Dr. Dave:
So hello and welcome to the KnolShare with Dr. Dave podcast. This is Dr. Dave Cornelius, your host. We’re going to have a conversation about social justice. And when we talk about social justice, we’re talking about given opportunities for everyone, both from an economic, political, social rights, and opportunities where we’re trying to open the doors of access and opportunity for everyone. When we think about some of the formal definitions, we would think of things that it contains like equal rights, equal opportunity, equal treatment. So when we talk about social justice, it just means that we want to have equal rights and equitable opportunities for all. So today, my conversation is with Mercy George-Igbafe. She is a digital strategist, an Agile and data enthusiast, and she’s the founder of Learntor. So Mercy, why don’t you give us a elevator pitch about who you are and who is your superhero? You could even tell it from the voice of a superhero. You could take on their voice and persona.
Mercy:
Let me try, but I don’t know how to impersonate people, but I’ll try. First, until I see equal opportunity for everyone across all spectrum, whether you are Black, Hispanic, your sexual orientation, no matter what it is, especially the third world country, or ’til I see that happen, is the day that I feel as a human being. And that’s how I started Learntor.
Mercy:
Learntor is built on the premise of a quote that I love so much. “True greatness is not in being great, but in the ability to make others great.” That’s what drives me. That’s my motivation. Learntor focuses on training Agile digital skills in strong training, data analytics, business analysis. And the goal is because there aren’t many opportunities. We have a lot of eye shift employees, rather, a lot of home shift that can actually swing around departments because of the skills that they have. And that’s the gap Learntor is trying to bridge and to equally bring out the excellence in a lot of the black people that do not have opportunity to learn some of the skill, or started a bit late, but talking about social justice, it speaks to the core of who I am, not from a victim mentality, but from recognizing the opportunity that I can lean on as a business and maximize to make a difference in the world.
Dr. Dave:
Awesome. That’s wonderful. So I wanted to just tap into about your social justice challenges that you may have faced in your community or even in your family.
Mercy:
Okay. First, I will start with family. I’ve gone through quite a bit of a deal. I say, life has thrown me real bitter lemons, bitter that really spikes in your… When you take it, you scream or your jaw goes clenching, but what I’ve always done consistently is how I’m going to move on. Is what next? What lesson am I going to learn from the experience? My social injustice task for my family, my father not accepting who I was in terms of, I didn’t go seeking mistake. I had a child at 14. Unfortunately, I didn’t go looking for it. It was as a result of sexual abuse. My daughter tells me I don’t talk about it a lot, but even with that, I ended up in a police station where my dad had to take me with pregnancy and lock me up. But that’s a long story, but then I’m going to tell my story.
Mercy:
It will really, it will make a lot of people weep, because all my life experiences is what drives, who I am today. So my social injustice starts from my family, especially my dad. My mom died very young. Unfortunately, when the stupid thing, the rape situation happened to me, my mother passed on. So she wasn’t even available to like, there was no support, no help. And my story is quite bitter, but I’ve never allowed that bitterness impacts me in ways that I cannot move on. I always say, okay, let’s dust it. Let’s move on. So I had to become a mother as a teenager, I had to nurse my daughter. Today she’s 32, a beautiful soul that is doing great things. So, but let me talk in the Agile space. I’ve experienced social justice that because of who I am and the resilience that I have as a person and the tenacity that I’ve chosen to lead my life by, not to lead for people, but to lead my truth and to stay to my truth, stay focused on my truth.
Mercy:
Not what people deflect on me. Cause many people deflect their frustration on you. Thinking that the way they perceive you is who you are. What is coming from a place of pain, a place of hurt for them. Just recently, I had to volunteer for an organization. I did a lot of work in terms of social media work, because everything I do, I go over and beyond to deliver on that work. All of a sudden somebody started asking maybe some type of information around and a whole gang of people just like alienated me. And I kept saying to myself, guess what I did, right? He should have given me like some element of pass, like, okay, or this girl is hardworking. Let’s talk to her before we make a decision. And I heard, I can’t trust you. I cried there. I was so hurt.
Mercy:
I couldn’t believe it. But I was focused because I didn’t want what they were saying impact me as a person because that’s not who I am. I’m very honest. So I think it was a case in point. I’m a black, Nigerian woman. You understand? We are very expressive. We say it as it is. Okay. But some people are quiet. I’m not a quiet person. I’m a boisterous person. Okay. And I’m very expressive. I say what it is and my truth is my truth. That’s the only thing I have. I don’t have money. I don’t have father that is influential to place me in a position. But what I have that I don’t let deter me is my integrity. It’s my name. So when I heard, we don’t trust you, it really broke me to shutters. It could have totally eroded the plan of what I’m trying to do in Africa, but I didn’t let it affect me.
Mercy:
I still went ahead unbitter, unfazed. I just kept striving alone. I said, I will continue to prove myself right. Not to prove anybody right cause I don’t owe nothing to anyone, but I owe it to God. I owe it to myself. So I face social injustice at every facet of my life. And it’s been a very bitter pill to swallow. It could have crushed me as a person. It could have sent me to a catatonic depression, but that has not been the case. I have walked through that situation and made sure that nobody goes through what I go through. Everything I’m trying to do with Learntor is to make sure you don’t have to walk the long road. You don’t have to make your journey bitter. You don’t have to go through the stress that I’ve gone through. I’ve gone through it. It’s okay.
Mercy:
Let me make it easier for you to pass through with what we do. And that’s why it’s about capacity development. And that’s why Learntor is focused on solving a problem that it is in Nigeria today. According to Nigerian bureau, even the war bank says unemployment in Nigeria is at 46%. And the EFCC voice, that’s the Economic Financial Crime Unit in Nigeria, says by 2030, many of our Nigerian youth, it says 60% precisely who become criminals due to internet fraud. So you can see the scam. If nobody’s doing something about it. Now we are in a big, big problem. I know I’ve spoken too long. Sorry.
Dr. Dave:
But no, but that’s okay. But as a woman of color, how was these social justice challenges affected your career and even generational wealth?
Mercy:
Okay. Number one, I said that isn’t a lot of generational wealth in Africa. So social injustice affecting the black brains. If you dial it back to several years, although somebody said, we shouldn’t say 400 years for slavery, several years of slavery, how we were invaded, literally, our culture tradition obliterated and people lost in the sea. And in the process, deprived the black race education that could have change the trajectory of our destiny and of our lives. Indeed, the opportunities in the world. So within the black community, first, I want to say thank you to the fact that I am on the board of women in Agile for the diversity, equity and inclusion. Because as an organization they’ve seen, that is something that is clear to the heart of the board. And we want to make sure we drive a lot of diversity, equity and inclusion. So yes, we have been in bondage of slavery, but we are no longer in slavery.
Mercy:
What are we doing today? So I’ve shared how social injustice is impacted me as recent as last year. But I have not let it faze me because this is where there’s a disconnect with a black man. OK? Yes. You’re not a victim. It has happened. What do you do? Live alone. How do you move along? What are the opportunities that you need to linger? Recently? I watched an interview of a black man, I think in Mississippi, that went into the council meeting and it was so boisterous. It took over, he made a comment that really got me thinking and it really, really like, “Wow, is this true?” He said in his world, he said 85% of the population in that county
Mercy:
We’re Black, meaning only 15% were White that were in control of 85%. Is that not crazy? Look at the narrative. It means that there’s something wrong. And it’s because of illiteracy. Many people are not literate because of lack of knowledge. I like to quote the Bible, I’m a Christian, I’m sorry if I do this. It said my people perish for lack of knowledge. So, if there are opportunities in the world, you have to find it out. I didn’t just happen to be on the Women in Agile board because somebody just say, “Oh, I know someone within the board.” I’m grateful to Cami [Raji 00:11:46] that said, “Mercy, go and apply.” I needed to prove myself that I’m worthy to be qualified. All she did was, “There’s an opportunity here, apply for that opportunity.” Many Black people see opportunity, they don’t apply for them.
Mercy:
Number one, imposter syndrome. Number two, they are not educated. Number three, they’re not equipped to take on such roles. So, if people point you in the direction and they say there are opportunities there, as a Black person, it doesn’t matter what your gender, your race, your ethnicity is, there are opportunities. All you need to do is learn where they are. It is because I learned and applied myself I am on your show. You are someone that I truly admire. You have done brilliant interview. I saw your interview with Dipti. My soul was like, “Woah.”
Dr. Dave:
Dipti.
Mercy:
I saw your interview with, yes. Dipti James. I saw your interview with Lizzie Morris and I like, “Whoa.” Dr. Dave, it’s phenomenal the way he does his interview. What would people think that a girl in Nigeria that nobody knows, nobody has given the time of day, nobody believed in, because this is so key.
Mercy:
Many rejected her, many felt she was unworthy. They can’t trust her. But today, I’m on your show. Why? Because my work is speaking for me. I’m not relying on somebody to do that for me. So, we need to get off this victim mentality, “Oh, we were slaves.” And so what? What are you doing next? How can you start a conversation that is not going to rub somebody off? You don’t have to always talk in an antagonistic manner to approach an issue. Yes, there’s social justice. There’s a picture that I want everybody to research. It says equality and equity. I don’t know if you’ve seen the picture, where they layer people, standing on the same part, and you see that one person is at the bottom. It shows that it’s not equal. It shows that there’s a problem. There is not equity in the distribution of wealth, resources, opportunity. You’ve got to fight it. You’ve got to fight, and find where it is so that you can get the opportunity that you deserve.
Dr. Dave:
Awesome. So, as the leader of LEARNTOR, talk to me about how has that experience of being that leader of this organization really changed your mindset to approach social justice challenges differently in your community.
Mercy:
Brilliant question. So, like I said, there’s a quote of mine that I really relish. “True greatness is not in being great, it’s in the ability to make others great.” I came into the agile world as early as 2017. I’ve not been an agilist forever and ever. Okay? But I know I’ve been an agilist all of my life, not necessarily knowing the nuances. So, with social injustice, or social justice, what I’ve seen is, many Africans are brilliant. But they lack the opportunity to express themselves. So, LEARNTOR just simply means learn and mentor. Okay, we’re going to create an opportunity where you can learn the skills. Not just learn the skills. We’re going to equip you with the ability to be able to excel and thrive. So, as early as today, some of our learners are the one managing our mentors. So today, they were able to self-organize, they were able to coordinate themselves.
Mercy:
These are people, 80% of our learners, every time come in, and they’ve never heard the word agile. But they’re now exposed to the mindset of agility, how that makes a difference. So, what have I done? I’ve taken the back burner. Somebody said this, and I totally agree, that the number one agilist in the world, is our Lord Jesus Christ. I’m sorry, I’m a fake person. Because he knew what servant leadership is all about. And he knows where to stoop down to let other people win. And that’s one thing that has driven me as a person. We started a LEARNTOR Toastmasters. Why? For people to learn soft skills and be able to learn leadership quality. I’m not the president, there’s somebody else leading them. For the meetup, there are other people leading it.
Mercy:
I have people working with me, they’re self-organizing. I’m not micromanaging, because there are opportunities. These are skills that they will take into organizations, to one, make a difference. LEARNTOR is trying to build capacity for the worst to come and take and use, then there will be equity. Not just saying that yes, there’s diversity, there’s inclusion. Whereas if the inclusion doesn’t get to the third world country, you are still going to be having a lot of scammers because you’re not giving them opportunity to play their part. While we can guarantee that our learners, they’ve gone through our system, they have been proven, they’ve been tested, they’ve gone internship with organization, that they are so proud that they have been retained.
Mercy:
So, this is what we’re trying to mitigate. The high unemployment rates, the poverty, which aligns with the United Nation MDG goals, we are focused on cutting down poverty, zero hunger, making sure there’s equality. Tackle inequality, even with regards to making sure there’s economic empowerment by producing sound, or refined agilists that have learned the skills as business analysts, they’ve learned the skills as data analysts, and they can function for their businesses, for their career, knowing that the opportunities in the world, like I am sitting on your stage here, they can equally do the same.
Mercy:
So that’s what LEARNTOR is trying to address.
Dr. Dave:
So, you kind of answered my next question, because I was going to ask you to talk about a few actions that you’re taking personally to improve opportunities for BIPOC individuals in the agile community that you live in, but you already just told me, which is amazing. Thank you. You could tell me more.
Mercy:
Yes. Let me speak as the board member called Women in Agile. What opportunities are we trying to do? I recently put out a survey for diversity, equity and inclusion, being the board member on the board. And just to know what people are thinking, what their interpretation of inclusion, what it means to them, diversity. And some of the things that we hear is they want to consider age. They have to consider ethnicity, race, sex, orientation, whatever it is, it has to be all inclusive. So, these are some of the things that we’re trying to tackle. What are the actionable items that we are, Women in Agile, trying to address. To create more opportunity, not just for people of the Black community. Not just the Hispanic community, not just the Asian community, not just the … It doesn’t matter what community you are.
Mercy:
So, how we want you to address that is, leverage of mentoring. Mentoring, there are many new agilists that are coming into the agile space that they don’t know where to go or how to go. So, one of the ways we want to address that is to pair them all with an experienced mentor. I know you were on the program recently where you mentored someone on launching new voices, and she was able to present a speech. So, those are the kinds of thing, we’re trying to include that in launching new voices to leverage on the mentoring strategy that we are developing for WIA. So, it doesn’t matter whether you’re new to agile, you’ve never heard the word agile. If you’re a member of Women in Agile, you will get a mentor. That project will be flagging off hopefully by next month, there will be questionnaires that will be going out. Even currently there’s a survey going out for just hearing what people think about diversity, equity and inclusion.
Mercy:
One other area of challenge is inexperience. So, how to mitigate that for Hispanic, Asian, it doesn’t matter whether you’re Black African, you’re Black American. You can come in into Women in Agile. It’s a free membership organization. Be part of the community, volunteer, develop a local group within your community and start to run it. You will get support, because of the mentoring strategy that we are developing. So, that is very keen. That is one actionable item. And that equally, we are going to apply to LEARNTOR. We’re trying to connect our learners with people like you, so that by the time they have experience on like Dr. Dave. We’re leveraging all the agile community, the Scrum Alliance, the Scrum.org, the Agile Alliance, so that we can reach out to them and get one-on-one mentoring for our learners so that they can get exposure, ask questions that we might not necessarily address in a classroom, which is different.
Dr. Dave:
Well, certainly. Certainly. That is really exciting. I’m glad to hear that you’re taking on that level of effort and work. And so, I want to talk about listening. As we deal with relationships in our community between BIPOC and non-BIPOC people, how would listening act as a catalyst to help both the BIPOC and non-BIPOC conversation to bring about change in how we care for each other? We talk about Jesus and his posture as the number one servant leader in the world. How could that mindset also help listening?
Mercy:
That is truly
Mercy:
The only consequence that can change anything. Top communication is a game changer. And you listening to me, my struggle, will change your perception. And you have to be willing to listen with an open mind. We all come in with biases as a BIPOC community, to a non BIPOC community. Being exposed to slavery and knowing what people went through, or the Jewish community being exposed to the atrocities that happened to them. So, talking to someone that is coming from that orient, from that group of people, we come already with a bias. So it makes you put up a wall. And as a result, because there is a wall, you’re not listening to each other. So, the only way for us to address diversity, equity and inclusion, is listening to each other, recognizing that your struggle is not the same as mine. You’ve being in America, me being in Africa, they’re different experience.
Mercy:
I watched a heart wrenching video on Tuesday. It made me really cry. Nigeria is one of the wealthiest country in the world, but we have nothing to show for it, except for corruption, injustice, all run inequality. Now, if I’m speaking to you, and you hear the word Nigeria, naturally, your head just goes, “Scammer”. Right? So, that’s some of the biases we come into conversation with the room. But not every Nigeria is a scammer. There’s a real propaganda in trying to discredit every Nigerian. That’s not the case. When I travel to Canada, US and the UK. The way I’m addressed is totally different. Biases, or the perception, she’s Nigerian. Just seeing the Nigerian passport makes you start to react. If we only listen to each other, know that we have different struggle. Right now, dollar is 560 Naira to $1. Just face that for a moment. So take for instance, you’re coming into Africa, you want to sell strong, want a scale comeback. You need to understand there is problem already. In terms of exchange rates, and the majority of the populous in Nigeria can’t afford it, I’ll speak similarly to the Indian community. I’ll speak similarly to the Hispanic community.
Mercy:
You need to understand, we need to hear each other out. Not every Afghanistan person is a terrorist. There are good people in Afghanistan, that have made differences in Afghanistan. So we have to listen to each other. The fact that I’m a Christian and I’m not listening to a Muslim, there’s something wrong there because that’s not the message that Jesus preached. He said, “Love somebody else.” You understand? That’s the greatest commandment. You have to love one another. And loving one another is listening to each other. How welcoming are you when you see me as a black person? Are you warmed? Are your antenna going up? I can’t trust her because she’s Nigerian. Not everybody’s a scammer. Not everybody is out to defraud you. So communication is the only thing that can drive inclusion. Yes, there’s diversity. I’m different. We are, is not just whites dominating.
Mercy:
I’m African, I’m on the board. Right? But do I feel included? These are some of the questions people want to ask. Am I included in the conversation? Do I feel a sense of belonging? When you hear me talk, do you listen to me what I say? Does what I say matter? So many organization are throwing the words diversity, equity and inclusion. Yes you are creating a lot of diverse people, but the people you’re bringing into your system, people of color, people are non BIPOC. Do they feel included in decision-making? Do you listen to them? As a leader, what kind of structures are you putting in place? Are you showing empathy, understanding the struggles that I go through?
Mercy:
I read a statistic recently that talked about an average black American man has personality disorder. It’s something that’s relate to the military that goes into the war front. Yeah. And comes back. I don’t know what they call it. That makes them-
Dr. Dave:
PTSD.
Mercy:
PT, thank you so much. PTSD.
Dr. Dave:
Yeah.
Mercy:
And why? Because the family structure is destroyed. Yeah. So, you’re not providing right education, quality education. They are disadvantaged. The communities are bad. I remember coming into Baltimore. I remember coming into Baltimore and I saw the way Baltimore was, I’m not hot broke. There’s some part that is rich, there is some that is wealthy. How do you make that equal? Until you walk in the shoes of people living in a crime oriented environment. When they see their brothers gunned down, where they see their sister shot dead, in front of them, and they start having PTSD. And you’re not addressing the issue. Then you’re not listening. So this a conversation we need to have. And when we are having those conversations, come with an open mind and empathy in your heart to understand that our struggles are different, our challenges are different, and how can we listen to each other and make a difference in the world.
Dr. Dave:
That’s excellent. So let’s talk about how do we, for you, as, as an individual, for Mercy. We’re talking about what kind of significant change you would like to see to support greater integration, right? Between BIPOC and non BIPOC people in the agile community. And I’m keeping it to the agile community, because the fact that I’m asking this question means that I am seeing that there’s that great integration between us. So, I wanted to know what would be your thoughts? What ideas do you have?
Mercy:
Okay. So, one of the greatest issue that I’ve seen with the black community, whether you’re black American or African-American, we don’t have a continuancy legacy. All right? We’re not as inclusive as we speak, or we want to be inclusive. Right? Take for instance, this is just me just rumbling. All right. I’m an Agilist. I’m at the Women in Adjunct on the board. And I see an opportunity that I know people in my community can benefit from. And I refuse to share it. Can you see there is a problem?
Dr. Dave:
Of course.
Mercy:
I’m a black person. I am doing great work. You know that lento is doing great work, is worthy to be appreciated. You are a black person. You will not comment. You will not share that same content that is impacting the world. So we have fundamental in mindset problem with the people of black community.
Mercy:
Now, the victim mindset is a problem. The complex issue is a problem. So these are some of the major challenges that I’ve seen. What would I like to see more? I want to see Dr. Dave, as you’ve given me an opportunity, someone that you don’t know that many people never thought mattered, that many people felt that she didn’t deserve a space or to be heard. But, you have given me a chance. You have good to learn about me a little bit. There are many other people that will learn about me on your podcast and get to see, “Oh, this girl, she has substance.” If you didn’t create this opportunity for me, none of this will happen. So I give every black person a challenge. Even Hispanic, Asian, whatever community that you find yourself. Don’t go on a journey alone. Find one person to pull along with you.
Mercy:
Within the agile community, are you a black person? First, don’t focus on the money. Focus on solving a problem. When you focus on solving a problem within the black community and become sort of leader that they can learn from you become a solution provider. What would I like to see me do? I want to create as many opportunities for every black person, inclusive of Nigeria.
Mercy:
Then another thing that I’d like to see. I want to see a lot of representation. Take for instance, women in our job. They put out a scholarship application, not many black people apply. I don’t understand it. There are information there. When they share the information with you, you do not apply yourself. How are you going to get into the situation or get tagged alone? Dr. Dave, you see an opportunity for me in the US. You share it with me. And I refuse to apply myself. Do you see that as a problem with me? So first, we need to have a rich introspection. “Oh, I am worthy, what people think of me don’t matter. I can do both things because I am a unique person. I can add value because I am strong. I am a game changer and that’s why I’m on this planet.” So, you need to believe that of yourself. I know, no matter the dance, that people throw at you, no matter what people say about you, it will never deter you from the focus of where you’re going.
Mercy:
So, let’s get more people, give more black opportunity, blacks opportunity, to help them. Not because you’re doing it for show. Not because you want people to see it on social media. Dr. Dave, this is not online yet. I’ve been working with children that have a hearing impairment for over one year. I’ve taken loads of content that is on my archive. I just feel I’m not ready. I’ve refused to share that content. When I’m ready, I will share the content. Why did I do that? I saw a child, my husband’s
Mercy:
… needs. She’s deaf and she’s dumb. Okay? And she can speak. I had to learn sign languages. That’s why I’m used to like gesticulating with my hands. I had to learn sign languages. And I got to meet a lot of her friends because of my involvement in her life. I wish I had that girl as early as early on. She’s such a brilliant soul. I saw the pain African mothers. We’re talking about unemployment, this is not including people with disability in Africa. They don’t even recognize them. Nobody cares. That is a big problem. So for me, because of my daughter that I’ve taken on, she’s married now, she just had a baby. I saw her friends sexually molested, they don’t have opportunities. All of this nine yard, ordinary for them to learn, I’m trying to teach them digital skills.
Mercy:
They cannot compete. There is no opportunity for them to compete. And that’s is actually created a problem. So we have tried to tackle. We’ve been experimenting with [inaudible 00:34:11]. When we have our definition of [inaudible 00:34:12] our first iteration. We’re going to launch all the content that we have put out. We’re not doing it because we want to be, “Oh, we want to do a GoFundMe.” Everything is not about money. I want to see something grow more into reality that I can see that this is a measurable KPI associated to the work we have done. Until we change our mindset, social media is great. But remember what people put out on social media are posts, not the true nature of their struggles, their weaknesses and their flaws. So you have to be guided what you want. I wanted to put a wig on. I said, “No, I love my hair the way it is.”
Dr. Dave:
Yeah, awesome.
Mercy:
I love it. I love it. I said, “I’m not going to do that. I want to be authentic to myself. I’m not here to please anybody.” If what I say, doesn’t impress you, I’m sorry, I can’t help you. But what I’m about is about value. I’m a value oriented person. I want to make a change, I’m a change agent. And I want to impart to my generation. At least to the international community. That’s the goal. I know it’s a long response, I’m sorry about it, but thank you for the opportunity.
Dr. Dave:
But look, let’s talk about utopia. Right? And so what would your diversity, equity, inclusion and I’m adding belonging. Right? Your utopia of that look like for you?
Mercy:
My utopia is coming together with no biases, no judgment, having a beautiful conversation. Let me speak to the agile community. You don’t have to know me to say that I should be a speaker. Give new people opportunity. That’s my utopia. New people that are making a difference and you can see they’re making a difference, opportunity. I’m dyslexic. All right? I put up on time because I talk faster than I type. I never go back to like reverting. I’ve come to see that is a challenge with a lot of geniuses. And so I count myself to be one genius in Africa. So my utopia is, if you see me falling, don’t step on my head to die there, pull me up. I’m dyslexic. Right? I type some content, people just go messing on corrected. You have made a mistake. Some of my friends that know I always say, “Thank you, God bless you.”
Mercy:
Some people will sit there and they’ll be laughing. I don’t care. I know I’m a struggle. What am I up? My content is good. It’s okay to make mistakes. It’s not the end of the world. When I see the mistake, I’ll correct it. After all, that’s why we have eraser. To erase things that you’ve written down. That’s why you have a duster to clean what is not correct. So I’m open, I’m an open book to take correction. So the utopia is open mindedness, inclusivity. If we’re open-minded and we’re ready to learn from each other’s cultures, ready to learn from each other’s beliefs, we’re not coming from a place of judgment. Learning to say that, “This person deserves to be recognized. Not because she knows what to do.” I have come into this industry into the agile space, experimenting, following the empiricism of [inaudible 00:37:55]. I kept experimenting, experimenting. What was my main focus was the [inaudible 00:38:02].
Mercy:
My utopia is every Nigerian person getting international jobs like my brothers in India, like my sisters in India. We have lots of brilliant minds. I’m not going to let challenge to you. Are you a recruiter? Are you an employer? Are you an employee? I’m putting a challenge to you. Are you a recruiter? Are you an employer? Are you an employee? Can you employ? Let us produce the capacity that is willing to work for you, for free for the first three months. Just try them out. All we are asking is for that equal opportunity. Let there be equity in public Trinity. I will not bring you anyone that will bring disgrace or that will put the name of [Lento 00:38:54] to disrepute because that’s all we have, our name, the integrity. That is my utopia for every African to get jobs in the West. In America, in the US, in the UK, wherever it takes.
Mercy:
And If you know that you have the opportunity and you’re an actualist. All, we are asking you is partner up with [Lento 00:39:16]. We are great personnel. We have great people that can make a difference. And I want to challenge every people of black descent. The Hispanic, that Asian, whether you are Muslim, you are a Christian, you’re Buddhist. Whatever religion you are, listen, opportunities are there for you. Don’t be scared. I go to some conferences and I see I’m the only black person in the room. Why? Apply yourself. That’s my utopia.
Dr. Dave:
Awesome. Awesome. So Mercy, George-Igbafe, thank you so much for your time. I am glad that you are friends with my friend, Kemmy Raji. I’m a big fan of Kemi.
Mercy:
He’s amazing.
Dr. Dave:
Yes, yes. So thank you so much for your time today. So let me close by saying thank you for listening to the KnolShare with Dr. Dave Podcast. I hope this learning experience would also prompt you to take and seek more and discover how you could contribute a positive experience for BIPOC lives. I say it doesn’t take much. All we need to do is to tap into your own humanity.
And so just giving out some shout out to my niece who are writing the music for this podcast.
This podcast is copyright 2021 by KnolShare.org and Dr. Dave Cornelius.
And I would say until next time, be well, stay safe and connect soon.
