democracy as your major advocacy tool and youths as your target group?
The choice of civic engagement and democracy hinges on our understanding of the nation’s problem. Succinctly put, we think Nigeria’s problem is a mentality/mind set problem. We also contend that our problems are man-made.
Hence, they require man made solutions. The questions then become, how do we change mind sets and world views? The answer is Civic and democratic education. I am personally amazed by the power and potential civic engagement and democratic education as a social justice tool has to drive the development of any society.
As for youths, because of their population, they are a deciding factor in any election. They are our target because we are interested in creating long term solutions as opposed to quick fixes. We are driven by a philosophy that suggests that if we cannot do anything about today, we must be able to do something about tomorrow. Nigeria is currently a blank slate that we can plant whatever we want on it. We can mould it however we want by the way we engage and educate Youth of today. who will be the main actors in that future.
Do you have mentors/Role Models?
Yes, I have mentors, friends, role models and consultants that I work with. Their impact on my work and my personal life is huge. BBI’s success, so far hinges on the goodwill and passion these friends have for us. They put favour and refinement to our work. On an organisational and personal level, I run my ideas by them; seek their opinions on issues and connections to a wider network.
How would you like to be remembered?
I would like to be remembered for the thousands of youth I have given hope and platforms. I also want to be remembered for the number of lives I have touched positively.
