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Oke Umurhohwo had a chat with Guardian Life staff on communications, media, governance and his growth in the marketing world. Read the interview below:
Tell us about yourself
I am Oke Umurhohwo, Marketing manager for itel Mobile in charge of West Africa, an astute strategist, a prolific writer, and an aspiring politician. My passion is in communications, media, governance, and ICT. I am a dedicated member of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), a climate change and safer environmental advocate, and the Co-convener of Youth in Government, Nigeria. I was also a part of the Lagos team that championed the #NotTooYoungToRun bill that has been signed by the president.
I obtained my bachelor’s and Masters’s degree from the University of Lagos and currently running my MBA in the same school. I enjoy swimming and watching my favourite football club Chelsea.
You are a marketing guru. As one who has a lot of success stories, how would you describe the Nigerian market and their reception of products?
Thank you so much for the acknowledgement of what I’ve achieved so far. I’m humbled and motivated to continue to strive for excellence.
Nigeria is a very big market and one full of prospects for a series of products.
However, I’ve to point out a serious issue that seems to be working against certain product reception. It is the purchasing power of most Nigerians, which is not strong compared to their peers globally. It is left to whoever wants to introduce a product in the Nigerian market to consider that aspect to gain reception.
This is what we have been doing at itel mobile over the years and the reception has been encouraging. At itel, we offer trendy and reliable products to Nigerians at a price that suits their pockets. More important is how you communicate your product to the people, and at itel, I’m proud of the wonderful team that I work with to bring our products to the market.
Would you say that Nigeria is technologically advanced? If yes/no, tell us why?
Not yet but the last few years have seen steady progress. I’m hopeful that if we continue in the trajectory that we have been following in the last five years or so, we will be in a good position, where technology will be one of our exports. But for sure, Nigeria still has a lot of room for expansion and growth technologically. While the reception for diverse technological products has been good, there is a limit to the kinds of products Nigerians can enjoy.
This could be for several reasons; constraints in the average Nigerian’s financial capabilities, governmental sanctions, and a lack of trust in tech by many Nigerians. However, the generation Z youth and below are more open to technology and have been applying it in finance, education, health, communication, and beyond. This is why e-commerce, for instance, has become a booming business in the country.
How do you think that Nigeria would fare if there were institutions to empower schools with labs and tools to meet up with the Artificial intelligence and I.O.T standards of the world? Do you think we would be able to catch up with the rest of the world?
The future is in technology. However, there are many individuals, small scale, and medium scale businesses that are yet to understand this. The common misconception is that technology is here to take away jobs when it is here to make jobs and lives easier. A few months ago, I read that robots will be able to operate on a human through the guidance of a surgeon, who will be several kilometres away.
If there were institutions to empower schools setup the right tools to meet the demands of AI and the internet of things, just like the rest of the world, then Nigeria would be in a much better place economically. Even without all the necessary tools at the moment, some enterprising young Nigerians have shown the world that great things can come out of our nation.
Recently, Paystack (a Nigerian start-up) was acquired by Stripe (a US-based financial services company) for 200 million US dollars. Other Nigerian start-ups are doing great things too. We have Piggyvest, Cowrywise, uLesson, Rise, Gradely, Bamboo, and lots more that are operating in the tech space and providing opportunities to Nigerians to learn, invest, and own their tech businesses. I believe Nigeria can catch up with the rest of the world if the right investments are made.
You are a Co-convener of Youth in Government, Nigeria, and were the Lagos State New Media coordinator for the 2019 PDP Presidential Campaign. Do you think a Nigerian youth can become president?
Definitely, yes. The last two weeks have shown exactly that, going by how young Nigerians have conducted themselves in demanding for things to be done rightly. True, the protests started as a rejection of police brutality and asking the authority to conduct a reform of the country’s police, but it graduated to other important issues that are bedevilling the country. That shows we (youth) have woken up and are no longer prepared to accept the failures of the past that put the country in this terrible situation.
