CHUDE JIDEONWO

How did you meet Adebola Williams?

I met him at a TV recording, of Inside Out with Agatha. I was 19 at the time. He was co-producer and presenter of a show called Youth Talk on the NTA. We sat on the same row, we began to talk about our visions, and boom! You see, generally, I am afraid of sharing my visions and the way I see the world with people. They have always been very quick to dismiss what I say. It’s presumptuous; it’s too ambitious, childish, and unworkable. And imagine all the things we went on to do, a red-carpet award for people in agriculture and technology, a newspaper for young people, running a business that wants to inspire young Africans. Adebola understood it immediately. If anything, he dreamt even bigger than I did.

A lawyer and Journalist. Which one comes first?

Journalism certainly! I always wanted to be a journalist from the first time I picked up a newspaper. But, when I was a teenager, I began to worry that it wouldn’t give me enough to make a living, so I told myself I would be an Accountant and then do Journalism on the side. I was incredibly lucky that by the time I left secondary school, the media in Nigeria was on the cusp of something about to explode. Still I thought I would have to finish my Law degree in University first before I would be able to step into the media.

What impact has your educational background had on your businesses?

Mayflower is the foundation of everything. One of our company values is relentlessness and I learnt that at Mayflower. It’s easily the best decision my mother made. As an only child I was attached to her deeply and she sensed I needed to learn to stand on my own. Tai Solarin’s school with its emphasis on discipline and self-reliance was a natural fit. Of course, a background in Law is perhaps the most important skill for a businessperson where Law is the foundation for much of business relationships. It brings an automatic perspective into what is possible for the long term, what is safe and what is not, and how exactly you must engage.

Being the co-founder of the Red Group of companies, tell us what your roles are in managing these companies?

By Adebola’s permission, I was appointed CEO for the group of companies in 2010. My role is a combination of leading the team, inspiring and leading on strategy, as well ensuring that we last today and in the long term. Adebola functions as the Chief Executive of our Marketing Arm as well as Group CMO, building and leveraging our networks across the globe, and I ensure that everything is aligned to drive our vision of inspiring Africa’s youth while creating sustainable value.

So far which will you say has been the most successful and why?

That’s a hard one to answer, because we think of it as one company, with different product lines. For purposes of regulation, structure and autonomy, we have registered them as three organizations, but internally and as a strategic imperative, they are all one body with a focus on inspiring Africa’s youth. So, RED has been successful as a whole. Even practically, each company has led the pack at one time or the other. I was telling new team members at an induction just last week that, in 2011, Generation Y! led the company’s growth and success, in 2012, The Future Project did, last two years it was Red Media Africa, the communication company. It really depends on I would never have thought my life’s experiences would lead me through so many enriching experiences. The experiences I have secured in this work had humbled me, and

sharpened my perspectives. what our strategic vision for that year focuses on – is it governance in Nigeria, is it building content brands that refocus the youth population, is it extending our impact through our client base? Whatever we decide has led the vision. However, clearly The Future Awards Africa is our flagship. It’s the reason we founded this business, it has led to incredible movements and transformation across the country and continent, and it remains a reminder of why we do what we do.

What made you create ‘The Future Awards Africa’?

A simple premise. Even before we knew the data about the youth demographic explosion, we already knew something was happening with the youth, especially in Nigeria. In 2004, 2face had just began to break through, Chimamanda was the first young successful writer a generation knew, Ndidi Nwuneli had just built the foundations of LEAP Africa, amongst others. Still, when we put on the television or read the papers, all we could see was bad news. Young people escaping to Italy for prostitution, queuing for visas to leave the country, 419, election violence all of that. We felt it was an untrue and counter-productive narrative. We decided it was our duty to sieve that narrative, to correct it and to redirect it, so that the youth boom could flourish and not die out. To this, we wanted to create a powerful pop culture brand, something that would sieve the attention of the media and be so powerful that young people, and the rest of the country would have to pay attention. That’s how we founded The Future Awards Africa – to inspire young people to aspire, strive and achieve, based on the successes of the nominees and winners from across the continent, which we find, spotlight and support.

Being at the forefront of President Muhammadu Buhari’s campaign for Change, what is your view on the slow pace of change Nigeria is witnessing?

Change takes time. There are a few things in this administration that worry me, and last week I was deeply bothered by the attitude of certain government officials to our missing girls from Chibok, but the truth is that the signs are already there that things are about to change for good. The way business is done in Nigerian government circles has changed. For once, we have a President that everyone agrees will not engage in or accommodate corruption; government spending is being done with discipline. Where citizens reacted to an ambiguous budget, he listened and took action. There is a renewed urgency to the work of the EFCC not seen since the days of Obasanjo. Of course, whether it is sustained and whether the President is able to ignore those who will chant about his sainthood and focus on listening to what Nigerians actually feel and think, is up to him and him alone. But we worked closely with the President; we know his heart is firmly in the right place. I have no reason to do anything but have faith. He has earned my faith.

The youngest serving Minister Wyatt Beau Roy is 26; Barrack Obama’s speechwriter Jon Favreu is 35. You and Adebola are also of a younger generation who worked closely with the present administration during the elections. Don’t you think this present administration should involve and appoint the younger generation to play major political roles in their government?

They should. Short and simple. And not just for random Special Adviser roles. There is a perspective and urgency young people bring to imperatives like job creation, investment, culture and others that people like Lagos and Kaduna States have understood and tapped into. Any sectors that focus on owning the future need an injection of youth. I believe this government also understands this imperative and is coming round to it.

How did you feel when you were announced winner of the 2014 CNBC All Africa Young Business leader of the Year?

Validated. Inspired. Validated as to our business model, because social businesses aren’t generally seen for what they are – successful models that can drive profitability and still change the world. Inspired to do more, because it means people have begun to get it.

Any last words for budding entrepreneurs?

Yes, always, from my number one role model, who will be America’s next president, Hillary Clinton’s most powerful quote: Bloom where you are planted.