9 months ago, this young and vibrant gentleman posted a piece on his LinkedIn page. It said;
“Hi, I am Emmanuel Nduka, I am 20 years old and an introvert but I’m very bold when it comes to Speaking up on things that matter, especially when opportunities are concerned.
I am a 3rd-year Chemical Engineering student of the Federal University of Technology Owerri, Nigeria.
I am the first son and the first child of my parents, with 5 siblings. I actively Joined LinkedIn 8 months ago and I have landed some gigs and roles so far.
From a publishing company requesting to publish my articles and write up so far in Chemical Engineering, to becoming one of the LinkedIn page managers of my department, the Nigerian Society of Chemical Engineers, FUTO
All thanks to God, for all that has happened so far, I can’t thank you enough.
I look forward to becoming renowned in my field of study as a process engineer and I am open to opportunities that resonate with what I do, like scholarships, mentorships and sponsorships
Kindly connect with me please”
The post came with a young man pictured in black apparel with a faint smile. Honestly, he looked like a man yearning for something.
As said in the post Emmanuel is a young Nigerian that had his sights set on greatness and was eager to get others to follow him and also for doors of mentorship to open to him to help him grow as a person and in the corporate setting.
Three months from this post, he made another one. This time around, more daring and confident. His post read;
“I posted this and different people were asking, where is your bag? Where is your red sock?
Yes! I don’t have any of those things and it denotes the following.
My role model has successfully secured the bag but I am still in the process of securing mine and it’s going to be quite a long journey.
Furthermore, I believe the red socks are connected to his brand, perhaps, as the chairman of the Heirs Holdings, United Bank for Africa (UBA) and Founder of The Tony Elumelu Foundation
I am neither a founder nor do I have any company but anyways, right from childhood, I have always loved red and still do now. So, it will still be incorporated into my brand.
So, you see, as much as I am in support of the legacy of Tony O. Elumelu, C.O.N, the pioneer of Africapitalisim, I can’t be exactly like him.
Eventually, and in the long run, I will have my legacy and finally secure the bag but meanwhile, I am simply Emmanuel Nduka, pioneer of the student’s voice on Linkedin and an aspiring generational leader.
Do well to follow your boy”
On Tuesday, September 28, 2021, about five hours after Emmanuel had posted his latest writeup, Elumelu responded: “Lol! This is really nice, Emmanuel, you’re on the right track. Do you want to be a part of my upcoming mentorship session?”
This was the beginning of a dream come true for Emmanuel. He has since then met up with Mr Elumelo in a Mentorship session along with several others and taken the LinkedIn world by storm.
When asked about where he met Elumelu and what the feeling was like in an interview session with the Nigerian Tribune, Emmanuel states that;
“I met him in Lagos for the mentorship session he personally invited me for. It was a dream come true, and a dream that came sooner than I expected. Also, it was the first time I used, did and tasted a lot of new stuff. Thanks to him. He footed the bills for me coming over to Lagos. He took care of the flight, which was my first ever; and the hotel where I lodged, also my first ever. Importantly, his mentorship would make me successful. This is because he has been there for a good number of years now.”
“As I was introducing myself, alongside other mentees, about 12 of us, he said, “Wait, are you the one that did that stuff (referring to the post I made about him and I.)” He told me to pull down my face mask so that they can see my face. We laughed, and he said, “You are welcome.”
After the session, it was time to take pictures. With a pat on my back, he said, “I read what you wrote and it’s nice. Keep doing what you do. You are on the right path.”
I was so excited to hear it from him. It was almost like a mirage to me, but it happened.” – Emmanuel said.
It didn’t end at scoring a mentorship with one of Africa’s most successful business moguls but Emmanuel has recently joined forces with Ms. Haoma Worgu to set up a company that is aimed at “revolutionizing Africa one sector at a time”.
“Studies show that less than 1%, 0.15% precisely, are active African users of LinkedIn and we want to kick-start by changing the narrative and improving the statistics. Our first project is to make more Africans visible on LinkedIn, to equip people with the right knowledge that would propel spontaneous career growth and make them see the possibilities here” – Emmanuel wrote on his LinkedIn page.
This beautiful piece can’t end without quoting Emmanuel Nduka himself. He says;
“In life, there are sacrifices we must make to get the dividends we desire. For me, putting in the labor, showing up daily, and being consistent, have made me see results beyond my expectations”.
The future is obviously exciting and bright for this young man and Africa will take a front seat to witness his greatness unfold.
Reference: tribuneonline.ng / punchng.com