Where Fanen is from

Makurdi, Benue, Nigeria

 

Interview

What was your dream when you were a kid? What was the reason?

Be extremely successful and leave a positive mark before I exit the earth.

 

What was your dream when you were 18 years old? What was the reason?

Something along the same lines as the first answer.

 

What made you start thinking about social entrepreneurship/social enterprises? When was that?

The thought of doing a course most people in their rational minds wouldn’t do and doing it for good pleased me.

 

How much do you think social entrepreneurs play an important role in the world?

On a scale of 1 – 10 I would say 5, but we the Hult MSE’s will make it a perfect 10, I’m certain of that.

What would you say to future social entrepreneurs / those who are interested in social entrepreneurs?

Follow your heart and trust in God.

 

What is your favorite quote? Who said that quote?

“Do not fear, believe only” – Jesus Christ.

 

Who Fanen is

Fanen is a strong-willed person, both physically and mentally strong. His body is covered by big muscle armor, hard as “rocks,” and his decision-making is very quick, based on his confident beliefs. He knows what he wants so what he says is always clear. He looks confident, behaves like a “King” with dignity, which is who I always strive to be. And yet, this is just what you see from the outside. Fanen is actually refined and heart-warming inside.

One day after a class, I thought that a jacket that Fanen was wearing was very cool, so I came to him, saying “Hey, Fanen. I like your jacket. It’s very cool!” I did not mean anything more. However, he responded in an unexpected way, “So, I can give this to you.” Can you believe it!? I refused the offer once because he did not need to do that for me, but he actually gave it to me and said, “I want you to have this. It’s my honor if you have this.” I was very touched by his words. Needless to say, the jacket is my treasure.

Here is another story to show Fanen’s personality. We had debates between two teams in a class and Fanen belonged to one of the teams. They were allowed to discuss what they would say as a team before each presenter came to stand in front of the audience, but Fanen shook other teammates off without discussion when his turn came. It was very impressive for me, like “How confident he is!” However, he confessed later when I asked him what had made him act like that and he told me that he had done it because he was afraid of being confused of what he would say at the debate by taking others’ opinions. Charming, right?

Fanen is handsome and a typical manly man —  he likes technology and cars — but he is also a sweet, kind and charming guy as well. He is Fanen the great, my great friend.

 

Awesome Episode

Fanen had me for dinner at his house before New Year’s Eve last year. His wife Abi cooked amazing steak and ribs and I brought a bottle of sake for dinner. They seemed happy with the sake and I was excited about the dinner! However, I had another thing that made me excited; meeting his daughter Arielle for the first time.

Ari was too cute, simply adorable, and we got along with each other surprisingly well and surprisingly fast. She even came to hug me in the end. I could not have been happier. he made my day. It was a great Christmas present from her.

 

The Power of MSE

What Fanen is holding is a symbol called “go-en(ご縁)”, which means ‘fate’, ’destiny’ and ’special tie.’

I believe that it is meant to be that we met in San Francisco! I studied Social Entrepreneurship with Fanen for a year, saying “We will make the world a better place.” I would love to spend the rest of my life with MSEs (Master of Social Entrepreneurship; my classmates) until the very day I die. They have already completely changed my life.

At the same time, however, I also think that we should not be together all the time, because that is not the reason why we learned Social Entrepreneurship. That is not how we will deliver the impact we want to give to society and to the world.

I think MSEs are like dandelions. We were seeded at the first day at Hult and we bloomed on our graduation day. Our mission is that we spread all over the world like dandelions and seed the future, the next generation, from each place where each of us has landed.

本当にありがとう(Honto ni Arigato-); Thank you very very much for everything!! The world needs you! Let’s make the world a better place together!!