Emeka Azinge (a.k.a. Mr EMEDITH) prides himself in his professional qualifications, exceptional business intellect and his burning desire to create future leaders. He has an infectious passion for education and learning, and believes that everyone can be successful in academics, and flourish in their career if they develop a plan of action for achieving goals, and gain self-awareness about their skills, interests, and values.

As a great orator, motivator and personal development expert, he has been described as an “awesome speaker” and the “foundation of a new breed of talent”. He is an amiable and skilled facilitator, a member of the International Association of Facilitators (I.A.F). His oratory style, articulation and content has seen him invited to speak at the London School of Economics, United Kingdom.

In this interview with Thelma Mbachu, this awesome speaker shares his perspective on business and the power of inner will.

Can we meet Mr. EMEDITH, the personal development expert?

I am Emeka Azinge A.K.A. Mr. EMEDITH, founder and C.E.O EMEDITH CONSULTING as well as the Founder and Managing Partner, EMEDITH SOLICITORS: a corporate and commercial law firm.

I attended Cardiff University where I obtained a Bachelors’ degree in Law and King’s College London where I obtained Master’s degree in commercial and financial Law, and I am currently pursuing a Doctorate of Business Administration (DBA) with the University of Liverpool. As managing Partner of EMEDITHSOLICITORS, I am in charge of ensuring that the practice delivers optimum satisfaction to clients at all times and in every circumstance, thus leaving no room for mediocrity.

As the C.E.O of EMEDITH CONSULTING, I engage in a whole host of activities which include, but are not limited to, spear-heading the research and creation of contemporary soft-skills sessions for teens, students and adults, facilitation of these sessions (in conjunction with the other facilitators under the company’s employment), delivering inspirational and motivational speeches on the invitation/engagement/retainership of various schools, groups and corporate bodies.

You attended the Cardiff Law School, can you please tell us how your experience at the Cardiff Law School has affected your world view?

Yes, I attended Cardiff Law School, as well as Kings College London. There is little doubt that the exposure garnered from my years in the United Kingdom has been of immense help in establishing and running a contemporary organisation, which can thrive both locally and globally in the long term. My view of the world is not dominated by a ‘single story’. This simply implies that I view the world through different lenses in order to arrive at a robust and holistic paradigmatic worldview.

What would you say was the starting point of your awesome speaking career?

I consider the starting point of my speaking career to be a personal volunteering mentoring programme I engaged in while a student of Cardiff University that, amongst other things, entailed speaking to teens and students about choosing their careers and taking the little steps towards the future they desire. I engaged in this volunteering programme throughout the duration of my time at Cardiff and the experience increased my desire to focus along such line upon my return to Nigeria.

In every organization one is faced with different huddles, can you please give us an example of such and tell us how you were able to overcome them.

There is no doubt that every organisation faces obstacles of different sorts. For my organisation, I would say that our greatest hurdle was getting secondary schools to buy into the idea and need for students to engage in personal development and soft-skills development, thus embedding our teen personal development package on their syllabus. However we have made remarkable progress in this regard and we are currently developing novel ways to engage such key stakeholders in order to ensure continuing working relationships. Good use of social media and effective communication with our key stakeholders was vital to overcoming the hurdles we faced and still face from time to time.

Barely three years after obtaining your LLB at the Cardiff law school, you opened your own practice, how were you able to stay at the top of your game given the current belief that a Lawyer must have a longer stay at the bar before being recognized and getting the clients he deserves?

I guess we have all heard the saying ‘different strokes for different folks’. I am not a positivist in my mentality; I would say that I am ‘post-modernist’. What this means is I am of the school of thought that there is no objective reality as we all construct our individual realities. Thus, if it was hitherto unheard of, now it has been heard of, and therefore an inspiration for others to know that you do not have to go grey to build your own practice or business.

You head two companies, a consulting company and a Law firm. How does a typical weekday look like for you?

My weekday varies from day to day depending on a number of constantly changing factors. However, I get to the office at about 10am daily and most times I am in the office till 8pm, 9pm, and even 10pm on some days. However I have my light days as well so it sort of balances out. There are days I have to facilitate sessions, see clients one‐on‐one on personal development issues, also on legal issues as well. There are also days where I engage in arbitration activities, as I am an associate member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators UK, Nigeria branch. So you see, there really is no typical day, which is the very beauty of the ‘hustle’.

Read the full interview here.