QUESTIONS & ANSWERS WITH DR. FEMI TAIWO

Oluwafemi Michael Taiwo needs no introduction to those who read this portal. He is one of our most consistent columnists. On Mondays he shares his thoughts on varying issues, mostly bordering on strategies – micro and macro.

Femi is a man of many firsts, finishing his WASSCE as best candidate in Kwara state in 2000, before proceeding to Obafemi Awolowo University to finish with First Class honours in Chemical Engineering six years later, winning a number of prizes.  Another six years after, in 2012, at barely 29, he completed his PhD programme, also in Chemical Engineering, from the University of Arkansas, United States.

A natural leader, Femi has held various leadership roles at various points in his academic sojourn, including President of the OAU Chemical Engineering Students and the African Students Association of the University of Arkansas. Some of the awards Femi has under his belt include:

• Phi Kappa Phi Love of Learning Award, September 2011
  (Awarded for leadership qualities and GPA)
• Earl Beling Doctoral Scholarship, 2010
  (Awarded for GPA and statement of research interests and career goals)
• Who’s Who in American Colleges and Universities, 2010
• University of Arkansas Doctoral Academy Fellowship, 2008 – 2011
  (Awarded full tuition and living expenses for test scores and GPA)
• Golden Key/ Boeing Engineering Scholarship, 2009
  (Awarded for quality of research paper and GPA)
• NSBE Region 5 SHADOW Initiative Program Award, 2009
  (Awarded for participation in mentoring programs organized by NSBE)
• First Class Honors in Chemical Engineering B.Sc., 2006
  (Awarded for graduating with a cumulative GPA of 4.76/5.00)
• West Africa Portland Cement Company Award December 2006
  (Awarded to the Best Graduating Student in Senior Process Design Project)
• Class of ’74 Unit Operations Award December 2006
  (Awarded to the Best Graduating Student in Chemical Engineering Unit Operations)
• Best WAEC candidate in Kwara state, Nigeria, 2006

Now working in an Anglo-Dutch International Oil Company in the US, Femi  is very passionate about Nigeria and its people. In this interview with Jarus, his childhood friend from primary school, he shares his thoughts on what drives him.

Having known you for more than 24 of the 31 years you have spent on earth, I will not begin this interview with asking you about your background. I will leverage my knowledge of you to ask incidental questions.

Haba, Suraj, I am still 30 years old o! Don’t add one to it until July 27 lol

One great quality you possess is selflessness, even as a rather innocent boy in secondary school. You are always willing to go extra mile to assist. That trait is still in you till today as you have contributed, in cash and in kind, to the success of this portal so far. What motivates this?

Vision motivates me. I like it when people, organizations and nations have a vision and are working towards its realization. Jarushub is a fantastic example of that. It has a clear purpose and I know you are working hard to make it a successful portal. Young ambitious Nigerians contact me all the time and when I see desire in them, I help. Some people, when they reach out to me, say things like “I know you. I am the ex-boyfriend of the sister of your friend’s second cousin.” I just laugh when I read messages like that. You don’t need to know me from Adam for me to help you. Just tell me your vision, tell me what you have achieved and be clear about the assistance you need. I base my decisions mostly on how hungry you are to reach the top.

You are known to set mountain-high targets for yourself, and for people around you. I remember when we wanted to write our SSCE in 2000, you said you wanted to emerge among the top 3 in Nigeria and have your name at the back of JAMB syllabus the next year. You also said you wanted to finish top of your faculty in Ife. I remember you also saying you wanted to bag PhD without MSc. What drives you in setting these targets for yourself? How do you feel when you’re not able to achieve your target?

I want to be the change I wish for in the world. I want a world where everybody brings their A game to the table. A world where dreams flourish and people aspire to the best of their talents. I realized early on that the best way to see that world I want is to model it. If people see me doing big things, they will be challenged to do the same things as well and others will see them and be similarly inspired. I can start a chain reaction of success! That is what drives me. Even right now as we speak, I am competing to be the 2014 World Champion of Public Speaking and I have out-spoken professional speakers along the way. I am two contests away from the grand prize.

I am more of a process person than a product person. So whether or not I achieve my aim is not as important as what I learnt along the way. That’s another good thing about big dreams; they push you out of your comfort zone. You need to be uneasy to grow.

You once wrote that luck (serendipity) cannot be wished away in success; that sometimes, results exceed efforts. How will you feel if someone dismisses your achievements so far as mere luck?

Whoever dismisses all of my achievements as mere luck understands neither the nature of luck nor the keys to success. My point about luck is this: we are not the center of the universe; and we are not God. There will always be material factors in any undertaking that is outside of our control and those factors have to be in our favor for success to result. I think people like to dismiss luck as a factor because of ego. They want to be able to say “I work hard and that’s why I am successful.” That is a true statement but that is not a completely true statement. The complete and true statement is to say “I worked hard and did all I was supposed to do and the stars, too, aligned in my favor.”

Certain setbacks in life can distract one from achieving set targets. You lost your Mum at a critical point in your life, as a teenager, how did you recover from this sad incident?

I was lucky to have a mum that taught me a lot in a short time. I didn’t find any meaning to life when I lost her, nothing made sense. But I knew she would want me to soldier on. She always told me I was born to win, that I had a destiny like no other and that nothing can stop me if I don’t allow it. When she passed away, I promised myself to live a life she would be proud to see.

Targets, are just that, targets. What is more important is to ask yourself: Am I becoming a better person? Am I learning? And if you see life as a journey, then setbacks won’t be as damaging as we think.

You have schooled in Nigeria and the United States, what would you say is the major difference between the educational system of both countries? Do you believe our system is as bad as portrayed?

I would love to talk about the difference in our educational systems but that would be superficial. The real difference in anything we see is a manifestation of a deeper gulf in philosophies. We need to clean up our political system. When we do that the educational system will follow.

You are very passionate about Nigeria and that is obvious from your writings; will you consider coming back to Nigeria to take an appointive or elective position in the future?

My answer is an unequivocal yes. I have said it right from when I was a teenager that Nigeria needs her best and brightest to be in the highest echelons of power. What we lack is leadership and I will contribute my best to fill that void.

What advice do you have for student-readers of this platform on becoming an academic high flyer like you?

Work hard, work very hard. Your result matters. Don’t let anything come between you and having that A. Be focused. You won’t be in school forever so make hay while the sun shines. Think about this in terms of cost-benefit analysis. The cost? A few months of hard study. The benefit? A result that will be forever. I do this quick math in school all the time and it is a no-brainer to me to work hard. Hard work is such a small price to pay for the lasting success it yields.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This interview replaces Michael’s Monday column for this week.