This is a draft of my ted talk presented at Tedx University of Port Harcourt on Saturday, April 5, 2025. The final speech is a bit different from
this draft, due to some length considerations and the fact that I overestimated my retentive memory.

What are the odds that the person who will change your life is in this room right now?

Think about it – in this very room. Take a moment to look at the person next to you, “Is it them?” Don’t worry, I don’t know either, I just wanted you to look at a pretty face. But seriously, the question stands: What are the odds?
I’ll give you a hint: they’re a lot higher than you think. I’d argue you’re sitting in a giant lottery of potentially life-changing connections.

My father has always been one of the biggest positive influences in my life. He is a very smart man, unarguably one of the most hardworking men I know. He is also really audacious and...

If you heard someone spends their weekends disagreeing with strangers, you’d assume they were something crazy; maybe a football fan, or worse, a lawyer. If that same person tried to convince you it was the best decision they had ever made, you’d wager they were a crackhead. You’d be correct as well - I am a crackhead, and here’s why you should be one too.

BP (/b:ip/) - Eight people pair up into teams of two and yell at each other about opinions formed in under fifteen minutes.

For those who don’t know, British Parliamentary (or BP) Debating is a niche academic extracurricular activity thousands of university students can engage in. It takes many of the formalities of classic Presidential debates and adds a format reminiscent of the UK’s highest law-making body, and speeches that are usually as chaotic.

The judging metric sticks out the most: BP debating focuses on content and logic...

History is littered with groundbreaking technologies that failed—not because they weren’t brilliant, but because no one cared.

The last five years have been massive for the Nigerian (and African) tech ecosystem. We’ve seen massive raises, celebrated high-profile exits, and watched the community explode—literally. While you’d expect these milestones to translate into broader economic impact—job creation, revenue generation, and industry growth—the reality is starkly different. For context, about 49% of funded startups in the past decade make less than ₦10 million (or $6,000) annually, according to a new report by TLP Advisory.

Now, this isn’t just about weak government policies, currency devaluation, skyrocketing inflation, or the declining purchasing power of Nigerians (though those don’t help). There’s something deeper at play here—we have a fixation on “great” technology without a...

2023 came with a lot of personal growth for me. To be more specific, I added over 20kg in the past 12 months. While this would not please my gym instructor, it does give me a valuable perspective on how much has changed since the year started. I would be a fool to believe that I could properly capture this year using a few words, but I would be a coward not to try. I am a brave fool.

In every sense of the word, 2023 was intense. Under normal circumstances, I would boldly declare it the most intense year of my life so far, but 2022 had too many dramatic twists and turns to be disrespected like that, so I’d call it a tie. 2023 was tough, this time unarguably. I crown it the toughest year of my life so far. Very ironic, because from the outside, this was also the year of so many visible victories.

I feel like my life has several, flexible partitions, frequently intersecting with one...