Education has opened doors for me that I did not even know existed —Michael Taiwo, entrepreneur, founder of MTS

Michael Taiwo is a chemical engineer, an entrepreneur, an immigration consultant, and the founder of the Michael Taiwo Scholarships. In this interview by KINGSLEY ALUMONA, he speaks about his work in the energy sector, the education sector, and the immigration space, among other issues.

As a chemical engineer, how would you describe your career trajectory from graduation to date?

My career trajectory went from a bachelor’s in chemical engineering to a PhD in chemical engineering. I started with an oil and gas company. I started with technical engineering. So, I was in discipline engineering, very focused on the technical safety of oil and gas production in deep water. I then broadened to general engineering in a different part of the oil and gas business in midstream downstream. From there, I moved to leadership and management, and then eventually I left to start my own companies.

Why and when did you venture into social entrepreneurship, and has this endeavour shaped your life and career?

I moved into social entrepreneurship two years ago when I left corporate America. I left because I felt I had accomplished all the goals that I wanted to achieve in corporate America. I have done discipline engineering and general engineering. I have been in upstream, downstream, and new energies, and was working with really cool technologies like hydrogen. I have been in operations, projects, and engineering. I have covered a gamut. I have been there, done that.

It is now time to use all of that knowledge and experience to create the type of impact I want in the world. It has been really fulfilling.

Your profile speaks passionately about the hydrogen economy, infrastructure, and energy transformation. What role does hydrogen play in the energy sector, and how can this hydrogen energy impact the Nigerian power sector and economy?

Yes, I am quite passionate about hydrogen. I moved from New Orleans to Los Angeles to lead the hydrogen infrastructure for Shell in North America. We were at the forefront of the technology from the full cycle chain of the technology, from permitting, to building, to construction, to operations, to maintenance, to decommissioning, production, and distribution. I was fortunate to be able to see it all and to be part of many of the world’s largest, world-leading projects. From that vantage point, I have been able to advise countries all over the world that are planning on moving towards hydrogen.

For Nigeria, hydrogen can help us to diversify our energy mix. Our energy mix is right now mainly oil and gas, but hydrogen can help us to diversify that, and that is what I see as one of the promising ways we can use hydrogen in Nigeria, as yet another option in our total energy portfolio.

If you were to solve three national problems in Nigeria leveraging your chemical engineering expertise, what problems would they be, and how would you solve them?

We have touched on the first one, the question of energy. I would introduce hydrogen into the energy mix so that in areas of the country where it makes more sense to have hydrogen power, either for transportation or some industries, we would do so. Again, it would not make sense in every single region of the country. In areas where it makes more economic and technical sense to have hydrogen instead of another energy source, we would do so. That will go a long way because power and energy are needed if we are to move more towards prosperity.

The second place where chemical engineering can work will be in the processing sector, and by that I mean in the petrochemicals and chemical industries. If we have the power, we can power more chemical and petrochemical industries.

The third area I would focus on is using our natural resources effectively, in terms of power, for instance, coal power. We have a lot of coal and should be building more coal power plants. We should be having more trains powered by coal. Those are the three areas I will focus on to bring Nigeria into prosperity.

You started your higher education in Nigeria at Obafemi Awolowo University and advanced to a PhD in the United States, University of Arkansas. How would you relate education to personal and social success, using your life as an example?

I would not be here if I had not gone to school. I was not raised in financial abundance. I am here today because I went to school and I did well in school. Education has opened doors for me that I did not even know existed. I think it can do the same for people. We need to invest more in education. We need to let people know that education is not a scam. As a society, the more educated we are, the better we will be able to solve real problems that will lead to real prosperity.

Tell us about the Michael Taiwo Scholarship. Why and when did you found it? Which unique impact are you making with it, and how are you sustaining it?

The Michael Taiwo Scholarship was founded on a simple idea that if we remove the barriers to success for motivated, bright students, they can change the world. We believe that if we can help people get into their dream schools, they can go on and astound everybody. That is why we started it on October 1st of 2019. Since we started, we have given over 300 scholarships. Over 50,000 people have applied, and in total, people have won scholarships worth over $50 million. We had applications from over 60 countries all over the world. So, I think we have made some impact in this scene.

You stated in your LinkedIn bio that the cornerstone of my commitment to societal upliftment remains the Michael Taiwo scholarships because education levels the playing field. In Nigeria, do you think that education levels the playing field in employment, job, and career matters?

Oh, yes, I do. I have many friends who do not have any connections, and they are doing very well in Nigeria today because they went to school and because they did well in school. They would not have been where they are now without education. They are living where rich people live, going to where rich people go, and making big decisions, all because they went to school or because they were educated. I think even more so in Nigeria, education levels the playing field because the playing field is very much uneven. Without education, somebody who is poor stands almost no chance, but with education, there is a chance.

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What is your advice to people who think or believe that education is a scam? What do you think are the roles of parents and society in correcting this way of thinking or mindset?

People who think education is a scam should look at those who are succeeding because they were educated. An example is myself. The impact I have made, I would not have made without education. In fact, I would not have stood a chance without education. I lost my parents when I was still a teenager. I did not have a godfather. I did not have a rich uncle. If I had not gone to school, I would not have made it out of my village. Parents and society need to promote the virtues of education and point to people who made it via education.

Part of your work, as is evident on social media, is US immigration and visa education. What is your take on President Donald Trump’s immigration policies, especially as it relates to Nigerian and African immigrants?

I think we have all seen the news that there is a total ban on some countries, and the reason behind this is because of national security on the side of the US. They feel the countries that are under the ban do not have a good way of vetting people. My take is that these countries, which include Nigeria and many African countries, should take it at face value and ask, “Okay, what are those vetting procedures?” Let us use this opportunity to upgrade ourselves. If there are security breaches, let us fix them. If there are gaps that we can close, let us close them. I think using this as an opportunity to fix what needs to be fixed is a welcome opportunity.

Remember, this is not a US law. It is an executive order. So, it is going to be, by nature, temporary, not permanent. Even then, even with its temporary nature, I think the countries affected, including Nigeria, should take it as a wake-up call and as an opportunity to fix whatever is broken in our own immigration system, in our passport system, in the way we vet people, in the way we verify records, and all the other issues that the executive order from President Trump was meant to address.

You recently posted on LinkedIn that while certain visas are currently restricted for people from Nigeria and other countries, the O1A visa is not one of them. How can Nigerians leverage this class of visa for schooling and a job? How can you help them obtain such a visa?

Yes. The O1A is Extraordinary Ability for Non-Immigrants. It is not for schooling. It is for a job. You can come to the United States with your spouse and your children. It is the fastest way to get to the US, and it is not affected by the ban. If you are a Nigerian, and if you are in a country with a total ban, then it is affected. But Nigeria is under a partial ban, and the O1A visa is one of the visas that are not affected by the presidential order. I think Nigerians should apply, especially if they meet the requirements.

I am more than happy to help. I do this as a service. So, it is not free. I only have so much time in the day to attend to this. It is a service, but it is a service that I am very passionate about because I think this is one of the ways people can realise their potential and move to a country that can pay them much more for their talents and for their expertise.

As an intellectual who has lived in Nigeria and the United States, what three things would you like Nigeria to emulate from the US to improve the standard of living and innovations?

The first thing I would like Nigeria to emulate is the rule of law. The rule of law says that no one is above the law and no one is below the law. Everybody stands equal before the law, at least in principle.    

Also education. You have asked me several questions about education already. But really investing in education, good schools, especially great primary schools, is all about starting from the primary. All public primary schools need to be really good so that, at a minimum, people are well educated. Of course, we move to secondary and to tertiary, but no one should attend a sub-standard primary school every year. Nigeria needs to invest more in basic education, especially in primary schools.

The third thing is investment in infrastructure and power. We have talked about power already, but also in the modern tools of technology like artificial intelligence (AI) and the internet. Those are the things I think Nigeria can emulate.

What kind of legacy do you want to leave in your line of work, and where do you see yourself and your career in five years?

I want to make the most impact on the world. I want to help as many people as possible become prosperous. At the same time, I want to make sure that their prosperity is sustainable in a way that we do not harm the planet. That is why I give scholarships. I help people seek visa so that they can move to a country that can reward them more for their efforts. It is also why I am very passionate about the energy transition and hydrogen technology, so that we can leave our planet Earth a little better than we met it and also so that people, especially people from Nigeria and Africa, can be as prosperous as possible. At the end of the day, I want my legacy to be that I played a role in unlocking the human potential. I played a role in unleashing the human capital that we have in Africa, and I did something about climate change.

I see myself in five years doing more of what I have done today — helping more people and advising more countries than I have in hydrogen, and maybe moving from advice to actual implementation in some of those countries. I see myself giving more scholarships. The reality today is that I am already doing those things that I have always wanted to do. I am already living my dream. So, in five years, I just want to do more of what I am currently doing right now.