Magna Faith is a woman of many parts- media entrepreneur, mentor of presenters and entrepreneurs, a broadcaster of note who anchors several broadcast programmes in the United States that deal with the Africans in the Diaspora, especially Nigerians, focusing on their lifestyle; tracking their investments and entrepreneurship as well as treatments and relationship of Africans with the Americans. Although, Magna Faith is US-based, she is a Nigerian who hails from Karim in Lamido Local Government Area of Taraba State in the North East. In this interview, she spoke with RAZAQ AYINLA on Nigerians’ experiences in foreign lands. Excerpts:
How has been your Entrepreneurship journey so far, especially in the foreign land?
My entrepreneurship journey has been an interesting one. First, I realised that it is not about making money, it is about solving problems for societal development, and if at all you eventually make enough money while solving a problem, what you use the money for matters so much. Nevertheless, impacting lives has been the most gratifying for me in my entrepreneurship journey. As I have said earlier, entrepreneurship is more about solving a problem. People have identified various gaps, but the most pressing for me are leadership, mentorship, quality education, empowerment and capacity building for youth, women and the girl child in the society.
Having lived in Nigeria and the US, how can you describe your experience in both countries?
I have acquired knowledge and mastery in diverse areas through my experience in Nigeria and exposure to the US Corporate and Academic world. While it’s been very challenging traveling between both countries, I have garnered great experience in the United States and also in my home country Nigeria. See, the US has a large and stable economy that encourages freedom of speech and expression. More importantly and especially for my business, freedom of the press and media. Hence, diverse media outlets offer different perspectives. I found, what was organic within the US system like adequate education at college level, comfortable housing, relative security, energy, latest technology, access to great healthcare, and high overall standard of living among others were advantages I personally experienced. On the other hand, the ethnic diversity and its influence on culture in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, aiding me to speak more than one language, the infrastructural challenges we have in a nation, abundance of land, but yet high cost of living, income inequality, insecurity, community and societal engagements, among others, are all evidences of how different both nations are.
How would you rate the performance of Nigerians abroad?
Wow! This is an interesting question. Nigerians are doing awesome things abroad; you really need to come see these things for yourself. Our people are movers, shakers and ground breakers. Nevertheless, the bad eggs seem to be denting the image of the good ones. It is quite unfortunate that we read more of bad news about Nigerians abroad than the good ones. On my show – The MagnaMomentum show which is an offspring of FootPrints of Nigerians in the Diaspora- showcases and highlights the great and unique things Nigerians are doing in the Diaspora. Millions of Nigerians have emigrated from Nigeria and in 2012 alone Nigerians in the Diaspora remitted $21billion, $38billion in 2017 to Nigeria and currently are the most educated ethnic group in the U.S. Bear in mind that most members of the Nigerian Diaspora maintain strong ties with their families, friends and relatives back in Nigeria. While, there has been limited formal studies of we, Nigerians in the Diaspora we are the highest percentage of Bachelor Degree holders among Africa immigrants.
What can you say about Nigerians who invest heavily abroad?
For me, Nigerians investing abroad is a challenge we all must curb. When you look around, you hearing large figures investment by Nigerians abroad and this sometimes makes you wonder why they refuse to invest these money in their homeland. It is wrong, I believe greater security on investment and resources will promote more investments in Nigeria. We must continue to highlight the potential of the Nigerian Diaspora as evident source of not only economic but social development. I see where Nigerians abroad fear that issues of insecurity, escalation of banditry, and rapid increase of violence in the North Central part amongst other factors will deter economic prosperity and other initiatives. A major concern is the grand corruption that the nation has seen which is central to economic policies. Nigeria’s poor infrastructure and challenging business environment has discouraged not only her Diaspora but also foreign investors. The western world has done well with regards to facilitating the mobilisation of investment and talent. We must do likewise and leverage the emotional connection we as Nigerian Diasporas have with our home country.
Apparently, you have interviewed some of the shakers and movers in Nigeria and abroad. What has been your take out from them?
That is true. That is what MagnaMomentum represents. We feature people of African descent especially Nigerians in the Diaspora and discuss issues across various spheres. My take out from most episodes is that, media and the society will do well if we amplify authentic voices, people who truly make a difference, inspire and cause change. People are results of information they feed on. We must ensure that what we have on our screens are what we want our children to become.
How are you giving back to Nigeria?
Recently, I co-founded a school aimed at improving the quality of education and special education in Nigeria. “JK Academy” named after my father Deputy Inspector General of Police (Rtd) Jonathan Johnson Krimi who served Nigeria and instilled in me the mindset of service birth a scholarship program JK Foundation Schools Fund which provides free education for internally displaced people. I coach and mentor youth, young adults and even adult women, I facilitate STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) programmes for youth, serve on several boards, facilitate vocational and skills acquisition programmes for women, present empowerment programmes, provide platforms for graduate internships and facilitate trade between organisations in the US and Nigeria.
What can you say about the current government?
The government is doing fine, but I believe there is always room for improvement with the support of the citizens and other stakeholders.
How would you describe Nigerian economy?
Many years of mismanagement and lack of leadership has stunted our economic growth. It is evident fact that outside of the energy sector our economy is inefficient. Seeing, a decaying infrastructure, unreliable and/or almost no power supplies, from transportation, mining, foreign investments, underdeveloped human capital to endemic corruption which has tainted our business environment our economy is suffering. We must make progress towards achieving macroeconomic stability, accountability, poverty reduction, gender equality, good healthcare and more.
What are the roles of women in governance?
Women have a right and as much a part in government. Effective leadership can only be attained with the inclusion of women. Particularly crucial is gender diversity in public sphere. Inequality has destabilised the Nigerian economy especially our political systems, undermining resilience, precipitating grievances, and sowing the seeds of social unrest and conflict. Women challenge conceptually the dimensions of inequality structural forms of discrimination and exclusion. Women bring about a fine balance in policies which reinforce economic inequality foster discrimination showing a roadmap to providing solution to our issues as a “People”.
Where do you see Nigeria in say, 10 years to come?
I see Nigeria getting better, a safe and enabling environment that will conducive for business and participation in public and community affairs. I see change in laws, policies and institutional arrangements with implementation of effective remedies. I am hopeful that we will see a Nigeria where we enjoy freedom of expression, including the right of access to information, increased participation and engagement in public affairs by her citizenry. I am hopeful we will have a Nigeria that encourages freedom of media and safety of journalists, women and human rights defenders. A Nigeria where there is mutual respect, understanding and trust between public authorities and civil society. I see our citizenry having unlimited opportunities to live their dreams. I believe we can and, yes we will.
With all you have said, one will want to ask a simple question- what gave all these experiences?
I find this particular question interesting. About what I do, I have had a very interesting career prior to my current niche which is media, community building and SDGs. I have proven expertise in up-to-date HR management, organisational leadership, project management and technological practices. I have had the advantage of providing mentorship and training for youth and women under United Nations and African Union affiliated organisations. I specialised in maximising individuals and groups’ talents through setting strategies, team building and resource optimisation. In my collaborations with international organisations, I have managed over 600 financial portfolios and provided capacity structure for them. I have mobilised for partnership with various global agencies, facilitating trade in Africa, United States and the rest of the Western World. I also provide culturally competent programmes to local and international corporations as well as promoting their interest. On my SDGs activities, in a bid to uphold quality education, I founded JK Academy, an elementary and secondary school in Nigeria to support the less-privileged in society. Under the umbrella of the African Union, our team facilitated the 1st Annual STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) camp for children of African descent in the District of Columbia. I serve as Media Consultant for candidates of African descent running for office in the Diaspora. I have experience serving as Adjunct lecturer for Impact SilverSpring; I currently serve as Executive Director, African Global Center, Vice President, Global Progressive Women’s Network, Member, United Nations Women National Committee, Ambassador, 1000 African Women Network, Member, United African Congress, Member, Women Speakers Association USA, Member, United Nations Committee on the Status of Women, Ambassador, Libertad Foundation, Member, Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation, Ambassador Lady B Bless Humanitarian Foundation and Chair BOD, Jonathan Krimi Foundation, among other designations.
As a Media Entrepreneur, I run a full scale audio visual studio in the Washington D.C Metropolitan Area of the USA. I Co-host a radio talkshow with Media veteran Ester Davis and online TV show ‘WarDesk’ with Fmr. USA State department official Douglas Burton. I host a popular online TV Show ‘MagnaMomentum’ and serve as contributor/analyst on several media platforms around the world. I am a public speaker who focuses on Leadership, Mentorship and Empowerment. I have spoken at several institutions like the University of Ibadan, United States Senate Building, United Nations Headquarters, University of Ilorin, Lead City University, Strayer University, Ghana Embassy, Local and International Community Centers among many others.
