Tade Makinwa: 2025 Person of the Year, By Simbo Olorunfemi

Keep doing your thing. Who knows who is watching. Just stay true to yourself. At the right time, the stars will align in your favour, and the reward will come your way in the most unexpected of ways.

That is my philosophy. That is what motivates me to keep going. Time and again, I receive validation from stories here and there.

On this platform, there are so many stories that validate that.

I have seen different people who through their resourcefulness, creativity, integrity, industry, grit, faith and humility have drawn water from stone

Many of them are younger, but they continue to inspire me with what they do, day by day.

One person on this platform who encapsulates this resourceful spirit in more ways than one is Omotade Makinwa.

Her life, in a way, is an open book from which anyone who is so minded to dig deep for inspiration and wisdom, can never get tired of drinking from.

You have to wonder if she is truly as young as she is, with the wise head on her shoulders. She is that one person who, from an early age, decided to take the bull by the horns, choosing her own path, not minding the odds.

You would think that she would have been deterred by some of the huge obstacles she has faced, but we can see how she, at every point, repeatedly confronted those challenges head-on, and turned them into building blocks with which she has risen to the point where she is today.

From dropping out of her first undergraduate studies to starting afresh in a new University on her own, even combining that with running a business, yet graduating with flying colours, you can’t but wonder where the young lady gets her energy from.

I look back at the challenges she was faced with in her commodity business, falling into the wrong hands. I can’t even imagine how enormous the challenge was, but somehow, Tade was able to pull through, hard as that was. She even launched a fashion line, while weathering through the storms.

In no time, her gifting and industry had fished her out, transporting her into the corporate world, working at the highest level, working for one of the top CEOs. She has not only distinguished herself in that role, she continues to fly high.

Some months back, she took to podcasting and religiously recorded videos and shared them on her social media pages consistently. It was only a matter of time before some of her videos caught fire, going viral, with one catching the attention of the Nigerian Orientation Agency (NOA), which placed the material on TV, giving it a wider push and reach.

Now, Tade has gone fully global. Her face is striking instant recognition from Nigerians in different parts of the world. People high up are sharing her videos with friends and family via the ubiquitous WhatsApp. Tade’s brand equity has dramatically shot up.

It all started with her daring to step out in faith, staying true to her dreams, refusing to give up in the face of failure and challenges, refusing to give up on her convictions and values, believing in Nigeria in the face of odds.

This week, I had the privilege of interacting with 2 young men – Chude Jideonwo (Joy, Red Media, YNaija) whose story I have followed since he made appearance on TV at the age of 15. I was also privileged to speak with Fouad Lawal (Archiving), the young man behind the idea of archiving Nigerian newspapers and magazines from way back, digitising old Nigerian newspapers and making them accessible online.