Co-Founder @TalstackAfrica. Community @BlackOpsAfr. Ex @Andela. Fellow @TutuFellows @Harambeans. Studied @harvardHBS @NorthwesternU. Mo Agusto’s husband.
Sep 2 • 10 tweets • 2 min read
The number of times I’ve been told “the best people I know in my field have left Nigeria” by someone in the past year is just insane.
But migration / japa is not a problem. People relocate all the time. It is the nature of the Nigerian emigration that is the problem. Read on.
The overwhelming majority of Nigerians leave out of exhaustion. They don’t want to go, but they have to get out. They have zero trust in the Nigerian state. They have no faith in any of the institutions. They would like to but they’ve been betrayed over and over and over again.
Aug 6, 2020 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
During my sabbatical, I’ve become very disciplined about exercising daily. It’s helped with keeping my energy levels high throughout the day and keeping my mind sharp. At first, I was intimidated by expert workout videos, until I found simple ones for “normal” people (thread).
1/3. This one is beginner level high intensity workout designed for ordinary people. You’ll break a sweat, you’ll get your heart rate up, you’ll burn calories and you’ll be tired by the end. But you won’t kill yourself in the process.
Jun 4, 2020 • 9 tweets • 2 min read
Forcing yourself on a woman is wrong. Raping a woman is wrong. Men who do these are 100% aware of what they’re doing. There is absolutely no excuse and we must publicly denounce sexual harassment and assault. Men in positions of leadership, here are 11 things you need to do NOW!
1. If you don’t already have an anti-harassment policy for your company, create one 2. Pull all your leaders into a meeting and tell them you will not tolerate sexual harassment and assault 3. Schedule a meeting with your entire organization and educate them on the new policy
Mar 18, 2020 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
This is a GREAT time to re-assess your commitment and plans for the year. If you’re trying to re-prioritize activities, meetings or anything else that is expected of you, but you no longer think they are your priority, apply the four Ds - DECLINE. DELAY. DELEGATE. DIMINISH.
DECLINE - just say no. This is one of the most powerful words I’ve learned to use courageously. Saying no gives you command and control over your time, energy and physical/emotional well being. Say no to things that are not going to add any value to your life, including people.
Jan 1, 2020 • 8 tweets • 2 min read
I just finished reading one of the most impactful books of our generation. It’s called ‘The #ProsperityParadox’. If you plan to operate in a poor country and haven’t read it, you must. I’m giving away a signed copy by @EfosaOjomo. But first, some key points I found interesting:
1/ Market-creating innovations that target non consumption are the most impactful kind of innovation. Each market-creating innovation creates an entire value chain of profits, jobs and positive cultural changes to support the business.
Dec 13, 2019 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
Anyone who says #Nigeria is “doing ok” or “not so bad” is either rich & selfish, insane, ignorant or all of the above. I love Nigeria. Madly. But we’re almost in 2020 and most of our population have minimal or no electricity, which existed since the 1870s. That is pure madness!
Only a *tiny* fraction of Nigerians have the luxury of not spending several hours a week planning around the availability of electricity. How in the world are we supposed to improve our socioeconomic conditions if we are all constantly thinking about how to keep the lights on?
Sep 18, 2019 • 8 tweets • 5 min read
THREAD: 1/ Announcing the details of the @Andela <> @Cc_HUB + @InnovationVilla partnership to ensure our departing engineers secure great jobs with great companies. Please RT to bring this to the attention of interested companies.
2/ For all companies interested in hiring Engineers affected by the @Andela restructure, kindly fill out this form and a member of the team will reach out to you with next steps. forms.gle/9h7HwgmoBuWv7K….
Sep 17, 2019 • 14 tweets • 3 min read
Regarding @andela's announcement earlier today (a thread):
1/ Andela started five years ago to solve a simple but pervasive global challenge: Brilliance is evenly distributed, but opportunity is not. I joined Andela in 2016, and this mission still resonates today.
2/ While our mission will never change, our strategy to achieve it has evolved as we’ve grown and learned more about both our market as well as the structural challenges that prevent brilliance and opportunity from connecting.
Mar 23, 2019 • 7 tweets • 2 min read
I helped my wife's business (moagusto.com) review applications for Production Manager. I almost wept for Nigeria. In a country where people claim there are no jobs, the lack of initiative and effort when applying for jobs is appalling. Some problems I noticed (thread):
1/ some people hadn't bothered to check the job title and were applying for business development, sales, social media, etc. Nothing explaining that they recognize it's for a different job and then providing a superbly compelling reason why the company needs their skills. "Reject.
May 1, 2018 • 10 tweets • 2 min read
3 key lessons from my experience advising "tech" companies in Nigeria over the last few years: a threaded series.
1a) before building a "tech" company, build a "regular" company. Then enable it with tech. If your "regular" company doesn't provide a good or service that people want, or you can't do it better than others, your whole business might be Dead On Arrival.
