By CHARLES KUMOLU

As a younger person, Moses Siasia knew quite early in life that the choice of becoming successful was solely his responsibility. Losing his father early challenged him the more to make something beyond the average out of life. Faced with the challenges inherent in surviving with just his mother as a benefactor in his formative years in a family of 11, Siasia carefully made the choices that qualified him as one of the leading youth leaders and entrepreneurs in Nigeria. From Mile 3 Motor Park, Port Harcourt where he sold Kerosene as a child, to his days at the Rivers State University of Science and Technology where he planted flowers for people to see himself through school, he remained committed to his goals. Also, with mentorship from some renowned personalities, locally and internationally, Siasia has become one of Nigeria’s golden youths.
He symbolises the dynamism of an emerging generation of Nigerians. Siasia’s commitment to youths as the key movers of Africa’s transformation, is demonstrated by his commitment to social works and entrepreneurship. Siasia heads a multibillion naira business empire, the Mosilo Group. He was listed among the top 200 young economic leaders of Africa  by the Choiseul Institute for International Politics and Geo-economics, France in its 2014 ranking. He ran for the govern orship of Bayelsa State in 2015.

What was your  background like?

I am an  enterprising  man. Growing up was very difficult for me having come from a family of 11 children. And we lost our father at a very young age. Things were very difficult for us and we were not sure about the future as young people at that time. But we had hopes about the future anyway.  I had to fend for myself through school and I saw what is called poverty. Several years ago when I was very young in JSS2, I lost my father.

I had no hopes but I believed that things were going to be good. What I  did was to work very had to safeguard our future. My background was very humble. I sold oranges and Kerosene to survive at Mile 3 Motor Park, Porthacourt. So, it was not just that one was born into affluence as it appears.  I was so resilient at that time and I made a choice that I am going to be sure that I safeguard my future.

I promised myself that I am going to be responsible and safeguard my family and my society. At the time I entered the university, I was planting flowers for people and I saw myself through school. So, it was not that it was all rosy.  It was quite tough, I started from a very humble background and today, I have grown so big.

Can you share some experiences that left you with memorable impressions?

At a very young age, a youth event I attended at the United Nations was among the events that impacted my life positively.  It was a youth programme at the UN level. Then I was residing in Porthacourt with my mother. My perception about life when I attended that event changed. I saw how young people were bringing change to their environment by contributing to economic growth and future advancement. That made me very inspired and motivated especially given the calibre of young people, who were contributing to the future of the society, who I met. I was very inspired. The knowledge that I  actually derived at that event changed my perception about life. And I was no more thinking about my environment alone again, I was now thinking about the world. I was now thinking about how I can leave the Niger Delta region then and become more of a national figure. I was now thinking about how to make impact and do business to gain economic power. The lessons I learnt were very remarkable because they eventually broadened my horizon and shaped my thinking.

•Siasia

Were there personalities that influenced you in remarkable ways to become who you are today?

There are several people in Nigeria and internationally, who really influenced my personality and added value to me. The late Dr.  Dapa Brieye was one of them. As a young man in school, I learnt a lot from him. I always went to him anytime I did not have lectures to learn history and how Nigeria can move forward. To me, I found it interesting finding a man, who is so full of passion, zeal and desire to bring the much-needed growth to his people. As a very young man, he actually exposed me to a lot of people. I started following him at that very young age to have meetings in the Northern part of Nigeria. When visitors came from different parts of the country, he would always invite me and introduce me to them. I became very active as a young man in the SouthSouth Peoples Conference which we actually founded several years ago. I learnt a lot from him.  I met Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, who is one of those that actually shaped my thinking. I never had the habit of reading but Jonathan thought me how to read books. Today, I read a lot of books because a personality like him thought me how to read books. Prof E. J Alagwa was also one of them. I became close to the late Admiral Mike Akhigbe at a point. I learned a lot about discipline, values in life, how to be very credible, how to stand out among my peers, the principle of credibility, integrity, and truth. He thought me how to live a modest life and a life of influence. I also learned a lot from other people. I had the opportunity of meeting with Nelson Mandela and Barack Obama. So, where I am coming from and the kind of people I have met, added positive value to my growth.

 Your name is also synonymous with the Mosilo Group, at what point did you take to business and how were you able to build your brand?

I have always had a passion for business. I started this business when I was in Porthacourt 14 years ago. I started as Mosilo Global Services and today, it is now a group of companies.  And going into the last governorship contest in Bayelsa was an opportunity to showcase my ability and to contribute to the process of growth. Mosilo Group which I head is a group of companies that have key investments in key sectors of the economy. We have interest in oil and Gas which we have been providing man power for specific projects in the sector. We have also been doing a lot of procurement in the sector. We are also doing a lot of capacity building programmes by training young people in the oil and gas sector on the oil spill and environmental degradation management. This is what my company has been doing over the years. Our major client which is the Nigerian content development board has actually complimented us by training young people on the oil spill and environmental degradation management.

As a company, we diversified into agriculture last year and we are doing big in that. We have a rice farm in Cross River where we also cultivate cassava. We are working on cultivating 100 tonnes per day for local consumption and export. We are also looking at investing in agriculture in Bayelsa. So, Mosilo is a company that is doing quite well in raising the bar of business pursuit in Nigeria.  To build this brand, we ensured that we don’t look at the amount of money we make. Of course, we are in business to make money but we look at the deliverables that bring clients’ satisfaction. And we try as much as possible to keep to global standards which are why our customers are satisfied with what we do.

You are prominent in a country where the youths have not been given the space to achieve their potentialities, how was it possible for you to have come this far?

While in school, I established the Niger Delta Centre for Adolescent Development. It was an NGO that takes care of adolescents in the Niger Delta region. At a point in school, we started the South South Youth Leaders Forum which was aimed at bringing youth leaders in the SouthSouth together to form a common front. We changed the perception of young people in the Niger Delta region and also built their capacity by helping them get access to information that will enable them to achieve their dreams. I was the chairman for five years. I became the Coordinator of Niger Delta Peace Forum, which is one of the key organizations that gave birth to the Amnesty Programme. We worked very hard strategically to bring peace to the Niger Delta region during the peak period of militancy. The forum was initiated by the late National Security Adviser, Gen Owei Azazi during his reign as the Chief of Army Staff.  We can beat our chest and say that we were one of those that engaged the Federal Government to ensure that peace returned to the Niger Delta region. I was also involved in the SouthSouth Peoples Assembly led by Chief Edwin Clark as a youth representative. These are the few key platforms we started with. At a point, I registered the Niger Delta Young Professionals which we used in doing a lot of human capacity building in the region. Having seen what we were able to achieve with that forum, people were asking why we did not nationalize it. At that point, we had to start the Nigerian Young Professionals Forum, NYPF which is a global organization today. I am very glad that I am part of that process that gives opportunities to young people. As a country, Nigeria has not been able to tap up to five percent of its youthful resources and that is why the country is like this today.  We live in a technologically driven age and the movers and shakers of this age are less than 35 years.  That is why I have so much passion for the growth of our youths.

Your platform, the Nigeria Young Professionals Foundation, NYPF, is known for interventions for a better society, can you tell us the story of NYPF and the things you have achieved so far?

The NYPF started from a very humble beginning. Today, we are in 15 countries in the world with regional heads. I have looked at all young organisations in the country and I have not seen any that can actually be on the same level with NYPF especially in terms of achievements. We have actually touched the lives of young people especially those in the rural areas. We started a programme called The Future Revolves Around Me for rural school children across the country.  We actually gave scholarships to young people in primary schools. Educational materials were also provided for rural children to support them to go to school.  We have reached about 17, 000 people in rural communities. Scholarships have also been awarded to those from disadvantaged backgrounds, who didn’t have the hope of going to school. The records are there to show things we have done.  Health programmes have been carried out. Young people have also been given grants to support their businesses.

We are looking at three key sectors, which are education, agriculture, and ICT.

Our greatest aim is to put a very solid foundation for young people in the country. Our achievements are numerous.  At the UN level, we have played key roles by participating in strategic discussions in terms of economic growth.  Partnerships are continuously being built with international agencies. For instance, we have a partnership with Georgia State University for exchange programmes and we have a partnership with Mastercard Foundation. That shows that in as much as NYPF has Nigeria as its base, it is a global organization because of our presence in some countries.

On power sector

The issue of the power sector national sensitization workshop for youth leaders in communities where there are pipelines is very important at this time. We have not been so blessed with proffering sustainable solutions when it comes to power supply in Nigeria. It is the young people that suffer the most from all the crises in the sector as evident from the alarming level of unemployment in the country. We have actually taken the lead to organize this workshop to look at how to stop pipeline vandalism so we can have an improved power supply. It aims at stopping the young people from vandalizing equipment in the power sector because by doing that, they are also destroying their future.  We understand that there are certain key stakeholders, who are benefiting from it. And they have even called us to prevent us from going ahead with the workshop.

Where do you draw inspirations from?

What actually motivates me are the enormous opportunities we have because Nigeria is a land of plenty. My passion for change and to see that I add value to the society motivates me. In doing all I have been into, I have been guided by values of trust, integrity and my Christian belief. I believe that so much needs to be done in Nigeria through being selfless. For me, it is not about the amount of money I have been able to make but the number of lives I have touched. I try as much as possible to be the change that I want to see.

Can you tell us what it feels like contesting for the governorship position of your state a relatively young age in a society where young people are hardly given the space to achieve their dreams?

It was a very funny experience but I am happy that I participated. I would have felt so sad if I did not do that. It was an experience worthwhile and running for the governorship in that part of the country was not a small experience. I gathered valuable experiences and it offered me insight into so many things that I didn’t know. Being the youngest made me see myself as a winner. At the end of the exercise, I emerged third. It was a good experience that offered me the opportunity be close to my people because I was only concerned about my business and social work before then.

On Bayelsa State

My passion about my state is to see that it is developed and gets to its destined destination. I keep telling people, who care to listen that we are not where we are supposed to be. The state needs a lot of professionalism and ideas for it to be where it is supposed to be. Government and stakeholders need to understand that there is the need for a bottom to top approach and not top to bottom approach.  Blue ocean economy and investment in agriculture can change the current economic landscape in Bayelsa. I believe the state governor is doing his best but all stakeholders need come together and put political differences aside and contribute our quota.