Emmanuel Ukudolo l Saturday, December 28, 2019
GBAGADA, Lagos, Nigeria – Nigerians In Diaspora Organisation(NIDO) New York chapter is currently chopping for credible Nigerians in various aspects of life for business partnership. President NIDO, New York, Hon. Bobby Digi Olisa made the revelation while addressing a press conference in Lagos, Nigeria.
“We have experience and resources to push and we want to do things out of the box, but what we need is credible partners,” he said. Digi Olisa who sits on committees of both New York City Mayor de Blasio and Staten Island Borough President Oddo said his committee is willing to leverage with industries in New York to figure out the legit person on the ground in Nigeria adding that the challenge of credibility remains an issue.
“We have medical doctors, lawyers, professionals in every aspect of lives and they are all doing well. We have a solid team, NIDO Secretary in New York is certified in fields of construction. We are bringing our experience in various fields to the country. My network is credible, so, we are interested in finding credible individuals here and connecting them with credible individuals in NIDO, New York”, he affirmed.
He explained that though frustration can cause people to do a lot of awful things, the truth is that he wants to retire to Nigeria someday and see a safer and better Nigeria in terms of electricity and good leadership.
Digi Olisa who was recently elected President of NIDO, New York said the organisation is concerned about trust because in the past he lost about USD 1 million in the quest for investment in Nigeria. But he is of the view that this unfortunate incident should neither deter him nor any other NIDO members since bad people are present in every nation.
Olisa is a proud Nigerian born in Brooklyn, United States of America by Nigerian parents. “My mum is back in Nigeria, she lives in Niger state, my dad is still in America,” the NIDO boss who measured in accountancy and financial management said.
His years of experience and global and achievement have made him a world leader. In 2017, he was inspired to create a not-for-profit organisation (NGO) called Island Voice, Inc. Island Voice hosts the annual Youth Empowerment Summit, an event which began in 2009, providing young people with a platform to network and interact with one another, using a team building approach guided by professionals. The summit has since grown to become one of the most well attended in New York City and has provided mentorship for 6000 youths in over 10 years, supported by Wagner College’s History department.
Bobby Digi also utilized Island Voice to advocate for women’s rights, especially for the return of Nigerian girls kidnapped by Boko Haram. Bobby helped co-found the Bring Back Our Girls New York Chapter which was instrumental in US publicity campaigns. He has been a guest speaker at fatherhood programs and initiatives all over America.
The young vibrant leader strongly believes that youth empowerment is the panacea for a better society, therefore the well being of Nigerian youths remains a must, stressing that the youth holds the keys to the future and that their participation in all aspects of society building is very significant.
A believer in youth empowerment, Bobby believes that the focus of youth education should be on STEM education, including coding and learning about software development. He said that though power still remains a big issue in Nigeria, so much can still be achieved.
He alluded to what the late Fela Anikulapo Kuti was able to achieve with Afrobeat without any government intervention, but through creativity and talent. He believes that with commitment and perseverance, “we can change the Nigerian narrative,” he said, calling on Nigerians in the Diaspora to start coming home to invest. “Nigerians in the Diaspora need to start coming home, to partner with people at home to speed up economic development,” he said.
His major focus is to organize and galvanize the support of Nigerians in the USA to help support development and the advancement of Nigeria with a special focus on YOUTH
EMPOWERMENT through education and job development. The President of Nigerians Diaspora, New York, considers it urgent for Nigeria to make creation of employment opportunities a matter of national priority. According to him, the Federal Government of Nigeria should do more by taking bold steps and investing in the area of youth empowerment.
He alluded to the Presidential Youth Empowerment Scheme (P-YES) which is structured as a Public Private Partnership (PPP) targeted at providing a solution to the challenges of youth unemployment. As he puts it, the concept of youth empowerment is the gateway to intergenerational equity, civic engagement and democracy.
A cursory look at the list of some of his youth empowerment programmes for Nigeria are :
•Building relationships with educational institutions, corporate organisations and international agencies to introduce best evidence based practices to the next generation of leaders across sectors.
•Training professionals and providing them with resources in order
•Identifying and pursuing initiatives to promote human capacity mentorship and compassionate systems in schools Nationwide.
•Developing training and mentoring modules – physical & online – to actualise sustainability.
•Organize and deploy vocational education and skills development programmes.
•Host events for networking and capacity building in Hub, and facilitate courses for organisations.
•Support knowledge sharing, building, marketing and business development best practice.
•Promoting business collaboration by building a network of leaders across sectors and strengthening business relationships. He is also looking at supporting the Nigerian Travel Week in 2010.
Bobby Digi Olisa attended secondary school in Nigeria at Essence International and graduated from Nigerian Air Force Secondary School Kaduna where he was the Labour Prefect a role that he said helped to shape him as a disciplined and hardworking man.
He went to one of the oldest universities in Africa, Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria, Kaduna, where he majored in Sociology. Due to numerous lecturers’ strikes he returned to America where he graduated with Accounting,Finance and Business Management degrees in New York, USA. Bobby has always strived to bring people of diverse backgrounds together to discover solutions to communal issues. He is one proud Nigerian doing great things in New York.
