Tade Makinwa: Every dream is valid, by Simbo Olorunfemi

Keep doing your thing. The world is watching. At the right time, soon too, the stars will align in your favour, and reward will come your way. That is my prayer.

There are so many stories on this platform that validate that. Fortunately for me, some of them are in my inner circle. Olajide Abiola and James Omeiza are two of such men. I am privileged to have these great men in my circle. Even though they are younger, they continue to inspire me day by day with their resourcefulness, creativity, integrity, industry, grit, faith and humility.

But there is also someone who encapsulates the resourceful spirit I am speaking to. That person is Tadé Makinwa. Her life, in a way, is an open book from which anyone who is so minded to dig deep for inspiration and wisdom can never get tired of drinking from.

You have to wonder if she is truly as young as she is, with the wise head on her shoulders. She is that one person who, from an early age, decided to take the bull by the horns, choosing her own path, not minding the odds. You would think that she would have been deterred by some of the huge obstacles she had been faced with, but you can see how she, at every point, repeatedly confronted those challenges and turned them into building blocks with which she has risen to the point where she is today.

From dropping out of her first undergraduate studies to starting afresh in a new University on her own, even combining that with running a business, yet graduating with flying colours, you can’t but wonder where the young lady gets her energy from.

I look back at the challenges she was faced with in her commodity business, falling into the wrong hands. I can’t even imagine how enormous the challenge was, but somehow, Tade was able to pull through, hard as that was. She even launched a fashion line, while weathering through the storms.

In no time, her gifting and industry had fished her out, transporting her into the corporate world, working at the highest level, working for one of the top CEOs. She has not only distinguished herself in that role, she continues to fly high.

Some months back, she took to a podcast and religiously recorded videos and shared them on her social media pages consistently. It was only a matter of time before some of the videos caught fire, going viral, with one catching the attention of the Nigerian Orientation Agency (NOA), which placed the material on TV, giving it a wider push and reach.

Now, Tade has gone fully global. Her face is striking instant recognition from Nigerians in different parts of the world. People high up are sharing her videos with friends and family via the ubiquitous WhatsApp. Tade’s brand equity has dramatically shot up.

It all started with her daring to step out in faith, staying true to her dreams, refusing to give up in the face of failure and challenges, refusing to give up on her convictions and values, believing in Nigeria in the face of odds.

This week, I had the privilege of interacting with 2 young men – Chude Jideonwo (Joy, Red Media, YNaija) whose story I have followed since he made appearance on TV at the age of 15. I was also privileged to speak with Fouad Lawal (Archiving), the young man behind the idea of archiving Nigerian newspapers and magazines from

It is the same story of staying true to your dreams, no matter how hard it gets. The same story of resilience in the face of great odds. It is the same story of consistency, keeping it rolling, with the door finally opening, just at the point where it appears the dream was just about to end.

In many ways, that is my story. A case of constantly reinventing and reinvesting in new paths. A case of constantly showing up, doing the bit I can, no matter the odds, not even knowing where it might take me.

This morning I saw a letter (attached) I met on my desk in 1997! This was before the internet. At the time, I was at the Bank. A few years before then, I had, with the assistance of friends, published my first poetry book, which received rave reviews in the newspapers and ended up as runner-up for the Association of Nigerian Authors Prize. We lost good money though. But that was it.

But here was this letter all the way from India. I would never know how the book made it from here to India. But it did, and Prof BP Misra got a hold of it and chose to translate some of the poems.

Thinking about that, this morning, the lesson I take is this: Keep doing whatever it is you are doing, and always ensure that you do it to the best of ability. Keep showing up. You never know who is watching. Keep producing. Keep pushing.

Keep writing. You never know who is taking notes. Just be sure that you are standing out for something. Something good. Something positive.

Tade is proof that our dreams are valid. Every good dream we have can (shall, I pray) come true, if we keep pushing and not give up, even if the odds are saying otherwise right now.

Let’s go.