Inspiring stories of Nigerians who pursued their passion and became successful

Sometimes we find ourselves at the crossroads of our career. 
It used to seem as if you knew where you were going but suddenly, you are left to ask the life-changing questions: Is this really what I want? Should I go left or right? Should I stick with this or try something different? Should I follow my passion or stick with what I have at hand?

This happens to majority of us – even the successful business owners, celebrities and professionals we have come to admire. Yet they were able to figure out their answer. The results of their decisions were successful career, often beyond their wildest dreams. Their success stories inspire us to make the right decision and go for the life we desire.

In no particular order, below is a list of 5 successful Nigerians in diverse niches who got to a point in their lives when they had to let go what they have and go for what they really wanted in order to positively influence their environment.

1. Ibukun Awosika – Entrepreneur and Founder, The Chair Centre Limited
Mrs. Ibukun Awosika wanted to become a medical doctor when she was in secondary school, later on, Architect but eventually ended up  graduating with her first degree in Chemistry from the prestigious Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife.

After her national youth service, she took a sales job at a furniture company. Three and a half months later, she resigned her position to set up her own furniture manufacturing company, Quebees Ltd, from which The Chair Centre Limited later evolved. She started in January 1989 with 2 carpenters, 2 sprayers and 2 upholsterers from the back of her father’s house. Today she has grown her business to a net worth of more than three billion naira ($18.6 million).


2. Chimamanda Adichie – Writer, Author

Born in the town of Enugu, Chimamanda Adichie studied Medicine and Pharmacy at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka at the request of her father. She had always dreamt of becoming a writer, a desire that she credits to Chinua Achebe, Igbo author of Nigerian masterwork "Things Fall Apart."

She quit studying Medicine after a year and a half and left Nigeria at age 19 for the US to study Communications and Political Science at Drexel University in Philadelphia.

Today, she is a widely celebrated writer with her three bestsellers; Purple Hibiscus, Half of a Yellow Sun and her latest novel Americanah (selected as one of the New York Times’ 10 Best Books of 2013). The Half of a Yellow Sun movie based on the novel which was later premiered in the Special Presentation section at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival.

3. Jason Njoku – Entrepreneur and co-founder Iroko Partners

Born in Britain, after graduating with a 2.1 in Chemistry from University of Manchester in 2005, Jason Njoku threw himself into launching a magazine for students called Brash – fueled by loans from bank and friends, and youthful enthusiasm, a business he admits to be his most epic failure.
In an interview with Forbes Africa he said, “I spend a good three years making every mistake there was to make about how to run a business.”

He took a break in formal employment as a recruitment consultant. But his entrepreneurial drive got him back on another round. He co-founded ‘Roll On Friday’ – a blog network and news site for young professionals in banking, law and consultancy – another failed venture that lasted for two years. He turned to other business to pay the bills; a T-shirt company, a web design venture.

But defeat led to a revelation, a huge opportunity in the Nigerian Movie industry, Nollywood. The idea of Iroko Partners was born. Today, he is the co-founder of IrokoTV, a web platform that provides Nigerian films on-demand, and one of Africa’s first mainstream online movie steaming websites, giving free and instant access to over 5,000 Nollywood film titles.


4. Okey Bakassi – Actor, Comedian
After his secondary education, Okechukwu Anthony Onyegbule (aka Okey Bakassi) got admitted into the Rivers State University of Science and Technology (RSUST), Port Harcourt, where he studied Agricultural Engineering and graduated in 1992.

This Engineer decided to build his career around his passion for entertainment. He became a professional movie actor in 1994 after his national youth service. In October 2008, he was appointed Senior Special Assistant to the Governor of Imo State on Entertainment Industry Matters and served till August 2011.




 5. Kate Henshaw – Actress
Kate Henshaw spent one year at the University of Calabar studying remedial studies, and then majored in Medical Microbiology at the School of Medical Laboratory Science, LUTH (Lagos University Teaching Hospital), Idi-Araba.

In 1993, Henshaw left her career in Medicine to pursue her dream to become an actress. She auditioned for the lead role in the movie When the Sun Sets and was handed the role. She has starred in over 40 Nollywood movies.

In 2008, she won the African Movie Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for the film Stronger than Pain. She is presently one of the judges on Nigeria’s Got Talent TV reality show.