Mark Idiahi, Convener, Africa Feature Leadership Conference and Award, and Founder of African Feature Leadership Magazine, promoting African cultural heritage. African Feature Leadership Conference Award has been in existence for the past 9 years. In this interview with Vistastimes in a recent conference, Mark Idiahi reveals how the group has impacted both young and old Nigerians through its leadership conference and award. And in commemoration of its 10 years anniversary, the management has decided to organise beauty pageant and celebrate African cultural heritage. Excerpts:
Mark speakings on the forthcoming conference…
So, we thought there is a way we can add some colour to what we do, considering the fact that we have been passionate about redefining and retelling African story. That is how the idea of organising pageant came about. This pageant called, “The Face of Africa Feature Leadership Conference” is conceived to beam light on African rich, fashion and beauty heritage. The ultimate goal is to showcase the rich fabric, fashion and everything beautiful about Africa. That is the essence of this conference which will serve as a prelude to the conference coming in October 2025.
We are going to have pageant, road show, audition, showcase African beauty, the fabrics, the fashion, all that makes African culture unique. We also have a model, actress as the face of the brand. Her name is Ivanilla. For every event you do, you must add a face to it. She is an ambassador of this brand.
At the conference proper, what should we be expecting?
We will be accepting entries from people who show interest. Thereafter we will be organising training for them while in the house. There will be guest facilitators to teach them those basic life ethics, business principles so that in the end we must have impacted on participants where we can be able to call them the ambassadors of The Face of African Feature Leadership Award.
At start I could still recollect that you were majoring on how to achieve good leadership and youth development, have you lost that focus?
No. That is the platform we are still riding on. We are young people, you must also understand that youth on my own concept transcends on the chronological face. As long as you are burning with passion, with the desire to make a difference in the world you are young. So, young people to us has always been the target audience. As long as you are aspiring to do something great, make a difference, you are young.
So far, what has been your motivation since inception?
In a country such as ours, where there are so many challenges in every adventure to weigh you down; for you to be able to do things, there must be a driving force. And what has been a driving force to me is my desire to make a difference. I don’t want to sit on the sideline. That is easy, and everybody can do that, pointing figure at what could have been done differently. In my own case, I want it to be said that I’m out there making efforts to change things and make a difference at the end of the day. I know it’s not going to be easy, Rome was not built in a day, but it is achievable. We have been on this for the past 9 years, and we are very optimistic we will get right somehow.
Tell us your achievements despite environmental challenges and others?
The testimonials are one of the things that kept us going. We have had people that confessed to us today that they have a good stories to tell. For instance, there is a lady called Ijeoma. When she attended the previous edition of our conference, she confessed that before the conference she was at a crossed-road and had made of her mind to give up in life. When she saw the flier of our last conference edition, she reluctantly decided to give it a trial and see what will come out of it. In a nutshell, Ijeoma today is a CEO of thriving brand. She told that she got the idea to open her outfit from our conference. One of the beautiful things that happens to people when they attend our conference is that we create an atmosphere that allows for networking which has helped many of them to meet destiny helpers. One of our partners in this programme today, was a guest participant at the last event. Today, she has followed the platform and met quiet a lot of people that has become useful to her.
Those are some of the motivations behind what we do, seeing people testify how they were helped from attending our conferences and event.
So, for me and my team is always about the next one, being able to bring dreams to life, being able to link people to investors, partners so that they can help them gain business ideas and develop it. Just like I hinted earlier, when you are living in a country like Nigeria, you need motivation and inspiration to move forward, else you may have laudable vision and dreams without execution. But when you come to this kind of environment and hear inspiring stories, people who made it from nothing, and today their brands are growing which can propel you to action.
Having been consistent for 9 years now, it involves funding, who are your partners?
Obviously, we do have some partners. We do have individuals over the years who have believed in what we are doing, brands also that came in to support us. We are at a point right now, where if we need to do bigger things with much impacts we will definitely be seeking and soliciting for partners, more sponsors. So, if there was going to be a time we need more partners, sponsorship, not that we have not had in the past, it is now. Like I told my team that if we believe in this dream we have to invest in it. Let me say, we are the first partners because I don’t see it as our thing, I see us partnering with vision itself, so that way we are able to commit finances, which is what we have been doing. But there is room for collaboration and we are open for this.
