Joseph Okhakia
JULY 18, 2023
BY JOSEPH OKHAKI,
Executive Speaker/Club Advisor
Harnessing creativity for Social Impact and Community Development
The founders, Co-ordinators, student members and honorary members of this noble club. I am delighted to be with you today to share my views on the above topic. Without much ado, I would like to define the key word in this topic ‘creativity’ which is actually the hallmark of this club. There are other basic words that may demand definition but I feel they are well understood by every member here. Such words include ‘Harnessing, social impact, community development’. Therefore, I will only define creativity as:
‘The use of imagination or original ideas to create something; inventiveness’.
The last time I gave a talk here I stated that ideas rule the world. Any great thing that was created by man is the result of great thinking – the radio, TV, aeroplane, roads, cars, buildings, computer, schools, associations, name it. Nations overtake each other in development in line with their thinking ability. A nation with low thinking men and women develop slowly and experience low social interactions. On the other hand, nations that work hard, think high create bountifully for the advancement of their societies.
Nigeria will be great if the young ones like you embrace thinking and inventiveness and dedicate their creative faculties to use. Creativity is not blind to problems. There are always problems in life but the creative mind finds solutions to those problems to come fort with solutions which are unknown to the non-creative minds. The ability to do this stands you out from your peers. The mind that is dormant sees problems in every step they want to take. They get discouraged and remain in their state of life.
This topic is so demanding that the time allocated to me to deliver my talk will only scratch it. Therefore, I will only encourage participants to think more of creativity why I promise to do justice to it if given better and longer time to x-ray this topic in the future. As a result, I will end this talk with the word of John Curley who says: ‘The future is not somewhere we are going to; it the one we are creating. The parts to it are not found but made’. This is because as you lay your bed so you must lie on it.
I thank you all.
Joseph Okhakia, MBA FCII
MD/CEO, Platonic Insurance Brokers Ltd., Abuja.
