Chase it with your chest!!

...the world was watching...

Okoli Victor is a 500 level law student of the University of Nigeria, Enugu campus. As an undergraduate, he has achieved tremendous strides especially in his leadership journey. On this interview with Ibhanesebhor Anita and Edemba Favour, members of the Directionless Reach-out team, he speaks to us about how the lockdown gave him ample time to do more! Hope you enjoy reading 

Anita: Hello Victor, my name is Ibhanesebhor Anita, a member of the Directionless Reach-Out Team. It's nice to be with you on this interview today. Would you mind telling us a bit about yourself?

Victor: I'm Victor Okoli, a final year law student of the University of Nigeria who hails from Ihite in Orumba South LGA of Anambra state.

Anita : Great! This means you should have graduated this year if not for the lockdown and strike. How did you feel when the lockdown began?

Victor: Errrm, I was indifferent about school when the lockdown started initially because you need to be alive to think of school. Covid-19 was raging at that point, so, survival was on my mind. However, with time, I started to align with contemporary realities and decided to take advantage of the lockdown. Looking back, I will say that this lockdown has offered me the opportunity of living some of my dreams.

Anita: Covid-19 truly took a toll on us. Lol

Victor: Sure.  If you survive 2020, you've achieved something.

Anita: Speaking about living your dreams, let's talk about Making Orumba Great Again(MOGA). You founded MOGA in 2018, what inspired you to organize MOGA ?

Victor: MOGA was founded on the 8th of December 2018. Prior to the strike period in 2018, I had never visited my village and stayed up to 7 days. During the strike, I had the opportunity to stay up to seven days, and then I noticed that the reading culture in Orumba (North and South) was not so strong. The young people were not so concerned about education, those who were concerned saw no reason to be anymore. They were more about making money than going to school or reading. I spoke to some friends about starting up a platform to revive the reading culture in Orumba LGA and reward such persons who desire to be educated. Some persons bought the vision and we started. On the 8th of December 2020, MOGA would be two years.

Anita: Wow! Two years already? That's great! What was MOGA able to help you achieve? Will you say MOGA exceeded your expectations?

Victor: MOGA has not exceeded our expectations. We have a goal that by 2035, through the activities MOGA will be carrying out, Orumba will be one of the top 15 communities in Africa so you see we haven't even scratched the surface. So far, MOGA has been able to reawaken the consciousness of youths in Orumba North and South to who they can be and the essence of education. We have been able to provide scholarships to students, we have brought the spotlight to Orumba and this has attracted the goodwill of organizations, bodies and great persons. We have also inspired other initiatives to add value and colour lives in the community. It's like a chain reaction, MOGA is now a catalyst for other initiatives to come up in the community. This is just the beginning though, we still have more to do.

Anita: You are not called the Value Captain for nothing! We saw photos (spy cam. Lol.) of you and the Vice President of Nigeria this year. How did you feel meeting him? If you don't mind, please take us through the day you met him, how did it happen?

Victor: It was a great feeling. You don't get to meet the Vice President of Nigeria every day Lol.  It was an outing organised by the Law Students Association of Nigeria(LAWSAN) and we went as representatives where I represented the South East. It was a robust moment because we were able to have a lengthy discussion on the welfare of law students in Nigeria, the way forward for our association and dear nation. It was also humbling to hear the VP commend the LAWSAN GOES TO SCHOOL initiative which I was the convener for. When he commended us and also tweeted about it, it was an encouragement for us. It made us understand that the world was watching what we were doing and a day of reward was coming not just for us but for our dear nation and the next generation. 

Anita: Speaking of LAWSAN, how did you get the appointment of being the South-East Zonal Director of Policies, Programs and Projects? What did you achieve in office?

Victor: When I ran for LAWSA President in UNN, I never knew my boss(the former Director of Programs, LAWSAN) was watching my campaign, Lol. After I lost the elections, he sent a message and said LAWSAN needs my services and like joke like joke, I got an appointment letter and it started from there. As to what we achieved, they were enormous. I was blessed with the best team in the world! We were passionate and value driven and all we did was tailored towards one thing which was adding value to law students. We hosted the largest school outreach, LAWSAN GOES TO SCHOOL. We hosted webinars and competitions that brought LAWSAN to the limelight. We hosted Google trainings in different schools in the South east. We set the pace for the South East Zonal conference which will happen next year by God's grace. We ensured that all the activities in the national level were felt in the East, prior to now, there was no Zonal structure so we brought LAWSAN to the grass root, that was our biggest achievement.

Anita: Really great achievements. LAWSAN was truly felt in the South east in your regime! I can testify to that! Has your involvement in LAWSAN or MOGA affected your academics in any way?

Victor: It has not had a negative effect because I've been able to balance my leadership life with my academics and other areas. Although it has affected my social life as I have less time for that area.

Anita: All work and no play makes Victor a.....Try to get some cruise time sir. Lol. What's a typical day in your life like? Before the lockdown and now respectively.

Victor:Before the lockdown, wake up, set my day right, attend classes, attend series of meetings. I get back late, say 9 or 10. I prepare proposals if I have any. I also travel a lot to seal partnerships for MOGA, LAWSAN or any other organization.

During the lockdown, I started working from home, spending time on my phone or system browsing, reaching out to sponsors, partners and team mates. We just wrapped up the MOGA week for this year so we are preparing for 3 massive projects in 2021. I spend 60-70% of my time reaching out to sponsors, partners, working, browsing, studying untapped areas and creating solutions for organizations. Some evenings I go to lounges and chill. I do this at least once a week to just relax and have fun. You can call it cruise time in your words. Lol

Anita:This is great! Congratulations in advance for 2021! (Let it be on record that I said it first. Lol). You had mighty brands like Fidelity bank sponsor MOGA 2020. How do you secure sponsorship with brands? Do you meet them physically or via email?

Victor: Social media, Emails, Calls, texts etc. Most of our sponsorships are secured online.

Anita: Wow, that's great! Do you ever feel any form of pressure? Seeing that you have achieved so much as an undergraduate.

Victor: Sure. The only pressure I feel is the pressure to succeed and become who God wants me to be.

Anita: And you definitely will! Any last words for those reading who have been inspired in some way by your story?

Victor: Believe in yourself. When you have a dream, stand up and chase it with your chest!  You lose nothing by trying.

Anita: You heard that! Chase it with your full chest dears!

Anita:Thank you so much Victor Okoli for being a guest on Directionless, I'm sure you have inspired someone reading this. We wish you maximum success in all your endeavours and we can't wait to hear about more exploits from your end.

Victor: Thank you. It's my duty and pleasure.