Nigerian ambassador signs up for Yonsei’s Global MBA

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Nigerian ambassador signs up for Yonsei’s Global MBA

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Desmond Akawor

Yonsei University’s Graduate School of Business is expected to receive a special new student this March.

Desmond Akawor, the Nigerian ambassador to Korea, will enter the Global MBA Weekend Program, a two-year regular graduate course operated by the school.

Akawor, posted here last April, said he has been preparing for entering an MBA program in Korea ever since he was appointed as ambassador.

He carefully examined the programs on offer while busily seeking the advice of Korean business executives in Nigeria.

So what drove the Nigerian ambassador to pursue an MBA in Korea?

“Nigeria is rich in underground resources like oil and gas, but it hasn’t yet developed its potential. I hope to learn the secrets of Korea’s remarkable economic development and transmit them to Nigeria,” the ambassador-cum-student said.

What particularly interested him was the resilience of the Korean economy, he said.

“The Korean economy has strong roots that have been reinforced through numerous crises. It’s amazing that a country that received an emergency loan from the International Monetary Fund has recovered in just 10 years.

“The Korean economy is now stricken by the global economic downturn, but I believe that Korea will weather the current storm and leap again.”

Akawor is from the Ndoki minority, one of 250 tribes in Nigeria. The Ndoki account for less than 1 percent of the total Nigerian population.

In Nigeria, which is dominated by three major tribes that make up half the population, it is difficult for people to achieve a high position in government unless they can speak all three tribal languages plus English, which is another official language.

Under these circumstances, how did Akawor, who started out as an employee of an aluminum manufacturing company, work his way up to become an ambassador?

“I’ve persevered in my efforts to learn everything I need. As a result, I now speak Ibo [the language of one of the main tribes in Nigeria] more fluently than anyone from that tribe,” he said.

Education is clearly a cornerstone in his personal and professional philosophy.

“I think people who don’t study as a regular thing are as good as dead. I put aside more than two hours every day for my studies even now.”

Akawor is eagerly looking forward to his new campus life, which will begin next month.

“I’d like to meet many students from various countries and exchange ideas with them. Now my heart flutters in anticipation of my new life on campus.”


By Esther Rhee JoongAng Ilbo [spark0320@joongang.co.kr]
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