Founder of Harvest of Talents Foundation, and director of operation, Children’s Community Service, New York, United States of America, Rafiu Afolabi Laguda, speaks with SEGUN KASALI on his aviation career.
How was growing up like for you?
It was not easy at all, despite the fact that I regarded myself as brilliant but disadvantaged. I was not born with a silver spoon. I had to live with a guardian. I can tell you that since I was 14 years old, I had been on my own. It is an experience that any time I relay it, I feel like if I had had more opportunity, I would have grown more than this. I remember the time when we were about to write WAEC and it was N120, but I could not pay for it. This particular day, I was sitting down somewhere and one of my childhood friends of blessed memory, Wale Gbadebo came to meet me and asked what was wrong? I said to him that “tomorrow is the deadline to pay WAEC but I didnt know how I am going to pay because my guardian said she does not have money”. And it was very difficult for me to send a message down to my mum because she was in the North. So, he went away without telling me anything, few minutes later Wale came to me and said ‘Rafiu come’. He took me to his mum.
Really?
Yes. He had already discussed my situation with the mum. So, his mum gave me N120 and told me that as soon as my mum gets across to me I can always pay her back, and I later did when I got the money. I can never forget that in my life because that singular act was responsible for my foundation, academically. So, I eventually paid for my WAEC. While I saw people preparing for the examination by going for extra lessons, I could not. Fortunately for me, I passed what was required. Even mathematics that I had deficiency in, I managed to have my C6. So, I feel like if it was not for her, I would have missed WAEC that year. I thank almighty Allah for giving me parents who believed in me even though it was not smooth. Let me just stop at that.
What about the Laguda family?
When you look at the traditional structure of Lagos state we have the royal family, Eyo family and the religious family. My family is known to be an Islamic family. The first Islamic school in Lagos Island is before my compound on 37, Oluwole Street, called Ile Kewu Alhaji Ganiyu. And so many people were trained from there in Lagos Island. My dad was someone who cared for others so much, people often look at him as a soldier but he is quite soft on the inside. He was very emotional. Sometimes I ask myself how he survived in the military. You know people always have this expectation that if you are in the military, you are hard hearted. But, my dad cracked easily and he could be so emotional. When I did SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Strength) analysis of myself, I knew that is part of me. I can be very emotional with issues sometimes. But my dad had the spirit to survive in life. So, those are the things I learnt from him.
What about your mother?
Oh my God! My aunt used to tell me that you are just like my sister. My mum was a very industrious woman. She was very resilient. I think I took that from her too. There is no situation that I ever gave up. I think I sort of, took this from both of them. But, when I look at myself, I think I took a lot from her. She was an industrious market woman. She was very focused and intelligent even though not educated. She would quote the date and the exact time you visited her. I also recall that my dad was transferred to Gusau when he was coming back from the civil war. I was just five months old when they took me down to Gusau, now Zamfara State, then under Sokoto State. That was how I ended up moving around the North, and growing up in the North was memorable, interesting and exciting. When we moved to Kaduna State, it was very cosmopolitan. There, I went to UNA Primary school at Gwari road in Kaduna before eventually coming down to Lagos. Growing up in the North taught me how to understand people.
How?
What I mean is that before you pass judgement on someone you need to understand their cultural background. If you don’t understand someone’s cultural background, you cannot understand their values. This was why I was praying to be taken to the East when I finished my Bachelor’s degree because having grown up in the North as a Yoruba man, I felt it was high time for me to also taste what it was like in the East. And I know many Yorubas don’t want to go to the East because we have these perceptions about ourselves Yoruba have a name for the Igbo Igbo also have a name for us while the Hausa have a name for us: dan berebe. So, great thanks to my parents for making us have a feel of Nigeria and infuse the sense of unity in us. When I told both of them about my interest in studying German language at the university, they never got worried.
Why German language sir?
Naturally, I love languages and culture. Presently, I speak German, Hausa, Yoruba and English. So, I picked a little bit of all these languages. Apart from this, what actually influenced my choice of German was because Germans are all over the place due to invention of cars and all that. So, that was why I felt that I should study the language. As I was saying, my parents were not bothered about the course but prayed and it turned out to liberate me, eventually.
Do you mean financially?
Yes. It gave me the opportunity to work with Lufthansa which is a German airline. That is the best place I have ever worked in my life. I became whatever I wanted in my life in Lufthansa. I worked with people who gave me the opportunity and the chance to grow. I remember I had a general manager for West Africa, Mr Herbert Rashly, who was a wonderful boss and gave me that opportunity to be myself. He usually told me that ‘if you go to a place and they said they want to talk to the manager, tell them you are the manager, and if they call me, I would be there.’
Did that ever happen?
Yes. We went for a negotiation at Flour Mills Nigeria Plc. Before we went for that negotiation, they said the managing director would not sign the agreement except my managing director was there. So, I went with the manager and the immediate manager who is now late. While there, they both had the usual managing directors’ rapport. Thereafter, they started negotiating the contract and the incentives. Lo and behold, my MD said to him, ‘I don’t discuss about incentives and all that. But, you see that young man here, that is his responsibility’. He told him that the young man there is perfect, with high level of expertise in this regard. And so, he was the one that would negotiate. As a result of what my MD told the other company’s MD, his countenance and the way he looked at me changed. Eventually, I became the one that negotiated the contract and everything worked smoothly.
How did you feel with the success?
I felt so happy because we have so many bosses who talk down on their staff and it is just about them. But, my MD made me understand that when you have a good staff, you must stand your ground and make sure that the staff does his or her best and you protect the interest of that staff. I remember I was the Union President, Lufthansa, for four years. I cannot forget these experiences in my life because it was the foundation that gave birth to my perceptions about leadership, working with people, and values in administration.
But you relocated to the United States thereafter?
Yes. I was one of the persons who won the American Visa Lottery in 2005 and I left in 2006. I came back and left permanently in 2011.
Can you recount the challenges you encountered?
Is that even possible in a place you are not familiar with? I faced some challenges and I pulled through with God. America is a system where if you bring your degree from Nigeria and Africa generally, the authenticity is doubtful. But, I was not frustrated with that. I was working with Emirates Airline, and what I did, was to use every situation for my inspiration. So, I went back to school for Masters Degree in Public Affairs and Administration at the Metropolitan College of New York. With that, I graduated with 3.7 and was inducted into the Honours Society. I also went for an advance program in managing workplace in diversity.
Did your life experiences inform your foundation?
Definitely, this is because there are kids like me who are in my shoes and can never find their path again in life. Looking back, many of us who started primary school together dropped out, for many reasons as this. We saw our mates who already started learning how to become a mechanic and could not continue schooling because they could not cope with the fees. So, I felt that I should have an organisation that can identify this kind of people and provide a kind of support. And I remember those days we had some rich people in the family that would say okay they would always provide support like that. But, the truth is we rarely see people like that anymore. So, I felt that at this point of my life, it was time for me to start looking into the opportunity of mending the youths so that we could identify some that were in my shoes then. You would find out that some of them are not employable even though graduates, because they have no opportunity to have extra skills like leadership and so many others. I want a situation whereby we can create a youthful environment where we discover what they have passion for and turn that passion into something meaningful in their lives without having to rely on people and become so vulnerable. Recently, we commemorated our international youth day on August 12. We had people from all over the world-Harvard, US, Nigeria and every other place who were facilitators and we divided them into categories. We created a kind of survey so that we use that survey to understand the kind of programs you can put in place. From what we gathered from the survey, we found out that most of them want to learn more about leadership, and other skills apart from their educational degree so that it can provide another means of sustenance for them. That is the target. So, what we are planning to start another one which is the Fintech workshop.
How do you want to be remembered?
Growing up, I learnt that we can have it all, to do whatever we want to, on the surface of the earth. But, when we die, what would we be remembered for? How do you impact people’s lives? I want people to remember me for giving them a sense of direction and creating opportunities for them. I don’t think we would be able to live a fulfilled life if I don’t do this for people. Fulfilled life for me, means you have money and you are able to give back to the people in your community.
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