Bio: Olugbenga Obakin is a financial-crime consultant based in the United Kingdom. He had his first degree in Geology from the prestigious premier university in Nigeria, University of Ibadan. He worked in different banks in Nigeria before proceeding to the United Kingdom to bag a Masters in Business Administration from Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield. Olugbenga is involved in youth mentoring and coaching. He is passionate about helping youths make good choices early in life. His passion, no doubt, has come from his background, having strict parents, his quest to explore life as a teenager, the choices he made, the choices made by others around him and the consequences thereafter. He believes in the saying “experience is the best teacher”. He has a good relationship with youths while mentoring them because he has seen it all and was able to make his choices through all these experiences to become who he is today. Olugbenga is involved with Rivers of Joy Initiatives, a non-profit organisation based in Essex through which he reaches out to youths during programmes and activities. He is also involved in catering for the homeless by providing food to sheltered homes. Olugbenga also features in open mic events and slams as well as spoken word events in the Northeast, England. His greatest passion is to impact society through the youths, as the youths are the future of tomorrow. He is happily married.
RLN: Tell us about your writing journey and at what point did you decide to publish a book?
GO: I have been involved in youth mentoring and coaching for a while now which I do through Rivers of Joy Initiatives, a charity organization in Essex, London and based on the results achieved so far, I realized I could reach more youths by writing a book on our discussions during these coaching sessions. This was when I decided to publish my book.
RLN: Your first book I heard will be released next month, who are your target audience and what themes does the book address?
GO: Yes, the book will be released online by June 10. The target audience will be teenagers aged 12-18, parents and people involved in youth coaching as well, as it serves as a guide to them in coaching youths. The book addresses themes such as peer pressure, positive use of internet and social media, drug abuse, relationship between parents and children, to mention a few.
RLN: When will the books be available for sale and on what platforms can interested readers buy from?
GO: The book will be available for sale from 10th June 2019 on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Okadabooks.
RLN: Would you say there can be perfect teens and how can parents deal with recalcitrant teens?
GO: There can be perfect teens. The book discusses topics such as dealing with peer pressure and staying confident in oneself. Staying confident and believing in oneself is very key as a teenager. It takes one through all stages in life. Being a perfect teen does not necessarily mean one gets it right 100%. But a teens self confidence and the peer group they keep can make them trace their steps back to the right path easily. Also, parents need to work together with teens at this stage of their lives and be strategic as well because it’s a very sensitive stage and this stage goes a long way to form the foundation of their future. The choices made will determine if a teen will be perfect or not. But in all, what matters most is to be able to find self-purpose in life. The power to make choices lie within but the consequences are way beyond us as we can not determine that. They only come automatically with the choices made and that is the major reason I wrote this book to help youths make good choices early in life so as to secure a good future.
RLN: Can we separate peer pressure from teens and what would you tell a teen/youth being challenged by peer pressure?
GO: Teens cannot be separated from peer pressure because this is a stage they identify themselves and establish the purpose for their lives, but self-confidence, identifying who they want to be friends with will go a long way to deal with peer pressure and this is one of the main messages I am passing across in the book.
RLN: Tell me more about your work around Teens/youth mentoring?
GO: I relate with youths based on my experience. I aim to build their self-confidence, to believe in themselves as this goes a very long way to help them find self-purpose. I have been doing this over the years especially since I relocated to the United Kingdom. I believe that with self-confidence, you can easily find the right path even when you sway from it.
RLN: What would a successful writing career look like to you?
GO: A successful writing career for me will be the positive impact my writing has on the youths and testimonials about how my writing has helped to coach youths to make the best out of their lives.
RLN: What are the major highlights of your writing career?
GO: I have featured in open mic events and slams as well as spoken word events in the Northeast and Essex in England.
RLN: What other literary genres do you write?
GO: I also write short poems but majorly around youths to inspire them.
RLN: Any advice for upcoming writers?
GO: My advice is for upcoming writers to read a lot, go to writing workshops, establish where their interests lie and create time out of their busy schedules to put their ideas down in black and white. No matter how long it takes, once they put their minds to it, it can be done.
This is very impressive and a good model of support for our youths.
Title is fascinating and thought provoking, can’t wait to read and also give as a gift to my nieces and nephews.. Thumbs up 👍Mr O , for putting these pieces into writing.
Highly motivating ,indeed there is hope for our youths and nation at large with this kind of resourceful book .
So sure that this book will have positive impact in the lives of our youths of today and goes a long way in providing significant force in their future endeavours……..
I believe the book would go a long way in dealing with teens and adolescents with low self esteem by making them more assertive and confident in their relationships with peers
Exactly what this growing generation needs. There are a lot of distractions out there and in the mist of all of these, how do teenagers make meaningful decisions especially when it comes the making choices that helps to structure plans towards making life purpose a fruitful one. I am eager to see the dimensions this book have taken to address a serious issue around us. Thank you
Very insightful!!
“This will be a road map for the youths and the parents”
At this time when young people are experiencing a lot of pressure, this book is a welcome addition to the numerous counsel young people need . It helps them to step back and think about the consequences of their actions and relationships. Well done
A good example for the youth . Can’t wait to read
I believe this will inspire our teanagers and guide them against peer pressure
This is a must have book for every teen in this changing word of ours. Gbenga Obakin clearly stated that staying confident and believing in oneself is key as a teenager. If a child is confident, there wont be room for thoughts such as suicide which is highly prevalent virtually every where now and this is devoid of race, colour or religious background. I don’t expect less from Gbenga Obakin who was raised by two disciplinarian, his dad was a school principal and the mum a class room teacher. They both instil the right attitude of hard work and the virtue of ‘omoluabi’ into young Gbenga. I commend us to buy and read the book.
I can’t wait for the book to be out. Welldone Gbenga.
Great one! Gbenga, your innate skills in writing as a teenager are now being brought to the fore to inspire and help teenagers!
I still remember the poem ‘Never Say Failure!’
Nice one friend. Kudos! Regards
Very excited to purchase this book
I am very impressed with Gbenga’s perspective on teens’ development. This is an area of immense interest to me too, and I have been doing stuffs around that. Schooling with him at post primary level back then at MHSI, afforded one an idea of his personality. He is a potpourri of qualities: brilliance; hardwork; steadfastness; discipline; and indeed, mischiefs just like the rest of us his mates. So, his slant on experience being the best teacher is just apt. He has written from that depth and I am confident that his maiden treatise on the subject of teens’ mentorship will be an eye opener for the target audience. Kudos matey! Keep it up!! So proud of you!!!
Such a great role model for the youth, its great to know that there are such amazing people out their trying to improve the lifestyle of youth.
I can definitely say I am excited for the book launch!
I am excited by the prospects this book offers. I’m glad it emphasizes parent-teen partnership as a strategy to helping teens through their difficult years.
I can’t wait to read it and recommend.
This book is a definitely must read for every teenager, as well as parents of teenagers, very relatable examples of day to day challenges.
I definitely recommend, very inspiring.
Heartfelt congratulations on your achievement.I can’t wait to read the book.
This is impeccable.A useful material for our present younger generation who live oblivious of good morals.
Love this!!
Excited to read this!
This should help improve the parent-child relationship.
This will be very useful for youths, especially with their self esteem and will help reduce crime rates once our youths have confidence in themselves. I believe generally it will help the youths with the choices they make at this stage of their lives.
If there’s any time the youth needs to identify and discover their purpose/ potential early in life in their teens is no better time than this generation we are living in. This book surely has the right material needed for these, I strongly recommend it for all who really care about fulfilling their purpose in life and for those who cares to mentor their teens and to positively influence their destiny. Definitely I believe there could be perfect Teens if we can make them.
Very educative and interesting
I have nothing but admiration and respect for anyone who can put pen to paper and succeed. So pleased to see you accomplishing great things, can’t wait to read it.
This was a great read. I’m glad that he has picked a sector of the population that really needs a lot of reform. You can mold a child but you can’t change an adult. He definitely is filled with a lot of depth, experience and sound words of wisdom and I cannot wait for a large number of the teenage population to hear his voice.
I believe a book such as this is very timely for these times and the climes we are in. It’s insightful. Well done, Gbenga.
Kudos to the author of this “piece of art” . Every parents need to have a copy of this book.Longing to have mine.
Mr O well done. What an amazing & inspiring book for the upcoming boys and girls. Indeed, parents too will benefit immensely from this masterpiece. May the good Lord bless your knowledge.
Now, with what I read from the interview, I am already anxious to read this book because I like to read from authors who know what they are doing.
Another exciting angle for me on this is that a kit if ficus us in youths and children but very little in the teens. Thank you Gbenga for answering the call.
what a resourceful material for this sinking generation.I bet you the world at large had waited earnestly for this book. I salute your passion for the youth of this moment. I strongly believe that this book will go a long way in quenching the many thirsty questions underlying the minds of our youth. Anyway i believe with this book, it is solution time for the youth. Could there be perfect youth really? Please watch out. Congratulations.
Wow……this is a good piece. I can’t wait to get this book. Can you recommend any writing workshop? Am interested. Thanks
It is very inspiring especially with the amount of peer pressure amongst youths. Kudos to the initiative of mentoring youths because it’s much needed.
Beautiful piece n motivating.. am sure these will help mould n inspire our youths n also parents… God bless d author of this book!
Nice one bro. No one is perfect, teenagers need guidance hence the need for adults to be good examples to them. Well done
In a day and age where peer pressure is greatly impacted by the virtual world such as social media in its many platforms, this book is the reassurance and voice of reason. Its absolutely critical we support our youth and provide them with guidance and the emotional skills to deal with the many ‘issues’ they face today. This book does just that simply and coherently. The author obviously cares about his cause. I’m looking forward to what’s next!!!
I believe this is a book that will make great impact on the teens. The issue of self esteem and peer pressure is a big one among teens this days. Looking forward to getting a copy for my boys.
I believe this is a book that will make great impact on the teens. The issue of self esteem and peer pressure is a big one among teens this days. Looking forward to getting a copy for my boys.
Can’t wait to read the entire book. Very educative and a must read for every teenager.
An insight to the struggles in our modern social media society, that our teens go through. Such issues need more attention and this book highlights such struggles, so this piece and any other of this nature need to be encouraged and promoted, so our youths suffering from such overlooked issues, don’t fall victim or go astray. Thank you very much Obakin!
A worthy read. Will make every adult think twice about teenagers in a positive light. Well written!
Very inspiring, there is no such gift that is perfect for our youths compared to this book, it is a move in the right direction in Preparing the minds of our youths for their future.
Highly motivating…. definitely a must read for me … with books like this I believe There’s hope for our youths.
This is very inspiring and motivating, I hope the content of the book shall have a significant impact on our youth.Thank you Mr Obakin for your words of encouragement to motivate our teens, weldone a very interesting and inspiring book.
Well done sir, can’t wait to read the book
Looking forward to reading this! Very excited to read your perspective on this sensitive topic.
Can’t wait to get this book for my teen kids. God bless you for this book.
An interesting piece & insightful as well. I believe this book will make an impact on teens. Will surely recommend this to teenagers & youths in my neighbourhood.
A worthy read^^^ congrats Mr Obakin, #welldone
The title is really captivating,I can’t wait to read this book.Well done sir