Quite frankly, I have so many examples to prove that this is indeed a statement of fact, some I remember, others I have forgot, but I thought it is important to write a quick post on the one that just happened most recently.
It started with Tech Trends TV show getting nominated for the Nigerian Broadcasters Merit Award as best TV show (viewers’ choice). I got the team together and we campaigned for votes online and we lost out at the end. While we were not troubled, we were also not excited because of how much effort we put into each edition of the show and being nominated alone, meant a lot to us and assured us that we are on the right track.
Well, like they say, what will be, will be – do you agree?
Less than 3 weeks after that, I received a mail from the Nigeria Internet Registration Association, (NiRA), saying that I have been selected as a .ng ambassador which is in recognition of my enduring commitment to the .ng brand – wow, was my response.
But that was not all! NiRA had planned a .ng gala and web awards night as part of the celebrations for her 10th year anniversary and techsmart.ng was selected for .ng media award alongside Guardian, Leadership, Techpoint, Daily Trust, etc. We got our team together again and we campaigned hard nonetheless, in spite of our size in relations to the likes of Guardian that was eventually announced as the winner of that category – a deserving award for such an enduring brand.
We thought it was all over but, we did not know that God had already ordained what you will call his will. Suddenly, during the Presidential award section of the event, we heard the winner of the NiRA Presidential Award for Youth Development announced as Chukwuemeka Fred Agbata Jnr. “CFA” – it was like a joke and, of course, the thunderous applause made me realise the reality of it.
The announcer kept on reading “….this award recognises and encourages the development of youths in Nigeria. It is a Presidential award given to the Youth that have a combination of the best .ng website, best online local content and best use of ICT”.
By the time I got to the podium, she was done reading and I said to myself, “at least, somebody has been watching.”
What more can I say? Glory be to God.
MORAL: If one door in any area of life closes, please, do not be discouraged but keep pressing on as God has plans to give a fantastic end.
WOW, who won the .ng award then, was it Naij?