Ibitoye Ayodeji, a digital strategist and online coach belongs to the league of young Nigerians who are adding value to their community and society.
The graduate of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, noted that absence of fulfillment made him quit his white collar job.
In his words: “I once told myself that once I save up to N2million in my savings account, I’m going to quit my regular 9 to 5 job. I did save up and even passed that threshold, but I never stopped. Not until I started getting tired of working for someone. It got so bad that I finished dressing up for work on a particular Monday morning and I started crying. I was empty inside, I was completely drained. So, I told myself, ‘Ayo, it is time for you to stop’, then I stopped”.
Sharing his fears when he quit his day job, Ibitoye said:”Yes, I was scared, I thought about so many things. My first fear was “What would I be doing every day”. I had my office to go on a daily basis. My biggest fear happened to be flow of cash. And that eventually happened. I lost all my savings two months after quitting my job.It was God to be honest. I got a job to advertise for a corporation, it was a big gig. So, I put all the money excluding profit (over N1 million) into my Facebook Ad account. After a few days, Facebook deactivated that Ad account with the money inside. I was devastated, so, I took my savings and used it to cover up for all pending jobs. After 3 months I got back on my foot without noticing it. But it was 3-months of hunger”.
Explaining his motivation for starting an NGO, the astute entrepreneur said:”I have always believed in helping the less privileged. I was born without any spoon in my mouth. I could remember one time I followed my sister to the market to buy food on credit (it was a very sad memory), I believe everyone deserves to eat good and have cloths on. This childhood experience is what prompted me to help people on a daily basis, thereby leading to me starting my own NGO to help those in needs”