Hi, hi

For a while now I've been fascinated by young people who just go out there and make things happen. These people are not limited by money or location or even the political landscape. If they believe it, they do it. So since I had some time on my hands and access to a camera, I decided to do video profiles about young people who were making positive things happen in Nigeria, through their work, activism, businesses, art, NGO's e.t.c. I also profile young people whose personal stories are inspiring and who maybe beat the odds to get to where they are today. I hope you enjoy them and find some inspiration to pursue your dreams and/or change your world for the better.

If you are a young Nigerian who is already Making It Happen, then keep on doing what it is you are doing and perhaps one day I will be able to interview you. In fact, you can send me an email (oehigie.auditions@gmail.com) to let me know what it is you are doing to make things happen. On the other hand, if you know someone or some people who are making positive things happen in Nigeria then email me as well.

Thanks to family and friends for their support and suggestions.
Thanks to those who volunteered to participate in this project.
Thanks to the strangers who also gave me help wherever I needed it.
Thanks to my boss for giving me access to his camera and computer.
Thanks to God because He makes things happen.

Chiedu Ifeozo

Doing good or even just doing something you love doesn’t have to be a full-time job. You may think that with your job and your present commitments you just won’t have any more time to do the things you love or to do work for charity.

Well think again. Chiedu Ifeozo is an Engineer who loves what he does but as a talented writer he also finds time to do the other things he enjoys which includes writing. Not only does he write but he also took the step to becoming a published author. He self-published the books, Thoughts on a Page and Poetry for Charity volumes 1 and 2. The money raised through the sales of the Poetry for Charity books will be donated to Nigerian charities.

You can find Chiedu at his blog . You can also find him on his facebook groups: Poetry for Charity and Thoughts on a Page. You can sometimes catch him at Taruwa on the second Tuesdays and last Tuesdays of the month. Taruwa takes place from 7pm to 9pm at Black Pearl on Akin Adesola Street Victoria Island Lagos.

Also you can read about him here and here

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Part 2 of 2


Just a thought. Maybe you can make something happen by contributing to the efforts of some of the people interviewed on this blog.

Tosyn Bucknor

Sometimes, when I face an especially difficult situation, I often ask God: "why me?". Some how I think it's a very egotistic question. I mean, if it didn't happen to me then who else? Well, I'm trying to understand now that maybe I can use whatever difficult situation I find myself in for good.

Well, this video is about a young lady who took what we would call an unfortunate situation (she lives with sickle cell anaemia) and turned it into something that would help other people positively.

Her name is Tosyn Bucknor and she founded These Genes which is a non-profit organization established to put a human face on sickle cell disorder. Not only does she run These Genes, she also works as a radio presenter on 90.9FM Top Radio (you can listen to her in the mornings from 6am to 11am). She writes a weekly column in the Guardian Newspaper. She has written for television as well and has also worked as a content director on some of the T.V. shows you have watched and she is a singer. She runs S.H.A.R.E., which is a network for young people who want to network with other young people and express themselves. She runs three blogs and you can find her on any of them:

These Genes
Tosyn Speech Girl Bucknor
My fictional break-up.

What struck me about Tosyn, is her passion. She lives with passion and works with passion. It made me ask myself what am I passionate about and how can I turn that passion into something positive?

Oluwakayode Alebiosu

I found Kayode, on LEAP Africa. He is a recipient of one of their Youth Awards. You can read his profile on the Leap Africa Website

Kayode is an example of a person who doesn't wait for his environment to be the best but instead he looks for what he can do to make his environment better. I am currently doing my NYSC and honestly I find it a hassle most of the time but talking with him has really inspired me to just make my NYSC a positive experience regardless of the hassles.

Part 1 of 3 videos


Part 2 of 3 Videos




Part 3 of 3 videos

Oghogho Odoko

Oghogho is actually a friend of mine. He was actually the first person I interviewed. He is the CEO of Doks Media Company where he publishes the Magazine "Do It!"

I think the best thing about Oghogho is that when he tells you to actually go out and "Just do It". He really means it. He really just wants people to go out and follow their dreams.

You can find him on the internet at Dare International here and On the Do It! Magazine website here

Part 1 of 2 videos


Part 2 of 3 videos


I am just getting the hang of compressing videos and posting them online so the quality of the videos are not so fantastic but as I go along, I'm sure I'll be able to make the quality of the videos better

Challenges

Hello Folks!
What's the use of a video blog if you can't upload videos?
Well I have been having a few challenges uploading videos up onto youtube mainly because I am posting from Nigeria and the internet connections can be pretty slow. But I'm sure in a few days I will be able to figure it out. I just need to press on. Later

Oghomwen