How I met, became Tony Elumelu’s mentee —Emmanuel Nduka, FUTO student

Emmanuel Nduka is a 20-year – old social media influencer and a fourth-year Chemical Engineering student of the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO). He is currently a mentee of the business tycoon Tony Elumelu. In this interview by KINGSLEY ALUMONA, he speaks about his work on the social media, how he met Elumelu, among others.

 

Tell us about your work on social media influencing.

As a brand ambassador, my role is to give your product the visibility it needs. If you have the product or service, but you don’t have the audience, influencers like me can help market it on social media platforms. Growth happens over time. It goes with consistency, the ability to keep showing up, to keep your audience engaged with your posts.

People follow me on social media because of the story I share. Some follow me because of my wins and achievements. Others just want to see where it all leads to.

 

Do you work for yourself or for a company?

I work for myself. It’s not good to be fully dependent on your parents, especially when you know their financial capacity. So, I make money on LinkedIn by mainly advertising brands, products and services.

 

What social media platforms do you use for your work?

LinkedIn is the main platform I use because of my personality. It is filled with my right kind of audience, professionals, entrepreneurs and the like. I’m not the type that entertains. So, platforms like TikTok won’t go well with me. I’m a cooperate person. Therefore, I go where such audience can be found, which is on LinkedIn.

 

You were at the Linkedin offline hangout held recently in Lagos. Tell us about the event.

LinkedIn offline hangout is an avenue to meet your connections in real life, to have fun, and to network. At that event, we learnt stuff like loving yourself and looking past your flaws. We talked about the importance of building a personal brand and why it should be taken seriously. We also talked about managing our finance. Finally, we talked about our health and fitness.

 

You recently trended on the social media for a LinkedIn post you wrote that attracted the attention of business tycoon and entrepreneur, Tony Elumelu, which made him to contact you for a private meeting. Tell us about the post.

The post was about a picture I posted on my LinkedIn page and people were asking me “where are your red socks and your bag?” I posted the picture again the next day and explained the difference between the two pictures, saying that Tony Elumelu’s red sock could be part of his brand identity. You can see red colour on most of the stuff or businesses he handles, like UBA, The Tony Elumelu Foundation, Heirs Holdings. They all have red incorporated into them. I have always loved red. So, it’s part of my brand colour. For the bag, I simply said, “He has successfully secured the bag, while I’m still in the process of securing mine; and with time, I would secure mine.”

The post was one of my numerous posts about him, and I enjoyed doing it. Even after meeting him, I still do posts about him. He truly inspires me.

 

Where did you meet Elumelu and what was the feeling like meeting him in person?

I met him in Lagos for the mentorship session he personally invited me for. It was a dream come true, and a dream that came sooner than I expected. Also, it was the first time I used, did and tasted a lot of new stuff. Thanks to him.

He footed the bills for me coming over to Lagos. He took care of the flight, which was my first ever; and the hotel where I lodged, also my first ever.

Importantly, his mentorship would make me successful. This is because he has been there for a good number of years now.

 

What did the two of you talk about?

As I was introducing myself, alongside other mentees, about 12 of us, he said, “Wait, are you the one that did that stuff (referring to the post I made about him and I.)” He told me to pull down my face mask so that they can see my face. We laughed, and he said, “You are welcome.”

After the session, it was time to take pictures. With a pat on my back, he said, “I read what you wrote and it’s nice. Keep doing what you do. You are on the right path.”

I was so excited hearing it from him. It was almost like a mirage to me, but it happened.

 

Is there a possibility of a regular meeting with Elumelu?

Definitely, we will. That’s the answer I can give now.

At the last selection announcement of the 5000 entrepreneurs to receive a seed capital of $5000, I was invited by his foundation, that is, The Tony Elumelu Foundation, as a guest to grace the event. That presented another opportunity for me to meet him again. Unfortunately, I couldn’t make it because of an engagement I had at the time.

 

What kind of mentorship do you want from him and why?

For now, he is more of a role model to me, someone that inspires me to put in the work and do more. For mentorship, It’s undoubtedly, in the business world, because he is a master at it. I mean, looking at how he started from Standard Trust Bank, and led the biggest merger in the banking sector, and where he is now, that’s mind-blowing. He is a grandmaster.

 

In the next 38 years, when you will be Elumelu’s age, do you think you would be richer and more influential than he is now? 

I don’t know, only God knows. But I absolutely know I would be successful and have more influence. However, looking at it critically, I think if I continue with this pace, and also considering the fact I started at a younger age to build my personal brand, I can be more successful by God’s grace.

 

Apart from Elumelu, which other prominent personalities have you meet in person through your connections with them via the social media?

I have not met any other role model, but I believe I’ll be meeting them as time goes on. It’s a process. It’s a journey. All I’ve to do is to keep building my capacity and my tenacity, and getting better day after day. I am my competition. If I keep becoming better than my previous self, then I’ll become more valuable, which will open the channel for me to meet more people like Tony Elumelu.

 

As a student, how do you combine your social media work and your studies? And how do you relax when the stress from your work and studies gets at you?

It is all about time management. Sometimes, it can be quite challenging. But when you find a balance, it becomes easier and less stressful over time as you become consistent with what you do.

As for the stress, I simply take a nap, or surf the web, or see a movie.

 

What advice do you have for young people who are aspiring to be like you?

I want youths to know that it’s not only in the entertainment or fashion industry they can achieve a lot and gain attention, but also in the corporate world.

I am the most followed undergraduate on LinkedIn. You don’t have to figure it all before you launch out. The truth is nobody does. As you keep doing what you do, things will begin to fall in place. At some point, you would understand if you need to add something new to the game, that is, to what you are doing. You would realise if you need to change your approach,

Mark Zuckerberg said ideas don’t come out fully formed, but they become clearer as you work on them.  I’m pretty sure when he started Facebook, he never had the Metaverse project in mind, even though he did, it can never be compared to what he has achieved with that project now.