34. Remember the Son of Who You Are
After we had our first daughter in El Paso, Texas, I received some news that filled me with joy and awe. Pastor Poju Oyemade reached out to invite me to speak at The Platform. It was 2016, and I believed then that I was the youngest person ever to be given that stage. It felt like a full-circle moment: years earlier, Sunkanmi Agbomeji and I had wandered around Tafawa Balewa Square searching for a seat. Six years later, I was the one asked to mount the podium and speak to the world about the value of data.
My friend Niyi Agunloye and I planned the trip together. The route was El Paso → Houston → Istanbul → Abuja. But just hours before our flight from El Paso to Houston, it was cancelled. Panic set in. After checking options, our best bet was to fly to Dallas, then to Houston, and race to catch the international leg.
We barely made it. In Houston, the waiting time was razor-thin. I sprinted ahead to the gate while Niyi handled our bags. The last passengers were boarding. I tried to stall the line, but the staff refused to let Niyi through with the luggage — check-in had closed. In that split second, I thought of leaving without him. I couldn’t miss The Platform. But his passport was with me. I stood shouting, “Niyi! Niyi!” across the barrier, an impenetrable wall between us. He answered, faintly distressed from the weight of the bags. How would I miss The Platform? I thought about leaving with his passport and letting him sort it out himself, as the flight was about to close. The memories of The Platform came rushing back — the brilliance of multiple speakers, and the unforgettable serial teaching of Professor Osinbajo on ethics, washing over me like a flood. How will I miss this?
I realized then: sometimes the real test is not about what you stand to lose, but about what’s at stake for the people who trust you. We often want every feeling to be valid, but as we progress and seek meaning in our lives, we are called to look beyond feelings and ask: what is truly at stake? It’s not everyone that drags us online that’s worth responding to or every issue worth speaking on.
I could have gone on alone, but what would it mean to abandon a friend who had carried me in more ways than one? That moment taught me something deeper: life is not just about seizing opportunities; it is about the choices that reveal our character. Opportunities will come again — platforms, stages, microphones. But trust, once broken, is hard to repair. To stand with people when it is inconvenient, to honour relationships when it feels costly — these are the moments that define us. In the long run, no stage is greater than the one where loyalty, integrity, and love for others are displayed. Because in the end, it is not just the speeches we give that matter, but the people who can say: he never left me behind.
The boarding gates had closed, and we had no choice but to find an airport hotel. Yet I refused to give up. I called the travel agent, and after some searching, he found a way — a flight that would land me in Abuja on the very first plane of the day, touching down at 12:10 am, and I had a great time on The Platform.
That night reminded me: life is not about how you feel in the heat of the moment. Feelings can cloud judgment, and momentary decisions have driven many into ruin. Sometimes the wisest thing you can do is pause, breathe, and ask yourself one simple question: what’s at stake? It is those same thoughts that echo when our parents remind us that ‘Remember the son of who you are”.
