MY IMMIGRATION DIARY 4– PRAISE FOWOWE

The 01 Visa

Intellectual property is a big issue for those who play in that space in Africa where prayer meetings are superior to thinking meetings but we were able to do the impossible with the available because for the first time we set up the Family Life Sector and started to organize it with several of my distinguished colleagues.

I was having a chat with some of my colleagues a few weeks ago and to see some of them crossing 4million naira and above in earnings as family life coaches was very humbling for me. But little did I know that all I had done was going to count afterall in my quest for 01 visa.

My wife was a bookworm and for her every degree matters so she had to go back to school for a Business finance program in Canada with the kids while I remained in Nigeria because if I needed to move I need to ensure a proper succession planning and ensure nothing collapses if I move.

I knew what I had and was so sure all I needed was a chance and a platform. Somehow one of my mentors mentored 01 visa which is an exclusive visa reserved for exceptional talents who want to replicate what they had done in their homeland in America.

I had to walk by faith because naira was falling and had to pay my application fees in dollars but I was ready for it. The process was the most rigorous because everything you have ever done would be tested for its validity. That was the process that made me see how useless many awards I had gotten was because they wanted to know what quality of the panel that gave the award and the process they went through. They wanted to see your innovations and how many people you had licensed to use it (I had always given it for free without any licensing).

The process opened my eyes to how things were being done abroad and I am grateful I went through because eventually my application scaled the hurdles and I got my 01 which qualified me to set up a business in the US.

I must let you know at this juncture that life is about relationships and you must always put in your best behaviour when with people because all the support I got on my journey to 01 was based on relationships I had nurtured over the years and effective mentoring.

I must also let you know the power of building an effective tribe before leaving your country and ensure what you started in your country doesn’t die. I knew who my successor was from the moment she started working at the office and I took 3years to groom here and everyone else to be able to stand on their own. But, I also nurtured important relationships abroad because I knew I was going to start afresh and didn’t want to take chances with assumptions.

Having all the money may not be enough on your immigration journey because life is about having the right information.

So on August 19^th I boarded a plane out of Nigeria while fighting back tears as my team saw me to the airport. They had been my support systems all through the lock down and it was like leaving a family but I knew I also had to go for them to grow. I was not the leader that played around with office money because from day 1 I separated my money from company funds so they knew I was not going to look back.

I had made my plans and my first cousin had graciously agreed to house me till I found my feet so that leverage was there in addition to the fact that he had access to vital information that could help me settle in faster. Apart from him I have a tribe I belong and they were also on ground to pick me up and settle me in faster. God bless them.

To be continued