Excellence Needs No Translation: Pastor Ayo Ajani on taking ideas beyond borders at TEDxNUTM

At the 2025 TEDxNUTM themed “Think Global, Go Global” held at the Alliance Française de Lagos, Ikoyi, global voices converged to share insights on innovation, business, and cultural impact.

Among the lineup of thought leaders, including Abubakar Suleiman (MD/CEO, Sterling Bank), Okechukwu Enelamah (Chairman, African Capital Alliance), and Napa Onwusah (Managing Partner, PlacidCode Labs), one talk stood out for its evocative storytelling and global resonance.

Pastor Ayo Ajani, Global Senior Pastor of Petra Christian Centre, delivered a riveting address titled “Exporting Excellence: Taking Your Ideas Beyond Borders.” His central thesis: excellence is the universal passport that allows ideas to travel across cultures without losing their impact.

Opening with a Japanese legend about sushi, Pastor Ayo traced its transformation from a humble preservation method for fishermen to a cultural export that has now conquered global palates.

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His punchline was sharp: “Excellence is a universal language.” Just as sushi’s reinvention carried it from Tokyo to New York, he showed clearly that any idea whether born in Lagos, Nairobi, or Accra can cross borders when wrapped in excellence.

He illustrated key examples of ideas crossing borders through excellence. From K-pop dominating global charts due to excellence in choreography and storytelling to Afrobeats, once a niche Nigerian sound becoming a global phenomenon, Pastor Ayo reiterated that everyone’s ideas has the potential to cross borders, but that trip only happens because of excellence.

Closing with a return to his sushi metaphor, Ayo Ajani drove home his final point: “Sushi crossed oceans without speaking a word. Your idea can too. Not because of marketing strategies, but because excellence doesn’t need translation. All you need to think and go global is to craft excellence so undeniable it whispers across borders and still gets heard.”

His talk received a standing ovation, cementing it as one of the most memorable moments of TEDxNUTM 2025. For innovators across Africa and beyond, the message was clear: if you want your ideas to travel, excellence is your passport.

Ifeoma Okeke-Korieocha

Ifeoma Okeke-Korieocha is the Aviation Correspondent at BusinessDay Media Limited, publishers of BusinessDay Newspapers. She is also the Deputy Editor, BusinessDay Weekender Magazine, the Saturday Weekend edition of BusinessDay. She holds a BSC in Mass Communication from the prestigious University of Nigeria, Nsukka and a Masters degree in Marketing at the University of Lagos. As the lead writer on the aviation desk, Ifeoma is responsible and in charge of the three weekly aviation and travel pages in BusinessDay and BDSunday. She also overseas and edits all pages of BusinessDay Saturday Weekender. She has written various investigative, features and news stories in aviation and business related issues and has been severally nominated for award in the category of Aviation Writer of the Year by the Nigeria Media Nite-Out awards; one of the Nigeria’s most prestigious media awards ceremonies. Ifeoma is a one-time winner of the prestigious Nigeria Media Merit Award under the 'Aviation Writer of the Year' Category. She is the 2025 Eloy Award winner under the Print Media Journalist category. She has undergone several journalism trainings by various prestigious organisations. Ifeoma is also a fellow of the Female Reporters Leadership Fellowship of the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism.