Our Anioma Youths Should Seek God and Pursue their Dreams - Mobile Photographer and Public Speaker, Onyeka Odega-Okolie

 

Our Anioma Youths Should Seek God and Pursue their Dreams

-       Mobile Photographer and Public Speaker, Onyeka Odega-Okolie

 

The Pen Master caught up with young Onyeka Odega-Okolie, the Anioma-born mobile photographer, public speaker and accounting student of the Yaba College of Technology from the Ugboba community. In this interview with PEN MASTER (EMEKA ESOGBUE), the Onyeka Odega-Okolie who is also a content creator and professional picture editor talks about growing up, the financial potency of creativity and why she thinks youths should be innovative. Excerpts.   

 

Pen Master: Onyeka Odega, it feels good to meet you, young and beautiful in all and as I also see, brilliant. Please, can you tell our readers more about yourself?

 

Odega-Okolie: (Laughing) Yes, thank you very much, Pen Master. I am Onyeka Victory Odega-Okolie and I hail from Ugbogba community of Anioma in Aniocha North Local Government Area of Delta State. I am a young female student currently studying Accountancy at the Yaba College of Technology, Yaba, Lagos under the School of Management and Business Studies. I am running my Higher National Diploma as a full-time student. In fact, I am a freelance health and wellness content writer, a professional mobile photographer, a photo and Slampoet who is also a public speaker, and a copywriter. I create story-telling images, I write customer-friendly and result-driven copies and contents for organizations which increases leads and engagements twice faster. I am also a music enthusiast. I love to edit pictures, sing and write stories when I am not carrying out my professional duties. This young lady is energetic and ambitious with creativity and innovations. I am a Christian who believe and serve Jesus Christ. I love helping others in discovering the power that lies within them. My favorite mantra is, "I am potent-full and you are too!"

 

Pen Master: Miss Onyeka, this is quite interesting to know but is there any more thing you would like our readers to know about you? 

 

Odega-Okolie: (Laughing aloud) Maybe nothing more. I could just say that I am just the neutral lady with the sanguine and melancholic temperament. I don't have a favorite food or color. I love good food. I think that's all for now.

 

Pen Master: Onyeka, but you are a creative writer and a mobile photographer. How did you get into this mobile photography and what's the experience like you so far? 

 

Odega-Okolie: Well, I would say the desire to create captured images was aroused in me through the help of God. I went into mobigraphy in 2020 while I was interning as an Internal Auditor at Anchor University Lagos. Ever since, I decided to take it up by attending classes on mobile photography, watching mobigraphy-related videos and practicing my experiences. I have also trained students on mobile photography with outstanding results. It has been a journey of creativity and innovation. I got to learn how to strategize and see life from other people's perspectives.

 

Pen Master: …but this mobile photography, are there financial gains tied to it? Is it really life-sustaining as most people especially the youths may want to ask?

 

Odega-Okolie: Mobile photography is full of financial gains because you get to earn in different ways. I think have made over N20,000 within 4 months from this profession even as a student because I was being inconsistent due to school activities but that has changed now. This means if I could make N20,000. Actually, one can make more than N50,000 within 3 months. So, I would say that it can be life-sustaining especially for student's life.

 

Pen Master: Okay, you are also a public speaker. How do you manage to put all of these together? 

 

Odega-Okolie: Initially, I was a very shy person who didn’t really like to talk in front of the audience. As time went on, I saw a post on one of my Christian sister's wall then signed up for it. It was a masterful speakers coaching class convened by one Coach David Lawal. Public speaking has helped me to learn to speak while doing a voice note. Public speaking is one tool that makes me stand out especially when advertising my brand. Mobile photography and public speaking go hand in gloves and are complementary skills so it's much easier combining them. Even if it is without mobile photography. Mobile photography is a freelance business for me really. It makes it very easy for me to shuffle between them and other creative jobs that I have to carry out like health and wellness content writing, photo and slam poetry and copywriting.

 

Pen Master: Onyeka, let us talk about your background instead. How was growing up like?

 

Odega-Okolie: I was born and bred in the town of Oke-Ira in Ogba, Lagos. I was born into the family of six. We are Christians and growing up was fun with siblings who would fight and later reconcile. I was born by Mum and dad who are disciplinarians and joy givers. I grew in the midst of neighbors whom God used to strengthen our prayer lives and in a street where nights did not seem to move them. You would always find people moving around in the beauty nightlife. It was while growing up that I discovered the gift of gift of writing in me but I have to thank the Almighty God for this. My elder sister has been a source of huge help to me even till today. Mom and dad have also always been of great support, believing in their children's abilities.

 

Pen Master: One may just be wondering. Are you also hoping to go into modeling? 

 

Odega-Okolie (Laughing) I would love to go into modelling but not this secular industry. However, a Christian modelling industry may just be it. For me, it has always been a hidden desire.

 

Pen Master: Onyeka, do you sometimes think that other youths who wait eternity for employment could find creativity to sustain themselves? 

 

Odega-Okolie: I have always held a seminar on Self-worth and my reason for that is due to the rising burden in me to nurture youngsters who would believe in themselves and make full use of their potentials. I know for sure that every youth out there possesses the creativity to get life-sustaining jobs for themselves. They could be employers. It starts by deliberately discovering the potentials you are blessed with.

 

Pen Master: You are from the Anioma area. Tell us what you think about the Anioma youths of today. 

 

Odega-Okolie: (Smiling) Okay, the fact is that I haven't been to my Anioma area for a long time now and I haven't been able to know much about the youths of the area but what I have to say is that they can be the best they ought to be. They are to first seek God, the only pathfinder and pursue their dreams with visions and missions that will guide them. They are potent-full.

 

Pen Master: You are a student of accounting as you said. Are you hoping to take up this career at the completion of your studies?

 

Odega-Okolie: Definitely yes. I am thinking of doing so. This would enhance my professional accounting skills and boost the financial performance of my business (mobigraphy, public speaking and the others.

 

Pen Master: Onyeka, thank you for speaking to us.

 

Odega-Okolie: Pen Master, it's my utmost pleasure, sir.