The people you associate with will shape your career

The People You Associate With Will Shape Your Career.

Sometime in 2007, I had just returned from the UK after completing my first certification training in hashtag#ProjectManagement. At the time, I was a young project engineer at the national telecommunications company in Nigeria.

I had fallen in love with my new profession, but I quickly realized a gap—everyone I spoke to about project management had no clue what it was. That’s when the idea to organize the first National Project Management Conference came to me, with the mission to ‘institutionalize project management best practices’ in Nigeria and across Africa.

I had no idea how I was going to achieve it, so I shared the vision with my brother Ibraheem BABAYEJU and other like-minded individuals like Harry ‘Tomi Davies Kolapo Solesi Adebiyi Oke David Adeoye Abodunrin and together we began laying the foundation for this groundbreaking event.

However, my motivation reached new heights when I joined the local chapter of hashtag#PMI in Lagos, Nigeria. Despite the logistical challenges of commuting from Abuja to Lagos for the monthly chapter meetings, I was committed to the practice and the community. During one of these trips, I pitched my conference idea to the then Chapter President, Deji Ishmael who wholeheartedly supported it.

The turning point was in 2008, when we again pitched the idea to the then Speaker of the House of Reps, Rt. Hon. Dimeji Bankole who not only welcomed it and but officially endorsed the conference. We later got the endorsement of the Presidency and other key stakeholders.

But throughout the process, we had no funding, nor did we know where the money would come from. What kept us going was the dream and the impact we were determined to create.

In 2009, Nigeria witnessed the maiden National Project Management Conference tagged ProMaCon 2019. The event garnered significant attention and endorsement from the private sector and government, with the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua inaugurating it and Speaker Bankole was the Chairman.

The event was the biggest of its kind in sub-Saharan Africa, participants and speakers flew in from all over the world, one of the speakers was Ike Nwankwo a passionate PM advocate.

For several years, Ike, Deji, Solesi, Dr. Lambert Ofoegbu, PMP, RMP, PMI-CP, PMI-SCP, OPM3, MCIPS, RTP, FCPM. Oluyemi Shonubi, Oluwatoyin Jokosenumi Phil Okoroafor, late Chidi Izuwah, iCentra and others actively supported the initiative and for over a decade, advanced the project management practices in Africa.

Over the course of my career and service to the profession and our community, I have had the privilege of standing on the shoulders of giants and I am grateful for the opportunity.

Who is by your side?

Pic left: 2010 – PMI Nigeria Chapter “Most Outstanding Contribution to Project Management” Award (with giant Deji by my side)

Pic right: 2024- Project Management Institute Eric Jenett “Person of the Year” Award (with giant Ike by my side)