DAD, ABII AND I
A while ago, my mum came to the UK with my dad’s laptop and gave it to me.A presentation titled:
“The Making of a Manager.”
Out of curiosity, I opened it.
But by the time I finished reading it…
it didn’t feel like curiosity anymore.
It felt like a conversation.
When Something Stays With You
That presentation stayed with me.
Not just for a day.
Not just for a moment.
But in a way that made me pause and think:
There has to be more.
It made me want to dig deeper into other things he had written.
To understand how he thought.
How he led.
How he became who he was.
The Problem
The laptop we believed had everything…
had been damaged by my little niece.
And for a moment, it felt like those insights were
The Realisation
Then I remembered something about myself.
Whenever something is important to me,
I send it to myself.
Emails. Links. Thoughts.
And I thought…
What if he did the same?
And He Did
So I went into his sent emails.
And there it was.
A quiet archive of how he kept growing.
How he kept learning.
How he kept becoming.
And in that moment, I found five things he consistently did to improve himself as a leader and a manager.
1. He Documented What Mattered
He would send himself pictures of me and my children.
From Instagram.
Even though he already had access to them.
At first, I didn’t understand.
But now I do.
He was preserving moments.
Holding onto what mattered.
2. He Stayed Curious About the World
He regularly read articles from University World News.
Topics like:
• African academics and publication struggles
• Leadership in research capacity
• Global academic development
This wasn’t passive reading.
This was intentional growth.
3. He Invested in Emotional Intelligence
He read articles from Inc.com, including:
“What separates leaders with emotional intelligence from those with high IQ.”
And honestly?
That explains everything.
Because leadership isn’t just about intelligence.
It’s about people.
4. He Never Stopped Improving His Craft
He was still reading materials from UCLA on:
• Statistical methods
• Data analysis
• Advanced research computing
Even more interesting?
He had already written a book on statistical analysis years ago.
And yet… he was still learning.
Still refining.
Still growing.
5. He Stayed Connected to His Roots
He continued reading agricultural research materials reading article from IITA.
That was his field animal nutrition and biochemistry.
Even after everything he had achieved…
He didn’t disconnect from it.
He deepened it.
The Lesson That Changed Me
There was one line from his presentation that never left me:
“As a manager, you must identify your gaps and intentionally fill them.”
Now, whenever I’m building, working, or even just thinking, I ask myself:
What’s the gap?
The Realisation
My dad didn’t stop.
Even after leadership.
Even after success.
Even when he could have.
He kept learning.
And now I understand something about myself.
Why I push.
Why I build.
Why I refuse to stay still.
It didn’t come from nowhere.
It came from him.
Final Thought
If there’s one thing I’ve learned from my mentor, my father, it’s this:
Growth is not a phase.
It’s a lifestyle.
So I’ll leave you with this:
What’s your gap?
And more importantly…
What are you doing to fill it?
With Love,
Ayo
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