I am working to create education models that help learners learn to think  – Toyin Ajilore-Chukwuemeka

Oluwatoyin Ajilore-Chukwuemeka is the Founder of Oak Nation Entrepreneurial (ONE) Foundation, an organization that has worked with over 1500 MSMEs in Nigeria and across African countries since May 2018, with the view to strengthen them through enterprise incubation in the form of entrepreneurial education, mentoring, equipping community and micro-financing. This intervention, among many others, is driven by Toyin’s optimism and interest in Africa’s future, which according to her is fueled by a genuine belief that Africa is a place of potential opportunities.

Her expertise in education intersects research, policy, and practice and grounds her work in both philosophical and pragmatic education thought leadership that is able to shift education systems forward.  She was an Assistant Lecturer at the University of Ibadan, is currently a PhD scholar in STEM Education at Tufts University in the United States, writes a biweekly education column for a leading Nigerian newspaper, and serves as a Policy Associate at the Institute of Governance and Economic Transformation, where she provides public policy recommendations that can help African government leaders shape education on the continent. 

Oluwatoyin holds two Master’s Degrees in Economic Geology and Mineral Exploration from the University of Ibadan and the Pan African University (funded by the African Union). She earned a First Class Degree in Geology from the University of Ibadan. Oluwatoyin has been a recipient of multiple awards and recognition including Tufts Provost Fellowship, Mandela Washington Fellowship, Innocent Chukwuma Social Impact Fellowship, among others.  

In this interview with AllNaijaDiaspora, Oluwatoyin discussed issues that make for Nigeria and Africa’s powerful future, stating her conviction with emphasis that Africa has the raw material for greatness. Speaking on the role of diaspora potentials in African development,  Oluwatoyin discussed the concept of ‘lived sense of the systems that work’, mentioning that diasporans can contribute from their lived experience towards a sense of where African nations should be going. Excerpt:

What fuels your optimism and keen interest in Africa’s future?

My optimism and interest in Africa’s future are fueled by a genuine belief that Africa is a place of potential opportunities. When I see Africans, I see huge creative potential, powerful entrepreneurial spirits, an ever-growing resilience, and an unstoppable can-do attitude. The combination is just wonderful! And even though it is currently under-utilized, I believe it makes for a powerful future. I am convinced that Africa has the raw material for greatness. And if matched with the right opportunities, the sky is not even the limit because I know that we have what it takes to do great things.

How does your vision for Africa align with your current endeavours?

My vision for Africa drives all of my endeavours. I think of my work from an Afrocentric perspective. At the centre of my multi-faceted work is a drive to unleash the potential of Africans, both those who are living in Africa and outside of Africa. I believe that Africa can become a global player that is not only developing its continent but also actively contributing to the world, in terms of economy and social dynamics. I think of my work in two ways. On one side is empowering African human capital to be able to think, create, and do. On the other is creating the opportunities and platforms that can maximize the potential of human capital. My work across education and personal productivity focuses on the first. I am working to create education models that help learners learn to think, not just memorize. When they are able to think, they are able to create value and solve problems. To be effective at creating value, they will also need to be able to manage their time, energy, and attention and generally optimize their productivity, which is where my work on personal mastery comes in. My work in social impact and entrepreneurial development addresses the second by helping more people create businesses and entrepreneurial opportunities that can effectively engage the empowered human capital.

In the face of Africa’s enduring challenges, particularly in economic, political, and social realms, what role do you believe accountable and responsible leadership plays in enhancing the continent’s global competitiveness?

Leadership sets the tone. Leadership creates a vision and sets the direction. Leadership pulls people towards a future. So, responsible leadership is a vital tool for enhancing Africa’s greatness. The role of accountable and responsible leadership is first to help us see the future. It’s not an overstatement that one of the significant issues Africa is suffering right now is a lack of cohesive vision.

We have Africa 2063, which is the vision of Africa for the next 50 years, from 2013 until 2063. And many people don’t even know that it exists. So, there has been a lack of cohesive vision. That’s one of the things that you see in more developed areas of the world. Nations have a sense of where they are going. And it’s not just what the leaders at the helm of power know; the people are also rallied behind that sense of vision. It is baked into their consciousness. So yes, the first role is to set the vision and rally people towards it. The second role is about being exemplary. When we see our leaders being accountable and responsible towards the vision, it becomes a pull for the followers to be pulled in the same direction. So, I believe that accountable and responsible leadership will help us come up with a cohesive vision and give us a sense of exemplary action towards it.

As someone who has experienced the potential of Africa’s diaspora first-hand, especially as a Mandela Washington Fellow, how do you think Nigeria can harness the talents of its diaspora community to drive development across various sectors?

I believe that to build Africa, we need both Africans at home and abroad. Here are some things I believe Africans abroad can do:

First, I think they can contribute to a sense of vision. One of the things that Africans in the diaspora have that maybe Africans at home might not have is a lived sense of the systems that work. They know what it looks like. So, diasporans can contribute from their lived experience towards a sense of where African nations should be going. However, I don’t necessarily mean we should try to be like every developed nation. Sometimes, what the diaspora also contributes is using their experience of the direction of the country they are in to guide whether African nations should also be heading there or not. So, it’s a contribution of helping us fine-tune the direction we should be going towards.

Another area in which the diaspora community has played a major role is financing. We see evidence in diaspora remittances. Diasporans have participated in both private and even public financing, e.g., sponsoring scholarships and research back home, etc.

An underexplored area that is specific to the education sector is research and knowledge exchange. One of the things I always try to advise, particularly African students who are in the diaspora, is to work towards research areas that can benefit their home countries in Africa. Being in another part of the world does not mean that your work has to only benefit those places. You can do knowledge work that can benefit Africa alongside. The good thing is that the whole world is tilting towards Africa now. So, getting sponsored research opportunities that focus on Africa is not going to be as difficult as before because the global world is interested in Africa. Summarily, African diasporans can contribute to the vision, participate in financing, and cultivate knowledge exchange.

Reflecting on your time living away from your homeland, what have been some of the notable aspects of your experience?

One of the most important things I have realised is that Africa is not as bad as we thought it was. We have the tendency to over-focus on our challenges and forget our advantages. Our challenges are mostly economic crises, and we usually think we have it worse in the world. But it’s not true. The truth is that the Western world also has its challenges too. These crises might not be the same or at the same level as ours, but they are just as challenging. And they have some areas of human lives where their crises are even more challenging than ours. So, we don’t have to keep looking at ourselves as if we are the ones who are taking the lower end of the stick. It’s not always true. Everybody has their challenges and has to solve their challenges.

At what point did you decide to relocate, considering your deep involvement in Nigerian and African development?

I had always known that I would relocate for a long time. The issue was just when. My decision to relocate never negated my involvement in Nigeria. Even when I was planning to do a PhD in the United States, I knew I still wanted my research to focus on Nigeria. While in the United States, I am still very involved in several projects in Nigeria. I always have my involvement in Nigeria at the back of my mind in everything I do, including my research. In fact, I will be co-facilitating a series of professional development sessions for university lecturers sponsored by my research group here in the US, and I have some Nigerian lecturers as participants. This would be the first time the project will host Nigerian faculties. So, my involvement in Nigeria didn’t reduce. I can argue that it is getting somewhat stronger even though I’ve relocated. So, it has never been an “either/or” situation. Relocation did not remove my involvement in Nigerian and African development. It was aimed at strengthening my capacity to be even more involved in Nigerian and African development in the first place. Being here and interacting with new opportunities, learnings, and more has opened my mind, and better helped me see more creative ways in which I can be of help back home. And this has been enhancing my ability to advance African development better. It has given me multiple ways and increased my capacity–mental and social capacity–to be able to influence African development.

Despite your relocation, how do you manage to maintain your commitment to tackling unemployment in Nigeria through your ONE Foundation NGO?

When I knew I was going to relocate, before I actually relocated, I had already started planning how to manage ONE Foundation from afar. We started restructuring the leadership a year before my relocation. So, my biggest answer to this question is that we adapted both the leadership and implementation structures to adapt to the reality of my relocation. We now have an Executive Director who governs the day-to-day implementation works while I became the President, providing more strategic leadership. And being here in the United States has helped me even be able to do more in some areas, even though it also means I have to do less in some areas. So, it’s an issue of planning, strategizing, and restructuring how things will go based on the realities on ground.

What aspects of Nigeria do you miss the most while living abroad?

Interestingly, it is the community. The Western world is a pretty individualistic environment, so I miss the ability to spark up a conversation with anybody, anywhere, at any time. That’s one beautiful thing that many African countries, specifically Nigeria, have that you don’t see a lot here. And I think it’s amazing. As much as I think of myself as someone who doesn’t like talking to people too much, I miss being able to just speak to people anywhere and enjoy their company even without knowing them much. Those kinds of conversations are not that common here.

With your background as a former lecturer and your academic accomplishments, what strategies do you believe young individuals should adopt to excel academically, secure scholarships and diverse opportunities, and make significant contributions to society?

If I have to answer this question in just one way, I will say to adopt the mindset that whatever your hand finds to do, you will do it well. Many of the things I’m doing today were not necessarily planned. And it wasn’t as if I planned to be doing the things I am doing now, 10 years ago.

It was because of the different things that came into my hands at different times. When it was just my academics, my undergrad study, I did it with all of my heart. And being able to do that opened the next door. The doors of opportunities are connected, and how you engage in one phase makes it possible to advance to the next phase.

In my undergrad, I was fully involved and put all my heart into it. I made good grades, and the good grades opened new doors. When I started my nonprofit, I was fully engaged in it, and it also opened its own doors. So, the doors keep leading to another. So the strategy is simply taking ownership and doing everything your hands find to do at every phase well, on your path to bigger things. Wherever you are right now, put your best into it because one opportunity, no matter how small it looks, is usually the key to the next.