As at Wednesday, 28th July, 2015, I wasn’t really certain I would be Part of the gathering of the next generation of Nigerian technocrats, but this speculation was put to rest on Friday, 31st July, 2015 when the facilitator sent me a mail:
Dear friend,
My hope is that this meets you well.
I look forward to seeing you at the Breakfast Roundtable for Young professionals tomorrow morning at the Shell Hall of the MUSON Centre, Onikan, Lagos.
As I write this, I am excited about what is about to happen tomorrow.
You want to make sure you arrive early, well before 8.30am, in order to clear registration formalities. It creates a great impression that you are seated before your mentor gets in.
Please come with a form of identification.
It will be a great idea if you come with your business /complimentary cards, if you have one. You never can tell.
Dress code is business casual.
Finally, come with an open mind, listen, read between the lines, ask questions and contribute with aptness.
See you tomorrow!
Best regards,
Wale Adenuga
Convener
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… And so, On the 1st day of August, 2015, half a thousand young Nigerians gathered at Shell Hall, Muson Centre, Onikan, Lagos in what can best be described as a first of it’s kind, August gathering of young minds.
Aptly tagged Breakfast Round Table for Young Professionals #YPLAGOS, the event was structured to create the enabling environment for mentorship education by bringing together budding talents to interface with experts in their field of passion.
Simply put, Breakfast Round Table for Young Professionals #YPLAGOS which held on 1st of August, 2015 goes thus: One hall, 500 Young Professionals and 50 mentors, further broken down to 50 Tables; one Table, 10 young Professionals, and one mentor. I was opportuned to have for my mentor, Mr. Soni Irabor, @IraborSoni of Inspiration FM Radio.
According to the email we received, and as anchor man of the day, Mr. Rufai Oseni, @Ruffydfire, the brain behind the event was non other than Mr. Wale Adenuga, the multi-award-winning singer and entertainment guru. Of course, Mr. Adenuga was present to grace the Occasion.
The mentors were drawn from across every sector of the economy, cutting across Media, Banking, Health, Entertainment, Online marketing, Oil and Gas etc. The composition of each table was drawn from the areas of interest chosen by each Young Professional, upon application, which was via the Internet.
The idea is that these young professionals are given the chance to physically present their prospects and challenges to experts in their areas of interest and get possible solutions and pieces of advice from these experts, whom ordinarily they would have had to fill forms and and book endless appointments before the having the chance to meet them, if at all.
At the end of the day, contacts are exchanged and you can always reach out to your mentor, subsequently for further discussion. In our own case, our mentor took note, not only of our names and contacts, but also our location and bio data, for easy identification and hitch-free subsequent contact.
In my Table, I, as the captain, presented a gift to our mentor, after which he presented to us all, a certificate of participation, duly signed by him.
Table 25: Mentor, Mr. Soni Irabor, Table captain, Francis Udoka Ndimkoha, Nneka Isiekwe, Akerele Olaide and Umuomo Egwolo, Akinyemi Oluwayemisi, Oyueke Ifeoluwa, Ubazue Ifeanyi, Odunlami Damilola, and Etti Gbolahan.
Photo speak…
Standing from left: Udebgue Nkechi, Nneka Isiekwe, U-Roy Agboli, Mr. Kunle (One of the organisers), Uzoechina Benedicta, Okolie Nkechi, and Francis Udoka Ndimkoha
