The story you may still not find in the news. I hope it inspires someone not to give up. I was raised and born in Makoko I lost my Mum at 7 We moved to Bariga at 12, another slum in Lagos My dad lost everything at 12, sold his property, and a couple of stuff I hawked sweet and spaghetti at 13 At 15, I was awarded the best prefect in my secondary school At 15, I also worked as a labourer in construction sites At 15, I taught basic education in a nursery school At 15, we were sent packing from our rented apartment in Bariga. Nearly homeless for the first time. At 17, I worked as Airtel KYC agent, registering sim At 17, I got admission into the University of Ilorin At 19, 20, won the University of Ilorin scholarship award At 20, appointed as the deputy commandant of the Nigerian Red Cross At 21, in my final year last semester had a 5.0 GPA, scored A in my project dissertation. At 21, Graduated as the best student in my department At 22, won the NYSC Edo State Award. At 23, Founded a non-profit to support children of my kind. At 23, attended my First international conference. At 23, started a blog with over 275k views and readership from more than 20+ countries At 24, selected as an SDGs Youth Champion with African Monitor and engaged Office of the Senate President At 24, selected as a Fellow, Carrington Youth Fellowship Initiative and winter $5000 grant with other 4 fellows. At 24, won the Keenista African Youth Competition Award (top 2 -7) prize. At 24, awarded Talent of the Future Africa At 24, featured by UNFPA as a global goal champion At 24, spoke at an international summit At 25, won the United State Consul General Award At 25, completed, authored my first book and sold in more than 3 countries At 25, became a Fellow-in-Residence and Regional Manager of a global non-profit in the United States (Peace First) At 25, won a scholarship in the UK (IDS) At 25, facilitated in another continent outside Africa At 25, made my first million in Naira At 26, won two most prestigious scholarships (Chevening and Mastercard Foundation Scholarship) At 26, studying at The University of Edinburgh (top 16 in the world, best in Scotland and top 5 in the UK) At 26, completed my second book titled 5 years At 27 graduated from the The University of Edinburgh At 27, won the First-ever Ufahamu Africa Essay contest for my piece on life and politics in Africa At 27, Published my Second book “5 Years” on Amazon At 27, became, the first young African Board Member at Peace First At 27, worked with the MasterCard Foundation and co-created a mentoring programme for refugees in Uganda At 27, got a role with Refugee Education UK. At 27 became a World Economic Forum, Global Shaper. At 28, won Oxford Rhodes Scholars-in-Residence African Finance Initiative Grant to scale my social innovation Skill2Rural Bootcamp. At 28, spoke at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris as a youth delegate at the pre-summit of the Transforming Education Summit. At 28, worked with the British Red Cross, and coordinate the Refugee and Befriending Programme in Hammersmith, London. At 28, worked as a Research Assistant with the Mastercard Foundation at the University of Edinburgh on the Identity in Transition project At 28, invited as a guest lecturer by the Open University, UK to take a module on communications for development. At 28, partnered with the American corner to organise a launch and learn event for my second book “5years” the room was filled At 28, presented at the University of Edinburgh Teaching and Learning Conference and was featured by them too. At 28, made the University of Edinburgh Climate 75 list At 29, selected as 1 of the 20 for the University of Pennsylvania Centre for social impact strategy Global Social Impact House Fellowship. Was the youngest in the Fellowship. At 29, Co-authored and published my third book titled “Career Wisdom” and all profit goes to my non-profit.

There is something I also realised about grief and when you walk with it, and accept it. It makes you carry the gaze of a child because you understand what loss and presence mean which means that if someone is going through a difficult moment, you can empathise better. You can look at their gaze, and you can say “I am with you and I understand what you are going through” There is something powerful about presence, not the ones that shout but ones that quietly observe and feel the energy. I once worked at a charity, Refugee Education UK and it was one of the best places I have worked in and had the best culture I have ever experienced. In my job, I would meet with young people who have fled their countries due to war or persecution and some of them cannot return home or even have a family to return to. So, whenever I am with them, I can feel the energy and it has helped shape my gaze. The lowering of my gaze, the softening of my face, the calmness of my presence, and the listening and paying attention to them as I observe and listen to what is said and not said were shaped by my own experiences of the loss of my mother. I think grief is such a powerful force and when we pay attention and are able to harness it for good, we can even become better humans ourselves and we can go around the world more kindly and carrying the gaze and curiosity of a child.

I was in London a few days ago, and someone stopped me to ask if I was the one they'd seen on Instagram and LinkedIn. They were so happy to see me in person, and it was a humbling experience. I think I have underestimated how much I have grown and the places my words have traveled to. My video on grief and my story have had close to 6 million views across social media and this does not include others who have shared it on their page. I have had a combined total of over 150,000 followers across my social media. It means I had probably have a full stadium of people and more. I am very grateful that my message could have a positive impact on the lives of people and I hope I can continue to live that way. I hope I can continue to show the world the power of an alternative story. The power of staying true to a journey and committing to a purpose and living a life of it. I hope I can show young people who grew up in the slums or a place similar that they can dream too, and I hope I can continue to show those who have lost a parent, loved ones, someone close to them, or even an opportunity that there can be purpose in loss or grief. I hope I can continue to show them that in darkness, they can also be light. That by understanding our struggles and living through them with purpose is the beginning of a shining light. A lot of good things have happened in the last few days but I have also had a couple of rough and tough moments in the last few months. I am grateful for those moments and these moments are what make life interesting and nuanced because a trying life is a fulfilling one. There is a lot I still wrestle with. There is a lot I still need to work on. I am not a totally perfect being but I hope that in many many years to come, I will and can always look back and see that I was a force for good and my being here changed things even if it is little.

Some months ago, my heart was quite heavy about what was happening in the world and somehow I couldn’t put to words what I was feeling and I turned to poetry. Poetry is sometimes how I stay sane in an unsettled world. #poetry #poem

Dear young people, Hold your head held high. If there is anything I am learning in my journey and from those who have altered history. There is a form of being that supersedes an application and reject rejections. It is a “being” laced in dream and purpose. Do not stop dreaming. Never for once lose your wonder, and carry the gaze and relentlessness of your dreams in your eyes.

9 years ago, all I carried was a deep sense of passion and purpose and I still have the wonder of 2017 in my eyes. From traveling to 14 countries, speaking in multiple continents, from rural communities to the top academic cities in the world. From community outreaches to giving a speech in a room where world philosophers have spoken. From pitching for 100,000 Naira to contributing more than 30 million Naira to the cause. From Alimosho to Olambe, to Oxford to Paris to Montreal to Edinburgh and one thing still stands, I still carry the relentlessness of my purpose in my heart. Still Day One N.B: I hope this inspires you to focus on the process and not give up in your journey.

I was nominated to apply for a top fellowship programme recently and I was asked what is it about me that isn't in my CV yet. I decided to recount the story I shared during the Being Edinburgh Alumni Award. I said “I was awarded the 2025 Being Edinburgh Alumni Award, where I gave a two-minute speech that went viral. It garnered more than 4 million views, was saved by 20,000+ people, and liked by more than 320,000 people from across the world. You may wonder what I said in two minutes to warrant such engagement. I spoke about grief, a topic that is often difficult to understand. I gave meaning to grief through my story and how it became my purpose, my meaning, and my means of creation. Twenty-five years ago, I lost my mum, and for 23 of those years, I navigated my own grief. For a long time, I did not know what fueled my desire to show up and do the work I do. I thought it was my work ethic or my story of growing up in Makoko, Africa’s largest floating slum. But it was not my story. It was my grief. It was how I survived. Many times, I wanted to hug my mum, share my worries, or cry, but I could not. I had to work, fight, and survive. It was only in late 2024 that I reflected deeply on my grief and realised I had been processing it through the initiatives I started. When I support a child who has lost a parent, volunteer, write, or build organisations, it is my grief in motion. My purpose was not my story. It was my grief, and it fuels my leadership and innovation.” N.B: I was accepted into the fellowship program and completed it. More so, I am realizing that there is a form of being that supersedes an application and reject rejections. It is a “being” laced in purpose and dream. Still Day One

When you think about a story, you need to think about the conflict in that story, where the hero of the story has to make important decisions that may shape their future. This was me having to borrow airtime from all the internet providers to complete an interview for a Regional Manager role in 2019 and I ended up getting the job and getting paid in dollars. I shed a tear when I saw my contract because I'd had 2 figures (Naira) in my account for a long time.

Some days I am an innovator, some days, I am a poet, some days I am a social entrepreneur. Some days I am a changemaker, some days, I am working on an AI product. Some days I am writing prose. Some days I am an employer. Some days I am an employee. Some days I am a student, some days I am the teacher. Some days I am writing a book. Some days I am recording content. Some days I am sharing ideas. Some days I am a mentor, some days I am being mentored. Some days I am performing to a live audience. Some days I am reading to myself before I go to bed. Some days I am designing strategy, some days I am telling stories. Some days I am an activist, some days I am pitching an idea to a funder. This is what it means to live a life of plurality. The expression of your being to the fullest. Do not cage yourself. Let creation be your revolution. Live to the fullest.

Dear Mum, I am now an immaculate man and I could string five-letter words together. Yours-in-grief, Hammed #poetry #poem

You have to just hang in there. Stay long enough trying to solve the problem, pivot, scale down, build, iterate, evolve, let the idea die, build another version until some day, just some day, you reach a tipping point and it all start to connect. Ideas sometimes do not die, they just wait long enough for someone who is crazy to make it become a reality.

I was talking to a friend, and he reminded me of times when I tried to get the mic to talk about my work and was given only a minute to share. I could recall being invited to another event as a speaker, spending money to travel down, and not being called on stage. I could recall speaking at another event, no one really cared to listen except a very few and I could go on and on in the early days about wanting my voice to be heard and it seems no one was hearing. However today, I am no longer the one looking to speak to be heard, it is the platform seeking me and it has been happening on a larger and bigger scale. Last week, I was featured on BBC Gist Nigeria on Channels TV as a Makoko-Born Entrepreneur empowering young Africans with career and employability skills. Probably showing on the screens of millions of Nigerians. Watch below; youtu.be/yuhvp-72iWM?is=pSK8… I did not see that coming. I never asked for it but it walked its way through my doors. It is the reason why I believe that, time is a great leveler. It shows what endures and the only way you can weigh the merit of something is over time. So if you are trying to share or speak about your work and no one is listening. Keep at it. Keep building. Someday you won't be the one seeking the platform, the platform will be the one seeking you.

Sometimes you have to hang in there long enough until your opportunity arrives. I was in the news yesterday and featured on BBC GIST Nigeria, which aired on Channels TV. I spoke about our work @KLCI_Initiative , Rafiki AI, Skill2Rural.Org and Skill2Rural Bootcamp You can check me out via the link below and I just want to give a shout-out to Oluwaseun Idowu for making this happen. youtu.be/yuhvp-72iWM?is=uKTR… Truly the greatest recognition you can get is the one you did not ask for.

About this time a year ago, I shared this video of receiving the Being Edinburgh Alumni Award and speaking about my grief, and the world stopped a bit to listen to a young boy born and raised in Makoko slum. The speech went viral with over 4 million views across social media, and it brought a lot of good tidings From winning the Future Awards Africa for Community Action to being recognised as Nigerian of the Week by the National Orientation Agency to EIE One Nigeria of the Month to UKISCA Alum of the Year (whole of UK) to Afriball Culture Shapers Award to keynote speeches and many more. What made that speech memorable wasn’t the Awards afterward or the opportunities that came after. It was those who were seen through the speech. It was those who have lost one or two of their parents and are still looking for the courage to grieve. It was people who have lost their partners, friendships, etc. My DM were full of such stories and stories of how they have found the courage to move through my story. In fact, I have gotten messages about how it became a video that people play for students in school to find courage, and some have saved it to watch whenever they feel they want to give up. To be honest, I am still a 32-year-old man who once in a while, still grieves the loss of his mother, but I have accepted it. I have learned to walk with it, and the only way I can honor her is by creating, building, and pursuing my purpose. That the people we have lost have gone ahead of us so we could live and fulfil purpose, and they probably would be looking down on us with a great pride and be proud of what we have become and are becoming. To anyone who is still grieving. This is for you, and I hope you find the courage to grieve someday, and I hope you find purpose in your grief. Day One