My Life @ 55…The Stones that the builders rejected…

Who could believe that a young man whose father died when he was eight years old, who celebrated his 10th birthday at a bus garage in Lagos (Iyana Ipaja to be precise) selling iced water to support his mother, whose identity was stolen when he relocated to UK and who was ridiculed when he started out as a speaker is now a multiple award winner with 160 awards, an iconic global brand, a renowned international motivational speaker, human capital development expert, business transformation strategist, leadership trainer, business mentor, executive coach, award winning event host, bestselling author, a key person of influence, board member, HR leader, community champion, philanthropist and most importantly a devoted Christian, husband of a beautiful wife and father of awesome children. The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This is the Lord’s doing; It is marvellous in my eyes. I return all the glory to God.

I am grateful for the Lord’s grace upon my life because I am a product of grace. I am grateful for who I have become. I am happy the way my life has turned out. Most people did not believe that I would turned out like this. I know my mother would be very proud of me that her toil in me did not end up in vain.

I feel great and fulfilled seeing the results in people and organisations that I have helped transform right in front of my eyes as they have choices and new strategies to help them live a more fulfilling and empowered life and become who they had always wanted to be.

I am happy that I have been able to restore belief and confidence to many who have lost it, vision to those who can no longer see and cure many people of possibility blindness. I am enjoying the products of my dream and vision.

Every day I think of the many people that I meet through my writing, speaking engagement, workshops and social medium forums and their stories of how I have impacted their leaves positively. I am very thankful for the many opportunities that I have to make a difference in people’s lives.

I am also thankful for the grace the Lord has given me to create awareness and raise funds for many charities since 2006 through running many marathons, skydiving, walking 100km from London to Brighton and feeding the homeless through Dayo Olomu Foundation.

The greatest lesson/s that life has taught me is that to be successful you must have trust God, have strong faith, have your own vision and define your goals. You must be hungry to achieve your dreams and a strong desire to succeed and back that desire with action. You must have absolute belief in yourself that you have what it takes to be successful and when setbacks or tragedies occur, do not give up; instead see them as opportunities for growth because success thrives on adversity. As the saying goes, “A calm sea does not make a skilled sailor.” Nothing worth gaining is gained without difficulty”. I must also add that you keep the right company and continue to build, expand and sustain a network of people who can support you to reach your goal. You must run your own race. It doesn’t matter what other people say about you. What is important is what you say to yourself. Be comfortable in your own skin. Be true to you. That’s a key source of happiness. I am not in completion with anyone but myself. My goal is to improve myself continuously.

You must think big, start small and act now. The person determined to achieve maximum success learns the principle that progress is made one step at a time. A house is built a brick at a time. Every big accomplishment is a series of little accomplishments. The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. However, completing a journey of a thousand miles requires only that you keep walking in the right direction!”

My story isn’t unique – many others have realised their dreams just as I have. But it does go to show that you can achieve whatever you want to if you have a strong desire to succeed and backed that desire with action and self-belief. My story is all about turning dreams into reality. A speaker once said, “You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.”

When I get to the end of my life, I want to know that my life counted for something, that long after I have left this world, somehow my impact lives on. I want to know that I have done all that I could to make this world a better place, by positively enhancing the lives of those around me and helping thousands, if not millions, to become who they desire to be and achieve what they thought was impossible. I want to know that I gave everything my best shot. I want it to be on record that I maximised my potential and stretched myself to the limit. Most importantly I want to know that I serve God and that I am a good husband and father who made a positive difference in the world.

Finally, I think it will be nice if we can all do our little bit to make a difference and to use the catchphrase of Steve Jobs, “put a dent in the universe”. “Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.” (Desmond Tutu). Hence I dedicated my 55th birthday by running the marathon in one week to raise funds and create awareness for Prostate Cancer. I want to thank for the supported me by donating generously. You can still support me by donating at https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/dayoolomuat55

I am thankful to God for making it possible for me to witness this day. And the Lord who has started a great thing in me will see it to completion. He will never leave me nor forsake me as I move from success to significance.

#DDOFromSuccessToSignificance
#DayoOlomuFromSuccessToSignificance

Jackline Waziri is A Poet, Spoken Word Artist, Community advocate and The AFRICA4U YOUTH AMBASSADOR FOR THE UK. Visit her site today at http://www.jacklinewaziri.com

She will be a Speaker on A zoom session titled “THE PRICE OF BLACKNESS” this Monday the 29th of June at 7pm- DO NOT MISS THIS ZOOM SESSION WITH SOME AMAZING SPEAKERS.

ABOUT JACKLINE WAZIRI 

Jackline Waziri was born in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, 1993, she was the daughter of Fauzia Waziri Juma.

Her mother Mwanjaa Shabaan Robert, Jackline is the great granddaughter of the legendary Swahili language writer and poet Late Shaaban Robert.

When Waziri moved to the United Kingdom, she developed a keen interest in Literature, Creative writing and Poetry.

Today, she is an upcoming Poet with profound thirst for life on a mission to make a difference to her generation and African communities worldwide.

Her poems are rich in imagery, a wide range of stylistic devices and content inspired by a deep world of experiences, transitions ,journeys and the unapologetic vision to embrace “All things African”

Waziri illustrates her truth and paints an art of her journey here in the UK, but her writing also embraces a world that still lives in Tanzania, this is also reflected through her writing.

BREAKING NEW GROUND @ FEDERAL RADIO CORPORATION OF NIGERIA:Nigerian Ace broadcaster,  SEGUN OGUNJOBI brings Fela Kuti’s ideology into COVID-19 album, set to duet AKON, America’s multiple Grammy Award holder..

.Ogunjobi says: ‘I won  BBC Media Action/ USAID Award in Investigative Reporting in Nigeria’* Graduate of performing arts University of Ilorin inspired by global unrest affecting humanity* ‘At four years, ‘Abami-eda’ electrified me into  new age Afrobeat music of philosophy and prophesy’ *Confesses: ‘Lyrics of  Bob Marley, Tupac Shakur, Michael Jackson had influence on me’ ‘My music is  borne out of vision of the future, rekindling hopes for poor masses, separating bad from good, pointing out dangerous trends people should avoid and celebrating essentially workers as heroes of our time’

WATCH THIS SPACE FOR MORE UPDATES ON THE LATEST NEWS ON SEGUN OGUNJOBI

KNOW WHEN TO FORGE INTO NEW IDENTITY IF THE PRESENT ONE IS BEYOND YOU.

My name is Ifeanyi. Am a brand coach, author, and social leader. We’ve been working tirelessly for days now. One of the most stressing thing is to build something from the scratch. Even if you will give up on your dream, don’t give up on yourself. Enjoy all the process of that your little beginning, at the end your scares is what will tell them that you used to be there.

In February, I had an amazing online classes that lasted for one month. I will be creating chance again for a month mentorship online training, specifically for those that want to build something from the scratch, build a brand and something that will stand in the taste of time. If you would be interested, kindly inbox me.

HAPPY FATHERS DAY TO MY FATHER- MR S. O. FERNANDEZ

There are stories wrapped in the treasure of unspoken warmth,
feeding the footpaths of many new lessons,
And Puzzles, waiting to be kissed by a new realization.

There are stories ….
Painted with energy and raw emotion,
Confined within the boundaries of MEN
For how often to our songs get celebrated ?
How often do our hearts get liberated ?

There are stories
Waiting to feed the glory of many lost shadows
Dressed in the range of all shades of Wisdom,
Awakened by the legacy that “FATHERS DO MATTER”

LOTS OF LOVE AS ALWAYS- WISHING YOU AN AMAZING DAY

Tony Fernandez

ABOUT FUNMI

Funmi Omoboriowo is an award winning On-Air-Personality (OAP), Newscaster, Communications consultant, a versatile MC, Voice-Over Artist and Lecturer. She currently works with the Lagos State Radio Service, owners of Eko 89.7FM and Radio Lagos 107.5FM where she is a Principal Presentation Officer.

Funmi was born in Abeokuta, Ogun state in the south western part of Nigeria. She holds a Master’s degree in Communication Studies, a Bachelor’s degree in Radio and Television Broadcasts and a Diploma in Journalism. She also has certifications in broadcast presentation from the famous FRCN Training school in Lagos which has now been renamed Nigeria Broadcast Academy (NBA). She has attended several self-improving trainings, workshops and seminars. Some of which include trainings under some BBC Media Action Nigeria projects,  Development Through Data, organized by the Centre for Sciences and Environment (CSE), India. Media and Information Literacy Curriculum Adaptation & Intervention Programme in selected Higher Institutions of Learning in Nigeria organized by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Coverage of Gender Issues organized by State Accountability and Voice Initiative (SAVI) to mention just a few.

In 2018, Funmi received an award from BBC Media Action Nigeria for Best Online engagement under the Strengthening Citizens Engagement in Electioneering Processes (SCEEP) project. She’s an Associate of the Nigeria Institute of Public Relations (NIPR).

Funmi currently co-presents Eko 89.7FM’s flagship programme “The Breakfast Show” which runs Mondays through Fridays from 6am to 10am. She presents the very first Corporate Governance Programme to air on radio in Nigeria “Corporate Governance Platform” with sponsorship from Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators in Nigeria (ICSAN). She is passionate about gender issues, she therefore uses some of her platforms to bring to fore issues affecting women.

Funmi lectures part time in some universities in Nigeria, mentoring youths is also part of her forte especially those interested in broadcasting. She has been part of different research works in the academia which includes “Influence of Sexually Oriented Home Videos on Secondary School Students: An Experimental Research”,                 “Indigenous Knowledge as a Tool for National Development”, e.t.c.

Funmi is married and lives in Lagos, Nigeria with her family.

#LMAAWARDS2020

2020 has been loaded and full of surprises. This year, just like in previous years, we met people from different cities, countries and states. They range from selfless activists, mentors, advocates, leaders and wonderful people with so much to offer and contribute to the society, both locally here in Nigeria and abroad.

A million thanks to my mentors, Tony Tokunbo Eteka Fernandez for being there right from the outset, Pst. Femi Ogunsanya for all the prayers, DrPauline Long for believing in us, Sir Ferdinard Senyo Lawson Author who has secretly inspired us, Neena Richie Dr Winston George Ellis Emily Blake, Zitases Ifeoma Edmonds,
Ability Okolie and King David, I can not thank you guys enough, I am deeply humbled.

The HOW and WHY LMA Awards was founded, with more than 5000 followers on our site, from different states, within and across the globe has kept us going. It is simply amazing how we get to connect with these people, get to know them and what they do, award them without getting to meet them one on one. We have worked so hard for the past 7years trying to maintain our standard of interview, LMA brand, and LMA originality.

LEADERSHIP MIND AMBASSADORS INTERNATIONAL AWARDS in conjunction with Igc Pro House, Dr Baroness Neena Richie (Minister for UK/ EU, league of Arab & Africa) & Gathering Of mentors is preannouncing THE 8TH EDITION OF LMA AWARDS AND LMA 2020 NOMINEES (8years in a row) to celebrate outstanding individuals, honour brand projectors, mentors, leaders and people making a difference.

LMA 2020 NOMINEES: Temitope Olaleye Wendi Russo, Dr Vivian Timothy, Dr Winston George Ellis, Ijeoma Chiemela , Baroness Dr Neena Richie, Uzodinmma Uzodimma Lucy Ogodo, Victor Chen , Collins Samuel, Emily Blake, Ayooluwa Oluwatosin, Hagen Clara Meierdierks, and Tunji Bigsam Offeyi

DATE: FRI. 11TH SEPTEMBER 2020
TIME: 9AM.

Kindly visit our page – http://www.facebook.com/groups/leadershipminds/

AFRO-BLOGGERS CONVENTION
SLOGAN: Our Image, Our Voice, Our Story
TOPIC: Re-information
DATE: 19 – 20 June 2020 Visual conference (online)
2nd annual Afro-Bloggers Convention which will be taking place 19th and 20th 2020. We had the 1st edition in 2018 which was a success. Afro-Bloggers Convention is the coming together of bloggers of African descent from all over the world to discuss and proffer solution to issues affecting our community. The topic for the last event was “Our Image, Our Voice, Our Story” which we now use as our slogan. This year the chosen topic is “Reinformation”.

Click this link 👇 to register and participate
https://afrobizgermany.com/abc

SUBTOPICS

1. Leadership (Youth) 2. Lessons learnt from covid 19 in the Afro-community 3. Afro-empowerment (Youth) 4. Afro media 5. Culture 6. Education 7. History 8. Wealth building

TOPICS FOR PANEL DISCUSSION 1. Impact of Africans in diaspora 2. Re-information

ACTIVITY PLAN
DAY 1 & 2. Four speakers per day, each choosing from the subtopics with an hour for presentation including questions and answers with the audience. Then ending each day with a panel discussion.
The conference will be conducted online via Zoom, to be shared on all other social media platforms

The Modern-Day Lynching of a Black Man by a White Police Officer

I once read a poem written by a West African writer – captioned ‘Death in the Dawn’. I will link the death of George to the limerick of that poem I read in my secondary school days. George Floyd died in the dawn May 25th, 2020, paying a huge price, for a trivial offense. Was he really paying a price for a venial sin? Or was his death destined to happen, to create awareness that ‘Black Lives Matter’, amongst the White Race? Despite, Michael Jackson’s song – Black or White, Martin Luther King’s Speech, Nelson Mandela’s speech, etc. still the oppression continues.

I will go with the later, for if George had known on that fateful day, time, hour, that his life would end so abruptly, within 8 minutes from police brutality inflicted upon him, he would have stayed at home. He never knew that the very law enforcement agents, who were meant to save his life, would gang up to end his life, in just eight minutes. He was viciously terminated, despite his desperate plea for mercy, ‘I can’t breathe’, as well as a call for his mother, yet the officer was unperturbed. However, his mum was not there to respond to his call, yet the malevolent police officer with his colleagues ignored his supplication. Father, God if thou should mark iniquity who will be exempt. I believe nobody, not even the newborn baby.

What could a defenseless and handcuffed man do? He could not do anything. The police officer knew this, but as he was on a mission to get rid of another black man from the street of Minneapolis, he continued to viciously kneel on his neck, bearing his weight on George, until he gave up His spirit. The officer continued to inflict his vicious racial intolerance on George. Hence, the dire plea from the public, shouts to free him were ignored.

I believe that George Floyd’s death was meant to be, in order to further expose the mind-set police officers have against the black community. Acts of brutality imbued by bigotry are nothing new, we just happen to have camera phones to expose, the intolerance and phobia some white people have been programmed to have. Let’s hope that his death will serve as a catalyst to speed up the enactment of policies, establishing equal rights, for black people, as their white counterparts. The ownership of America, between blacks and whites, must be equitable. Also to create the awareness that black people have contributed greatly to the economic development of America and our black ancestors suffered greatly to build the country. Besides, God created the human race with red blood flowing through both veins. Hence what makes one race believe that they are superior and the other is subordinate?

Although black people, indigenous or immigrants in America or other places around the world, have contributed immensely to the economic growth of the places they lived or migrate to. Yet they are always the people, continuously facing racial inequality, xenophobia, nepotism, and hatred, by the same people they served. The majority of white people are guilty of institutional racism and but can be quite passive about it. Black migrants would rather be in a job and pay tax, than claim social security benefits, as they know the very reason they migrated to their host countries. Therefore, stop this racial injustice against blacks and appreciate their contributions to society.
I was shocked to see that, amid the peaceful demonstration on ‘Black Lives Matter’, attended by both the white and black race; a white man was heard shouting at the protesters, ‘why don’t you go back to Africa, as if all the protesters were Africans. While others were repeatedly swearing and challenging them to a fight. Again, what is the counter-protest this Saturday all about? I would define it as, the reinforcement and perpetuation of racism by the whites. To my knowledge the White race has not been oppressed, nor have they been victim to systemic racism hence what have they got to protest about?

To be precise, tyrannical attitudes and hatred towards black people must stop, as George Floyd’s death has paid the price for Blacks liberation.

Author: Maria Fernandez

ADIEU GEORGE FLOYD ADVOCATE IN DEATH!!!!#BLACKLIVESMATTER!!!

A peep into your life of Struggle, typical of most male African Americans break my heart…
You hard your peculiar challenges…..Without privileges or opportunities…. Buh battling to achieve just that basic life above failure..
Brother I learned from your life,that yeah you kept struggling to be the best…..That’s what we all do no one is perfect in the real sense.
The question I dared asked God was why did George just keep failing and falling… As I reminiscence the process of pain in which life was snuffed out of you… Unprecedented mode of wickedness indeed.

Kneeling to the NECK!!!He had obviously set out to kill something in you, So with focus and determination he kept kneeling and pressing how sad and heartbreaking those momentsPressing down pressure..hardI can’t breathe..was your words and song as heartlessness kept kneeling till he snuffed the very life out of you, he definitely set a new made history and rewrote the hierarchy of gruesome implemented wickedness ever committed by the police.Officer Derek Chauvin has thereby written his name in history negatively forever in this generation.

Brother George, descriptions of who you really were floods the social and timelines, you kind brave and loveable heart, Perry your family out pours the vacuum you Left..all in the media.

Life couldn’t just be so unfair to one man, expose you to a life of zero privileges.. and let u have so much pain and struggle in one lifetime. Then let you die in public so cheaply at the Knee of Killer Officer Chauvin……So very sad

Lets just say you are the HERO OF THE SEASON, DYING JUST TO BRING BACK TO FRONT PAGE HEADLINES NEWS OF THE  PRIORITY ISSUE THAT…. #BLACKLIVESMATTER!!!!
SO PERRY,may your sweet soul rest in peace, knowing that what you couldn’t achieve standing..You Indeed achieve while sleeping…in death.

These signals gone up in every corners is a  blaring flame, with one message #BLACKLIVESMATTER
This time it’ll burn till  this Message sinks..Equality Not Revenge.
An equal world is an ENABLED WORLD!!!!

Thank you George, for not dying in vain!!!!Adieu brother!!!Adieu Great AfricanAdieu Our Advocate in Death!!!!Adieu Comrade,you left us still in the struggle,God Almighty be with you.I should say;Goodnight George Perry FLOYD.Buh you More alive in death than dead.

So live on Great GuyLive on Great African American.Live on in Millions of hearts and minds.Live on my ZERO 2HERO EVEN IN DEATH!!!!!