Pastors’ kids With KUNLE ADEWUNMI
OLABIYI SAMUEL D. is the Founder/CEO of Bobo Sammy Media and Technologies. Popularly known as Bobo Sammy, he holds Bachelors of Arts (Mass Communication, Psychology and English) from Bangalore University, India. A God-fearing young man from Osun State, Samuel’s special love and passion for ICT saw him work for firms across India, Middle East and Nigeria. Samuel is the son of Reverend and Pastor (Mrs.) Olabiyi, the General Overseer of WORLD-WIDE INTERCESSORY PRAYER MINISTRY a.k.a BETHEL HOUSE located in Ede, Osun State.
In this interview, he shares his drive towards becoming the best version of himself.
Having visited Islamic nations like India, United Arab Emirate and Qatar, what can you say is the attitude of youths to Christianity in those places?
Thank God for the spread of the gospel, almost every year, we see missionaries and great revivalists around the world visiting these countries. The attitude of youths has been impressive and of good vibes, most especially in India; I have seen youths many times sharing handbills – inviting others for their church programs.
I remember having a friend back then in college days, no matter how much I invite her to the church, she always attend , despite belonging to a different religion. It got to a point that she was coming to the church with her siblings and friends.
The attitude has also being willingness to service and worship at the Lord’s feet. This will make me talk of a good friend of mine by name Soumita. She hardly misses church service on Christmas and Easter days, despite the opposition from her parents. She will rather sneak to her neighbour’s house just to attend the service. A day came when I was forced to ask why she kept doing all that without her parents’ consent, but the response was quite amazing. She said; “Sam, I just find out that whenever I’m in God’s presence, I always feel joyful and happy worshipping Jesus Christ”.
As an experienced IT person who has worked in different ICT companies, how do you think ICT can be better used by our youths in Nigeria? In what ways do you think the Nigerian Church can take advantage of it? Specify the countries and companies you’ve worked for and in which capacities.
Prior to the advent of technology what do we have? The primitive lifestyle and analogue computing. However, in recent times, we’ve witnessed the continuous improvement in ICT which also does not come without its own limitations. For the purpose of balance, my answer will be more on the advantage and improvements of using ICT as a youth.
One peculiar way it can be better used by Youths will be for them to improve on their skill. The most recent epidemic of Corona Virus has shown how unprepared most economies are, including the very developed countries of the world. Most organizations have had to fall back to the use of technology to be able to keep work going. This only means one thing; skilling up in the area of ICT is the “Future of work”. It is the leverage, and any smart youth would be better off jumping on that train. I say youth particularly because they make up the working and independent population in any sector.
Remote work is mostly achievable with ICT in place. To that end, any youth looking to diversify their portfolio or make additional stream of income can create an impressionable website to attracting such mode of work.
For Nigerian churches, gone are the days when congregations must necessarily be gathered in a physical space before the word is preached. The question most asked by people these days is; “will the church even ever go back to what it used to be after all of these experiences”? Innovation is the mother of invention which is the keyword to the answering of this question. Churches have to change in their standard modus operandi without having to compromise on their values and beliefs – for the purpose of continuity, relevance and reaching a wider audience. The church has to be equipped to take on this new challenge and not be adverse to it.
Someone once said if you’re not willing to put structures in place to adapting with current demands and realities of the congregation, then don’t be surprised when you say in Jesus’ name and no one says amen ?????. As funny as that can be, it is valid for the church of today.
Places and countries I have worked so far include;
- Wd3 technologies (Hyderabad, India)
- FabioGoldrich (Bangalore India)
- ICT instructor at Blue scripts IT academy (Ibadan, Oyo state)
- ICT instructor at Paracha computers (Ibadan, Oyo state) and many others.
- Etrade middle East (united Arab Emirates)
Now, Bobo Sammy Media and Technologies (as the founder/ CEO).
You are in the media sphere, how did you start, without even looking for Job?
I will start by saying, having studied Mass Communication as one of my major courses in school, and with the practical knowledge I have gotten from it ,it has being a very impactful and my I.T skills was also an added advantage . So, I decided to set up my own online TV, which was done on YouTube, an entertainment and educative channel. The former name of my YouTube was “BOBO SAMMY” and the current channel is “BOBO SAMMY TV”.
However, I’ve once hunted for jobs ooo (lolz). I remember few years ago before I decided to set up my own establishment, then I had to travelled to Ibadan just to submit my credentials to various media houses. Eventually, I was called by one (Space F.M), I worked there for some months before joining some I.T firm in Lagos (Anthills digital marketing and Uppermark solutions limited).
I heard that you’re starting a Travels and Tours Company soon. What has been your drive? Can anyone just start this without having money or prior experience?
People say Experience matters most, however there are two important factors which is Experience and Capital (money). As we know, there are several travels and tours companies out there, either genuine ones or not. Despite the fact that I have been into this business for a very long time (I think 7 years now), and having helped various people across the nation fly abroad and making their dreams come true (even though I do that as a personal hustling), but now is the time for expansion. By God’s grace, I’ve been able to secure an office space, where we can fully operate as an agency known as “BOBO SAMMY TRAVELS AND TOURS”. And by God’s grace, we are already affiliated and recognised by various travelling agencies both home and abroad. We are also in partnership with various institutions/universities abroad, whereby we help intended travelers secure their admission and do their visa processing package for them.
How has the church benefitted from your multiple streams of knowledge so far?
By God’s grace, my first two training seminars were done in church. In fact, one of them was in conjunction with the PFN of that host city; Ede, Osun State.
Nevertheless, I am working tirelessly to conduct more training seminars for more churches across the nation, targeting the youths and unemployed ones.
Any voluntary work so far?
Yes.
- I organised a free I.C.T Empowerment training Seminar
Location : Lokoja, Kogi State (Dec 2018)
- I Sensitised and Empowered Rural women farmers (this was done by providing necessary facilities need ) and this was done in conjunction with “Yoruba women for peace foundation” in partnership with Your united Nation for information centre (UNIC).
Location (Okeho, oyo state), June 2019
Two other upcoming events have been put to hold due the covid-19 pandemic.
Samuel can be contacted via email: bobosammymedia@gmail.com.
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