THE NATION WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2013
27
The Midweek Magazine
E-mail:- ozoluauhakheme@yahoo.com
Celebrating a literary icon
Book on personal branding for launch on Nov 1
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N October 20, fans, lovers and the family members of the late Prof Oludare Olajubu will celebrate him in Ekiti State. The culture advocate from Ilare-Ijesa was acclaimed for promoting the Yoruba oral
literature. Born on March 21, 1933, Oloye, as he was known in the creative world, spent over 42 years teaching and promoting Yoruba folklore. The folklorist held the Yoruba oral tradition in high esteem, believing strongly in its rich cultural heritage worth celebrating. He spent his life promoting it. His passion for culture was intensified when he became the Sukoti of Ilare in the 70s. Seeing his contributions, the Adoko of Idoko honoured him with the chieftaincy title of Baapitan of Idoko. Versed in the Yoruba chants such as the Ewi tradition, he was famous for being a folklorist that borrows strongly from such tradition in his works. He has written several books on his passion with over 50 publications in local and international journals. As part of his commitment to impacting the young generations with the cultural heritage of Yoruba, he taught in several institutions. They included the University of Lagos, Obafemi Awolowo University, then University of Ife; University of Ilorin and Adeyemi College of Education, among others. His children were not left out in the cultural feast, which he shared with his students. His children were his first audience, it was learnt. According to one of his grandchildren, Oyindamola Olajubu, “Grandpa taught us a lot. He told us lots of stories and would sing to us. I miss him greatly.” Oyindamola is one of his family members that is bent on keeping his creative memory alive. She is working on a project that would immortalise him and his works for generations to come.
•The late Prof Olajubu By Evelyn Osagie
CELEBRATION “I would like other kids to enjoy what we enjoyed from our grandfather when he was alive,” she said. The family and fans will hold a memorial service in his honour in his hometown on Sunday, October 20, to commemorate the first year anniversary of his passing away, according to his son, Oyedeji, an engineer. “I see the wisdom and I’m constantly being reminded of the advices he gave me. I miss him greatly.”
Personal Branding and Reputation Management Insights for Professionals and Entrepreneur will be presented to a distinguished audience on Friday, November 1 at 10am at CLAM Events Centre, Omole Phase 1, Ojodu, Lagos. Reiterating the vision behind the book, Akinbola said: “Personal branding is not just about having good online visibility or dressing nicely. It has to do with discovering the ‘U” in YOU; it is all about discovering what is UNIQUE about you and using it to differentiate and promote yourself for excellence in your career and business. There is a lot more that we need to share and understand about Personal Branding and reputation management. Having a strong and winning personal brand is not a nice-to-do thing; it is an existential strategy that is crucial to your enduring career or business success. The era of Personal Branding by Default (PBD) is gone. We are now in the era of Personal Branding by Purpose (PBP)” “It’s a BRAND U World ‘is the third in a book trilogy that features “Building Enduring Corporate Reputation (which was published in 2005) and “Built to Endure: How Purposedriven Organisations Use Reputation Capital to Achieve Brand Equity (which was published in 2010). According to a statement by Brand Stewards, publishers of the book, other activities of the day are an interactive session on “Personal Branding for Value and Wealth Creation” to be facilitated by Pastor Gbenga Ademujimi, Founder, Kingshill School of Discovery, Lagos. The event will also feature the inauguration of Demola Akinbola’s two new projects (City Brand Academy, a multipurpose centre for the personal and professional development of young graduates and early/mid-career professionals) and (Impact Branding Club, an online resource and networking forum for professionals). Akinbola is a brand management specialist with over two decades of professional engagement spanning Public Relations, Corporate Communications, Branding, Business Development and Project Management. He is the Head Steward at Brand Stewards Limited, a brand and reputation management consultancy operating in Nigeria and Republic of Ireland.
Firm donates borehole to Isolo community
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S part of its corporate social responsibility, Promasidor Nigeria Limited, makers of Cowbell Milk, has donated a borehole and water treatment plant to an Isolo community in Lagos.
Its Managing Director, Chief Keith Richards, at the inauguration, pledged to support the development and empowerment of youths in the community. Richards noted that Promasidor was trying to build up innovation and relationship to be close to the community by understanding the needs of consumers in a given community. According to him, one good thing about the inauguration of the borehole was is the provision of clean water to the community, adding that erecting the borehole in the palace of Oba symbolises a great partnership with the community. “We want to demonstrate that Promasidor is a good corporate citizen. Drinking water is a fundamental human right of any citizen. Hence, we will be committed to the monitoring of the project to keep the water running. We have always been a very socially-responsible organisation and we have been engaging with our host communities. ‘’In Isolo we have done something in the area of health care, street light and security. So, this project is just one of them. We also work with communities around the federation. We have worked with people that had been impacted by disaster, those affected by floods in the Middle Belt and in the southern part of Nigeria,” he said. Osolo of Isolo Kingdom, Oba Kabiru Kolawole, earlier in an address of welcome, praised Promasidor for its support to the cause of empowering the active poor in the community, describing the company as a greatest financier, supporter and source of inspiration because of its passion and concern for the downtrodden.
•From left: Oba Agbabiaka, Osolo of Isolo Kingdom and Chief Richards
PHILANTROPY Oba Kolawole, who also described the water project as another most thoughtful, generous and kindest corporate act, said Promasidor has been the only corporate positive voice in the kingdom who has demonstrated an unmatched and unprecedented concern and action by providing a borehole and
a water treatment plant that cost millions. He noted that the organisation has greatly impacted on the social and economic environment of the kingdom. He listed some of the projects the company had undertaken in the community to include donation of hospital equipment to the General Hospital, Isolo; construction of street lights and bus stops at Cowbell Way, Isolo and yearly scholarships to bright students of the community, among others.
Culture Ministry to strengthen partnership with Britain
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HE Minister of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation, Chief Edem Duke, has said the ministry will strengthen its partnership with Britain to boost creativity in the country. He spoke when the Chief Executive Officer of British Council Martin Davidson visited him in Abuja. He stressed the need for both countries to establish a platform for exchange of talents as way of harnessing the potential in the countries’ creative industry. Duke said: “The young Nigerians coming out of school will need such a platform to express their creative
From Bukola Amusan, Abuja
talents.” The minister sought the assistance of Britain in the areas of expertise for the skills acquisition centre under construction in Calabar and in restoring Nigeria’s theatres and monuments. He stressed the need for a partnership that would assist in creating job opportunities for youths, as well as transform the creative industry into a major income earner for the country. “We must begin to think of an economy beyond oil;
help us to reposition this sector. We are looking for opportunities for our youths,’’ the minister requested. Earlier, Davidson said Britain was determined to look into the importance of culture as a means of building economic development for both countries. He said the synergy would encourage Nigerian artistes to work together with artistes in the United Kingdom. “It will create an opportunity for us to learn and develop new techniques with colleagues from Nigeria. We are conscious of the benefits of the exchange of ideas and views with Nigerian artistes and are greatly interested in the skills acquisition academy in Calabar,” he added.