Wofai Samuel receives selfless service Award, bids Farewell as Communications Chair for YALI RLC Nigeria.
Thank you President Barack Obama for creating this platform!
Thank you United States Department of States for the continuity!!
Thank you U.S Mission in Nigeria, for investing enormously in Young Leaders who are affiliated with this platform!!!
Thank you, Ghana and Nigeria.
My fellow colleagues at the Young African Leaders Initiative, YALI RLC, I am emotional, saying ‘’thank you’’!
I had met with a few of you physically, virtually, exchanged verbal conversations and instant text messages at one point or another.
Your interactions with me in the last one year, kept me inspired, especially reviewing the impacts you were individually making in your immediate and extended environments. ‘The journey of Social Service and social entrepreneurship for humanity is truly one of the most fulfilling on earth’, this I came to conclude upon, after interacting with Alumni Members from 10+ social exchange programs across Nigeria, courtesy of YALI RLC.
I have learned from you Alumni members, as it was my first elective position ever, and first opportunity, communicating with over 2,000 Young minds at almost the same time, on a minute by minute, hourly and daily basis. Wowwwwwwwwwwww!
You taught me what real perseverance, excellence, diplomacy and tolerance is when relating with young people, I came in, unarguably as a seasoned professional communicator, but left as a refined Social Communications Expert with a total of 69 accolades across Nigeria and West Africa’s Sub-region, and a valued judge for The Queen of England’s Essay Competition. An additional feather made possible with this Association.
This is where I have learnt that; ‘‘Nigerians are some of the most skilled and intelligent people on the globe, and that, we are in sole control of how we manage the opportunities bestowed on us, how others react to us and how we manage the reactions we get from people’’.
We have had the most engaging electioneering process ever, the most interactive peer to peer engagement in the history of Our groups, The most intense instant interaction in the history of the Association, in 2021, stemming from conversations championed by my Department and each one of you.
I promised increased visibility and rating for the Chapter, and today, I exit my position feeling fulfilled and overly accomplished, Knowing we were invited by The US Mission to dialogue with other exchange programs, made front headlines of Leading Newspapers across the Country, got featured on several occasions by the Umbrella USGEAA body by way of Events and News, Got featured on YALI Africa TV with over 500 viewers across Sub-saharan Africa, Resolved 19 complex issues in the Chapter, Stimulated conversations between the RLC headquarter and our Association which outlives our Administration, We got featured on official pages of The US Mission in Nigeria, just to name a few.
There is still a lot more to be done in our personal capacities, and I will keep making this platform a priority.
I was ushered in as Wofai Samuel, however, I leave today, as The publicity Secretary to The United States Government Exchange Alumni Association, USGEAA, and a Presidential ‘Selfless Service Award’, Alumni members put on this pedestal. Thank you Team!
Thank you Alumni Members for consistently increasing my rating while I served you! How can Ipossibly express my sense of gratitude? Please teach me how!
We had the most engaging departure in the history of the RLC with more members showing enthusiasm and demonstrating readiness to be integrated in the affairs of the Association, Your unending questions and constant search for answers from me as your spokesperson, pushed my creativity further to achieve this milestone, Indeed a radical shift!
After one year as your Communications Chair and reviewing our strengths and inadequacies together, one thing have stayed constant, our YALI RLC Spirit, ‘The spirit of true Nigerians’, A people who are resilient, hungry for success, progressive and intelligent.
I refer to us as, ‘Leaders grooming ourselves to upturn the negative narratives of our continent and country is plagued with’.
My fellow Alumni Members, it has been an honor to serve you in this social sector. I am grateful to you for the support rendered to me and look forward to even more collaborative relationships with each one of you, my sweethearts ‘wink’!
I will chose to work with the 2021 team all over and again if I had to replay with another team. Our Team to put it mildly, was parte’ after parte’!!!
It is almost impossible serving these bunch of intellectuals, without stepping on toes. You gave me the highest number of votes in the overall election, with a daring margin in 2020, you have treated me with nothing short of respect as your spokesperson, how can we not be friends? To anyone I have wronged in the last one year, ‘to forgive is divine’, we were taught so by the Leadership Center in Accra. I apologize! Please, let us be friends, because we will thrive better in YALI RLC as friends.
My friends on Instant Messaging Groups 1 to 3, Telegram, extended groups, You all made me laugh, even when there was a reason to frown, it came across as humor (Recall, how Nigeria’s Honorable Minister of Communication’s name, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, trended across the groups, likened to me (laughter emoji)), This team, you rock!
Love and Best wishes to the Incoming Administration. Carry on with the YALI Dream, Soldiers of Africa!
Thank you and God bless us all.
Long Live the Federal Republic of Nigeria!
God bless the United States of America!!
Yours Faithfully,
Wofai Samuel — Communications Chair,
YALI RLC Alumni Nigeria 2021.
All rights reserved — Copyright, January 2nd 2022.
