Brand influencer, Ipadeola Abiodun Oriyomi popularly known as Swag Omoluabi is a renowned philanthropist whose works continue to speak for themselves.
At the last count, he has spent over N200, 000 on at least 10 widows who got N20, 000 to address one problem or the other.
Old men and women are not left out as he often reach out to them in their hours of need .Same is true of students whose schools he has been paying for years.
Social media which started as the pastime of young minds a few years has grown to become a veritable tool of productive engagement for many across the globe. This is the submission of Swag Omoluabi, founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Swag Omoluabi Blog.
Whether it is Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Skype or Youtube, a lot of Nigerians are today reaping the huge mileage provided by social media in the transformation of their various businesses.
“The social networking platform is not just a communication tool but also a marketing and transactional medium for many legitimate businesses and millions of Nigerian youths and as such a component of the economy of this country,” he says.
It is against this backdrop that the brand influencer recently flayed federal government’s suspension of Twitter, the micro blogging site, over what the government saw as threat to the unity of the nation. Whatever the grouses are, Swag Omoluabi, said suspension should have been the last resort even as he argued that the government of the day was ill advised.
“There are other ways to sanction Twitter without taking the extreme action that has rendered millions of Nigerians voiceless and taken away their means of livelihood,” he noted.
According to him: “The social networking platform is not just a communication tool but also a marketing and transactional medium for many legitimate businesses and millions of Nigerian youths and as such a component of the economy of this country.”
Taking such an extreme action, he noted, shows that the people in government did not fully understand how integral Twitter is to the country’s economy, viz-a-viz, its mileage in the amplification of voices that would have been otherwise unheard of.
To resolve the impasse, he called for a dialogue between the two parties, adding that playing the ostrich would only worsen an already unfortunate situation.
“Both parties cannot afford to ignore each other for a long time. I believe that they are working behind the scene to resolve their differences,” he said optimistically.
That said, the entrepreneur called on users of social media to be guided by national interest at all times, saying, “There are so many positive things to use social media to achieve, and therefore such prospects shouldn’t be polluted with negativities. A lot of people are putting social media to perverted use such as trolling, false accusation and defamation of character as well as financial fraud. We all must be responsible users of social media,” he advised.
A graduate of the Lagos State Polytechnic where he studied Accounting, Swag Omoluabi wants young and upcoming entrepreneurs desirous of standing on their feet to cultivate the habit of saving for the raining day. According to him, the mistake in failing to imbibe saving habit on time is one he deeply regrets and which he does not want the younger ones to repeat.
“I didn’t start savings on time. Saving is very important; immediately you gain admission to an institution of higher learning, start saving for the rainy days. I worked with a construction company in Lagos known as BCL at a time and I started saving,” he recalled, adding that the quest to push for more success is one of the reasons he keeps learning at every opportunity.
“Make sure you gain something every day to add to your knowledge, do research and learn more,” Swag Omoluabi counsels.
To those with little knowledge on what it takes to be a brand influencer, Swag Omoluabi decried the frequent manner people use the phrase as if it is an all-comer affair. While noting that a lot comes with the terrain of brand influencing, he called on those intent on walking the path to have passion for the social media and making their presence felt therein.
“As an entrepreneur and also a brand influencer, I influence companies’ brands, more like brand ambassador. Being a brand influencer has a lot of steps attached to it, everyone can’t be a brand influencer. It is totally wrong. The responsibilities to become an influencer are legion, including, making sure you are trustworthy and a notable person; letting brands know you are open to collaboration as well as being regular and consistent in the use of social media,” he explained.