By Emma Njoku
A nongovernmental organisation (NGO) rooted in the service to humanity, The Global Clusters, has sparked up a strategic revolution to end unemployment and other challenges arising from the economic downturn in Nigeria.
Global president of the organisation, Dr. Adekunle Badmus, who made the disclosure at its first anniversary celebration, yesterday, in Lagos, said the group had come up with deliberate and sustainable revolutionary concepts that could solve every problem and enthrone a vibrant new Nigeria.
In his welcome address at the event, themed, ‘Rooted, Rising, Relevant,’ Dr. Badmus said: “This celebration is not just a milestone, it is a reminder that what once began as a small spark has become a blazing flame of purpose, passion and progress. “We are rooted in values, vision and in the voices of those who believed before others could see. Our roots stretch deep into the soil of global impact and service to humanity. “We are rising not just in numbers or recognition, but in meaning. We are rising in how we shape narratives, how we elevate lives and how we change destinies. We are climbing not to dominate, but to lift others along the way, from street corners to strategy rooms and from hidden potential to global platforms.”
Delivering her keynote address, CEO, Mastermind Specialist, Dr Mrs Mitchelle Bacote Ukoh, a mind surgeon, extolled Dr. Badmus for his passion and commitment to the advancement of human capital, workforce development and nation-building through innovation and leadership. She noted that in the last one year, the Global Clusters movement has expanded rapidly, making measurable impact all over the world and equipping over 5,000 leaders in more than 30 nations with critical skills, emotional intelligence and confidence to lead boldly.
The group called for a review of the country’s educational curriculum with a view to replacing the premium placed on certificates with what he called ‘sabificate,’ which emphasises an individual’s knowledge and ability.
“Our vision is to build a nation, where the citizens can grow from their hidden potentials to global prominence. That’s why we formed Global Clusters. We asked the question, ‘who developed the developed nations?’ There are three sets of people who develop nations. They are the entrepreneurs, the technocrats and the professionals.
So, we can define the Global Clusters as a consortium of upcoming professionals, technocrats and entrepreneurs. What the government needs to do is to adopt the Global Clusters because we have a vision of creating a ‘spark up’ in all the 774 local governments across the country, where we try to insert revolutionary concepts to solve every problem,” the president disclosed.
Dr. Badmus said the Global Clusters has identified all the problem areas and come up with the right revolutions.
“In the last five years, we did two revolutions, the #EndSARRS Revolution and #Endbadgovernance revolution. But, the Global Clusters have come up with the real revolution. The first revolution is what we call the mind surgery revolution, where we engage in tactical thinking, creative thinking, innovative thinking; thinking out of the box, developing great memory, flexibility, speed, calling an elderly, responsible citizens of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to be the mind surgeon of the day by sharing their stories, so that the upcoming professionals, technocrats and entrepreneurs can learn from them. That’s the idea of mind surgery.
“And we do other revolutions like the humanity revolution, the genuine love revolution, people-to-people revolution, the accurate connection revolution and the sabificate revolution. But we’re focusing on the sabificate revolution this year. Education is more of personal branding now. It’s no longer about the certificate; it’s now about the s-a-b-i-f-i-c-a-t-e. What do you know? What can you do? So, we tell people to act themselves. What’s your ability’? What’s your sabification?”
Badmus said it would be difficult for parents to eat the fruit of their labour if their children fail to embrace their sabificate right now.
“In a society where the minimum wage is N70, 000 and where the average rent for a room is about N500, 000 or more, how do you expect the child to take care of you, if you don’t want the child to steal? It’s only when such a child learns a skill that he or she would be able to take care of the parents,” he reasoned.
A panel made up of accomplished entrepreneurs, technocrats, and professionals shared their thoughts on the topic: “Nation Building.” Among the panelists were Dr. Segun Oshundairo, CEO, Arcview Investment Ltd, a real estate development firm; Ashley Immanuel, the Chief Operating Officer, Semicolon.africa, a digital firm that deals on technology training, talent placement, project implementation & digital advisory and venture building; Dr. Mary Odedare, an educationist and Amazu Ukoh, an entrepreneur, while Mr. Bolaji Israel, a journalist and author moderated the discussion.
They all advocated a change of mindset of the citizens, stressing that whatever anyone sets out to achieve starts and ends in the mindset.
Dr. Oshundairo said nation building starts from a shift in mindset from where one is to the next level. He advised the youths to de-emphasise what he described as transactional mindset, stressing that everything is not about money.
“As a youth, you must educate yourself because knowledge is wealth and power,” he said.
Ukoh advised the youth to be patient and learn to grow gradually. “It took God six days to complete the creation project. God created the world step by step,” he said.
Immanuel noted that to be a leader is to impact others positively. “We give birth to our thoughts. What we think is what we give.”
Dr. Odedare described nation-building as an act of effecting a positive change, stressing that people with positive minds are always determined to effect positive changes. “Everything in life starts from the thought process.”
The highpoint of the event was the award of honours for excellence in nation building to some deserving members of the Global Clusters. The first to be honoured was the President, Dr. Badmus, who was presented with the highest award by his mentor, Dr. Ukoh.
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