Speech By Miss Keren-happuch Odinenu during JAN's 15th Anniversary Celebration.

Speech By Miss Keren-happuch Odinenu during JAN's 15th Anniversary Celebration. 


"The most significant problems we face are not solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them. Albert Einstein. Before I entered the JA club in my school my most significant problem was intimidation and inferiority complex. It was in this sad state that I joined the club in the year 2010. I and my fellow classmates saw it as a club for the popular kids and this formed the backbone for our enrollment. Little did we know that it was more than that. The club was to be run in the way an actual company is run.we were to embark on production, advertisement,sales, marketing. Name it. So it was not what I was expecting and I became absorbed in the hustle and bustle of the day neither contributing nor causing harm,just mainly fulfilling all righteousness.
We had been told by the facilitators who often came to our school that we would participate in competitions. So we began to think of products, little products our little minds could think of such as hand made pillows and the likes.My school went for its first JA competition and came out 3rd so we were given the opportunity to represent Nigeria in Ghana. My school did not win in Ghana but then it was another academic session and they were prepared to work harder than they ever had while I was ready to continue being unsure of my abilities
A short while later,we were told about a lead camp,a JA program that was to hold in Lagos. We were told that two girls from each school would have to attend. Now the problem was that in my club alone we were more than 30 girls. So 5 tests were prepared and 5 of us were selected to write these tests and in the end I and the then president of my club, Femi Afolabi went to Lagos.
It was a dream come true for me. The LEAD in the LEAD camp is an acronym for Leadership Empowerment Achievement and Development. I was immediately plunged into a world of fast talk and smart heads.I met girls from Lagos, Port-Harcourt, Kaduna, Jos, Enugu. Name it. In all we were more than 150 girls there and to be honest,I didn't think I had what it took to do what was expected of me.
We had been told that the experience was one we would never forget. Little did I know this applied to small me. We had sessions everyday by different people mainly women. What did I learn? Everything I needed to solve my significant problem. Mrs Bimbola Wright appealed to the leader in me. Mrs Funmi Itua said that failure is not falling down but staying back down and refusing to get up. The most enthusiastic lover of Nigeria I have ever met, Aunty Bolu made me to see this beautiful country in a different light. Mrs Tara Durotoye from the house of Tara and Mrs Adesuwa Oyenokwe,the editor of today's woman magazine. The first Nigerian lady mechanic, Mrs Sandra Ogbuebor said something I will never forget. She said "let them laugh today, tomorrow they will not laugh". My own personal mummy,Mrs Kunbi Wuruaola also spoke to us on etiquette and career choices,making it clear that we should always choose careers that match our unique qualities. Mrs Nneka Okekaru, Mrs Anuli Ausbeth, Mrs Joshua Awesome, the 1st Nigerian to climb mt.Kilimanjaro, Mr Jerry Fady, Mrs Folashade Adefisayo and so many more but there is one woman I'll never forget, Mrs Omorin Desalu. This woman told us a story. She said that when she was younger she used to work for a company that had many white people at the head and there was a particular white man who despised everything black.if a black man should enter his office,he'll look up and say "can someone tell this black monkey to get out of my office" so after a few months of working there she went up to his office, knocked and entered. He looked up at her and was about to say something but she said "this is one black monkey that just won't go away". And he looked at her and smiled. Then he said "I think we are going to be very good friends" and they became good friends. She said that we should be the blue balls in a set of white balls and that if all the white balls start turning blue then we should be the red balls.
After 3 days, everything I was learning I began to apply, I began to ask questions and I began to answer questions. I began to enjoy being heard for a change. I mean I felt challenged. There were girls my age and even younger that could speak with such confidence and vigour that commanded respect so why couldn't I? And so I began to do exactly what was expected of me. At the end of the program awards were given out. Prior to that time, Mrs Kunbi had made it known to us that the winner of the most outstanding participant award would accompany her to an African country for a women program.
On that day,after hearing most of the awards being called out and watching some of the most active girls receive them I felt convinced I was going to go home empty but then I heard my name and it was me. I was the most outstanding participant. I was given a standing ovation. It was the happiest day of my life and still is.I went back to abuja with a heart as big as Africa. My parents were proud of me, my school was proud of me.
The experience and of course the positive outcome made me to become a much better person.I became more active in my club and eventually became one of the most hardworking members of the club. I learnt to speak with more confidence as a prefect and in the subsequent JA competition.
The lead camp changed me. If I had not gone for that program I wouldn't have gained the necessary knowledge I needed. I wouldn't have learnt how to make the rose flower out of serviette. This little rose flower has earned me a little job. Presently I'm a student of Nnamdi Azikiwe university and I have a friend who makes cards for a living. After seeing what I could do with these serviette she struck a bargain telling to me to make roses of different colours so she could add to her cards and she would give me a portion of whatever she earned from each card.
I remember watching the winner of the most outstanding participant award speak to us at the camp and I remember thinking that I would love to be just like her giving a speech in front of so many people.
Mrs Funmi Akande, one of the women who spoke to us said "the dreams you choose to believe in become reality". This was my dream and it has come to be. We all have dreams and the sooner we start working toward each of them the sooner they seem to become more and more like reality. We can be the change we want to see in Nigeria,the change we need to see in the world. We can be the blue balls in a set of white balls.
And so as I stand here today,giving the speech I always dreamt I would give,I'm not alone. I'm here with God.I'm here with my family. I'm here with my JA club coordinator, Mrs Akinlo, I'm here with the Executive Director of JAN, Mrs Kunbi Wuruaola who has been a great source of inspiration to me and other youths around the world and I'm here with this wonderful establishment that is Junior Achievement Nigeria. Thank you for giving me this opportunity. I'll forever remain grateful to you. Happy Anniversary Junior Achievement."

Picture of Keren giving her speech.