MTN Foundation, SLOT boss, others charge youths on winning strategy

Nigerian youths have been charged to be pragmatic in their approach toward addressing issues they might be dealing with in their quest to create and sustain a winning idea for empowerment and development.

In dealing with these issues, the youths have been counseled to “think like there is no box” and show greater ingenuity to counter the challenges.

This counsel was given by the Senior Special Adviser to the Abia State government on Public Communication, Mr. Sam Hart and the Managing Director of SLOT, Nnamdi Ezegbo, at the launch of the MTN Foundation Scholars Alumni and Conference held in Owerri, Imo state.

The conference, billed as an annual event, will bring together the graduate beneficiaries of the MTN Foundation Scholarship schemes: Scholarship for the Science and Technology students (STSS) and Scholarship Scheme for the Blind Students (SSBS).

Rather than sitting back and sulking about the current economic challenges, Hart, who is also the promoter of the ‘Made in Aba’ initiative said the youths, “should not think outside the box but they should think like there is no box. Challenges will come, failure will come but they are necessities to succeed. You need to be resilient to sustain a winning idea and you must believe in yourself.”

On his part, the Managing Director of SLOT, Nnamdi Ezegbo recounting how he started SLOT technologies, advised the participants to always be prepared for challenges because the road to success will never be smooth. Only determination will make them succeed.

Ezegbo went philosophical when he said, “my strategy for operating SLOT is to create solutions. The environment will never be perfect. There is no perfect time for you to strike at success. Every time is the best but you need to understand the times.”

Ezegbo crystallizing the SLOT acronym said, “SLOT means Solution, Leadership, Opportunity and Technology. These are the four principles that drive our existence.”

“The entrance of Tecno into Nigeria was a solution from SLOT to get Nigerians to have a single phone that has multiple SIM. Tecno was created to meet a need and it has become the backbone of my riding to success.”

On leadership, “it is about understanding yourself. You need to create an environment to continue to learn, while at the same time you must identify the unique opportunities you hope to solve with technology,” said Ezegbo.

Admonishing the beneficiaries, Director, MTN Foundation, Mr. Dennis Okoro, said they should see the scholarship as a rare opportunity that must be well utilized. For the alumni Okoro said, “now that you have all gained and have been empowered, it is essential that you show yourselves as worthy ambassadors of the programme. Feel free to exhibit your creativity positively and contribute your quota to the development of the country.”

The conference will also hold in Abuja and Lagos with Tonye Cole, Bolanle Austin-Peters and Chika Ofili confirmed as speakers for the locations.

The aim of the MTNF Scholars Alumni Conference is to give beneficiaries of the scholarship scheme opportunities to meet with successful Nigerian entrepreneurs that will share their success stories of impact and value to inspire them as they launch themselves to the world as agents of value creation and change. The theme of the conference is, “Creating a Winning Idea.”