What are the values you want Nigerians, especially young people to imbibe from the American example? These are just few among the ongoing collaborative efforts of Mandela Washington Fellows both within and outside the country. I have worked with other fellows in Oyo State, who have become my closest families since I am the only Mandela Washington Fellow based in Osun State. I have also been involved with Steer to Greatness’ Teen Leadership Sessions in Lagos and Oyo states. One of such was supporting Slum2School during a village medical outreach to a riverine community in Epe area of Lagos State. I have been involved in the projects of many fellows even before the Fellowship started. I must say that the other Mandela Washington Fellows from Nigeria in particular and some other parts of Africa have become my family. One of the most important advantages or objectives of the YALI Network through the different arms (Mandela Washington Fellowship, The Regional Leadership Centres and Face2Face group on facebook) is to build a community that makes collaboration very easy. You have also been involved with the project of other fellows, especially around Lagos please share your experience on the field, especially in rural communities. Engaging people is a lot easier for me now than it was before I went for MWF and for this I must give kudos to the Staley School of Leadership Studies at Kansas State University and the Kansas Leadership Centre, where I was exposed to new models that I have adapted part of since I got back to Nigeria. Another centre is starting in Lagos this month to make it two centres in Lagos and plans are almost concluded on starting in about four other centres in different states. Before I left for the Fellowship, Leadership Clinic was just happening in Osogbo, but since I got back, we are now in Ibadan, Akure and Lagos. It has obviously exposed me to more ways of engaging and collaboration has become a lot easier due to the things learnt during the Fellowship and the relationships I built with different strategic individuals in the USA. How has the experience from the fellowship affected the work you do with the Matadors Leadership Institute? It is also instructive that I participated in four YALI Rollout sessions in three states to encourage more young people to be involved in the YALI Network and also apply for the Mandela Washington Fellowship and Regional Leadership Centre programmes. I have been invited by various churches and organisations to also share my experience with their youths and inspire them to also become involved in productive things in the society. I use my social media platforms as a good tool to connect with many youths and I also use my monthly Leadership Clinic as platforms to share some of the knowledge gained during the Fellowship. I engage young people every day both online and physically, sharing lots of knowledge I gained during the fellowship with them from time to time. Instead of seeing Osogbo as a place that could cage my ability, I saw myself as an individual who would through his activities make the name more popular and encourage more young people to live their dreams. If there is anything I am very clear about, it is the fact that what I know and do is too big for any location to cage. If there is anything I am committed to, it is delivering excellent results and no location can rob me of all that I add to myself on a daily basis. If everyone moved to the supposed happening places, who would stay to develop the other places that aren’t happening so that they can also happen? I also know that success is not a choice of location, but more of the values and the results that you bring to the table. True, everybody wants to live in Lagos and Abuja, but for me development has to spread and I must contribute to the manpower development of my state, which is why I left Lagos to go back to Osogbo fully in 2014. Why did you decide to set base in Osogbo when Lagos and Abuja appear to be the hub for leadership trainings?
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