“THE 20 PESEWAS AND A DREAM STORY”- Dr Stanley Asasu Anenyemele

THE READERS’ HUB is pleased to bring to you another insightful and thrilling encounter as we engage one of Ghana’s finest young Medical Doctors, a voluble devotee of books, an author and a poet extraordinaire. At his youthful age, he has already published books include: Contemporary Leadership: Best Practices, Threshold to Excellence, and Pot of Poems. He is currently working on a third book; this time, a memoir on his journey to and through medical school abroad, entitled 20 Pesewas & A Dream. A mind-blowing one coming soon!

The encounter was adroitly moderated by Mr Haadi Bachang, as he led our guest to take us through his life’s journey thus far, the vicissitudes and success stories, including but not limited to his fond childhood memories.

Ladies and gentlemen, sit still as you enjoy this most informative and thrilling encounter.

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Haadi: To put the records right about your personality by yourself, who is Dr Stanley Asasu Anenyemele?

Dr Stanley Asasu: I’m a 24 year-young man, China-trained, final-year medical student, but currently pursuing my final year internship at the Greater Accra Regional Hospital in Accra. Interestingly, I will be turning 25 in a week or so. I am also an author and a poet; my published books include: Contemporary Leadership: Best Practices, Threshold to Excellence, and Pot of Poems. I’m working on a third book; this time, a memoir on my journey to and through med school abroad, entitled 20 Pesewas & A Dream.

I hail from Kpandai-Balai in the Northern Region. I often say I come from a ‘teaching family’, and by that I mean both my parents are teachers (though they’re not in the classroom now; dad’s in the District Education Office and Mom’s the Principal of a Basic School), my maternal grandparents retired a few years ago from teaching, two maternal uncles are teachers, and I’ve a paternal uncle who’s a teacher too. Guess I chose to be the odd one. I’m the first of four siblings; I’ve two little sisters, and the youngest of us is a boy.

Haadi: Kindly take us through your educational journey, and social life, highlighting on the key milestones you accomplished and your sources of inspiration and support.

Dr Stanley Asasu: I had my basic education entirely in a small township in the Oti region called Kpassa, climbing through all its stages in the same school, i.e. Kpassa D/A Kindergarten A, Primary A, and J.H.S A Schools. I barely attended kindergarten, I’m told, as my maternal grandmother was the head teacher of my kindergarten at the time, I started school.(More on this a bit later).

High School education was what took me to the Northern Regional Capital, Tamale, where I attended Tamale Senior High School from 2009, eventually graduating in 2013.

Almost two years later, in October 2015, I left the shores of Ghana for the People’s Republic of China where I’d been pursuing my medical studies until earlier this year when I returned home for my final year internship.

With regards to my social life, I think I am quite extroverted, and thus pretty outgoing. I’d been a moderate lover of soccer as a child (as do many boys), until about a decade ago, when that interest gradually gave way to others. I’ve also been interested in various leadership volunteering activities, I’m a big fan of music and art. Finally, I’ve been an avid reader since childhood; I only got to discover the passion for, and the ability to write literary works of my own, in my teens.

I’ll humbly say there are one too many key milestones that readily come to mind, but I will point out a few. I’ve always been in student leadership roles since my basic school days, rising through the position of Bell Boy to Assistant Senior Prefect (because apparently I was too young at the time to be a Senior Prefect); followed by Bell Boy to Senior Prefect again in J.H.S, and then serving as a Senior Prefect in a High School of about 3,000 students at the time, at the tender age of sixteen.

During this period I chalked many successes including graduating with the best results in my district, grades which haven’t been surpassed since I left J.H.S in 2009. Between 2012-2013 when I was in my third year at High School, and during my tenure of office, I championed the course of transformational leadership in the academic pursuits of my school, by instituting and pursuing various interventions including restoring student discipline, and various academic competition and award schemes, which ultimately culminated in the attainment of greater heights of academic excellence. I was also privileged to be a member of the team that represented my school in the 2012 and 2013 editions of the National Science & Maths Quiz.

In the course of my medical studies in China, I published my first two books (names held supra), the first of which won me two awards at 2019 edition of the prestigious Elevare Authors’ Awards, in the Best Inspirational Book and Favorite Author categories, besides leading countless student-administration negotiations. Through it all, my motivation can be summed up as: “a relentless drive for societal transformation through service in leadership”.

Haadi: Impressive! Tell us about some of your fond childhood memories.

Dr Stanley Asasu: As I’ve said already, I barely attended kindergarten, I’m told, as my maternal grandmother was the head teacher of my kindergarten at the time I started school. Though I was very little and not of school-going age yet, grandma would always take me with her to school and to her classroom, to ease the pressure on mom. That’s how I began my not-necessarily-intentional or even official kindergarten education, for about a year. The following academic year, as the KG 2 pupils were being promoted to Primary 1, granny thought to tag me along. My candidly concerned Primary 1 teacher reluctantly admitted me, as the story goes, after granny’s insistence that though underaged, I could actually take on the task of studying the courses(which I suppose were more alphabets, numerals, simple two-letter words and all the incredibly difficult kindergarten curricula). My new Primary 1 teacher wasn’t ready for the shock of his life as I soon began topping the class; so great was his amazement that he soon made me a class prefect, I’m told.

Some of my fondest childhood memories also occurred during my primary school days, particularly between primaries 4 and 6, a period during which I was privileged to play the role of the storyteller during the annual cultural festivities, although I was almost always the youngest in the drama ensemble. (These were annual festivals across the country during which various schools would compete in various cultural display activities such as poetry, traditional dance ensembles, and “fireplace story telling”, all aimed at inculcating the Ghanaian pride, heritage and patriotism in us).

For some reason, my class 4 teacher, Mr. Addae Peter Bediako(may his soul rest in perfect peace) specifically chose me year in and year out to play the role of “the story teller”; a role which though exciting, was not exactly easy for anyone, talk less of an eight-or-so year old boy. It meant I had to commit to memory several pages of stories that he’d written, and retell them to wide audiences of a conglomerate of many schools, amid intermittent drumming and dancing. Needless to say we almost always won those competitions.

Haadi: Why medicine and what is the motivation?

Dr Stanley Asasu: Practicing medicine, for me, was a childhood dream. I’d always wanted to be a Doctor. Of course, at the time, I probably was too young to understand the demands of the job; all I knew was I wanted to be a Doctor so I could help the sick get better. My motivations for wanting to go into medicine took shape as I grew older and studied the sciences and gained a basic understanding of what Doctors do. Interestingly, I found it aligned pretty fine with my desire to see societal transformation through service. I reckoned, “could there be a better way to serve than through service to my community as a Doctor”? This desire has since driven and continues to drive me.

Haadi: What was your major challenge as a Senior Prefect at Tamale Secondary School and how did you overcome it?

Dr Stanley Asasu: Haha. This is an interesting one. I had tonnes of major challenges during my tenure. But I experienced even more monumental ones in the run up to my assuming office. One of them was how to convince a student population of about three thousand that a sixteen-year old boy could lead them, and effectively.

 Even worse, I was a science student; if you know anything about the general perception of students of the sciences, at least back then, you would understand why I say “even worse”. Students of the sciences were generally discouraged from partaking in extracurricular activities, more so taking up leadership roles, because apparently, the sciences were a difficult area and thus, students had to concern themselves with their studies alone. Leadership roles were thought to be the reserve of other students, especially of the arts. And guess who my major contender was? An arts student! We can finish that story on a later date.

Having assumed office, though, our administration’s most pressing challenge was how to restore discipline among the student body. But for our carefully-crafted and meticulously executed policies and programs, our school would have continued to sink deeper into the abyss of indiscipline.

For instance, we introduced a mid-week school cleaning program in addition to the already existing weekend inspections, thus helping in improving on hygiene and sanitation by discouraging littering on the compound, as more littering meant more time spent on cleaning the compound. Though initially challenging, we eventually won the battle, and together with the help of the school administration, restored and elevated discipline standards in our school, a feat which culminated in excellent academic output.

Haadi: What are the major pitfalls and challenges you faced in life, how did you cross them or why you couldn’t cross them?

Dr Stanley Asasu: One of the most difficult times of my life was after High School. As a little boy, I had always dreamed of becoming a Doctor. This dream was so vividly imprinted on my heart that I took particular interest in the sciences, eventually choosing to study science in High School.

Whiles in High School, the dream kept becoming progressively more profound in my heart, to such an extent that by the time I was finishing high school, I had already mapped out which institution of higher learning I was going to attend, which hostel I wanted to be in, etc.

Fast forward, over a year after I had finished high school, I had still not gotten the opportunity to get into med school. Interestingly, I was so adamant about my dream of studying medicine to become a Doctor that although I had been offered the opportunity to study other paramedical courses, I declined.

It was during this period of waiting, thus, the first academic year, that I began volunteering at my former Junior High School as a teacher. This job was offered me by the late Mr. Addae (who had taught me in primary 4, and who had nurtured my interest in literature by constantly training me for the story telling roles), who by then was the school’s principal.

However, upon completing one academic year of teaching at the school, I made the decision to stop working there. In the year to follow, the frustration and boredom as a result of the seeming halting of the journey towards my dream, amidst tremendous amounts of unwavering faith in the same dream led me into writing the poem, Once I Dreamed.(You’ll find it and many more in my anthology of poems, entitled Pot of Poems).

By persisting in my belief that I would some day get to study medicine, we kept seeking opportunities out until we eventually found the opportunity for me to study abroad. There’s no telling how that elevated my spirit; I came to learn that sometimes God denies you certain opportunities so he can give you bigger and better ones.

There are a myriad of other challenges I encountered in the course of my journey to and through med school, but I’m documenting them in my upcoming memoir entitled 20 Pesewas & A Dream, in which I detail my journey, with the view to inspiring others to reach for their dreams.

Haadi: Briefly, may you please share with Readers, your most valuable experiences, lessons and values in life?

Dr Stanley Asasu: I’ve alluded to the lesson I picked up from my initial “delay” if you’d like. However, it’s significant to note that it was during that apparently wasted time that I discovered my writing gift and began working on my first book, Contemporary Leadership. Did God want me to unearth that gift before moving on to the next phase of my life? Perhaps. Especially considering that, that gift eventually opened countless doors of opportunity to me years later. Also, the time I spent volunteering as a teacher proved extremely useful years later. Was the delay really wasted time or a soul-searching and capacity-building period? What do you do while waiting?

I’ve also learnt that our best efforts, no matter how good, are never enough without God’s blessing. I’ve many personal experiences to illustrate, but time may not allow me to delve into each of them.

In the course of my life thus far, I have learned that humility and gratitude are important virtues to have, even for the most talented. Humility and gratitude open doors that talent and training fail to open.

Integrity, hard work, and a relentless drive for excellence in all of ones undertakings are values I hold dear to my heart.

Haadi: Who is your career development coach/mentor and how did he/she influence your life?

Dr Stanley Asasu: I crave your indulgence, Sir, to rephrase your question to “Who are your career development coaches/mentors and how did they influence your life? “And I’d rather have it so because there’s quite a number of them. I’ve already alluded to my primary 4 teacher, the late Mr. Addae Peter Bediako, who discovered and nurtured my interest in literature(even if I did not know it at the time). Next, I have already mentioned my teacher of English language in High School, Miss Adeline Nyabu, who so unreservedly gave me extra tuition in the literary arts during her leisure times, having noticed that I excelled at it.

 Further, in the medical sciences, I have been immensely challenged by the works of Dr. Ben Carson, whom I consider a mentor, and from whom I’ve learned so much through his books. I’ve also been, and continue to be, mentored by Dr. Elsie Effah Kaufmann, a biomedical scientist and a senior lecturer at the University of Ghana, who happens to be the quiz mistress of the National Science & Maths Quiz. The following Wuhan-based American Family Medicine Doctors impacted me greatly when I interned with them in their International Clinic: Drs. Cheryl deMena, Idar Rommen, and Joanna Crawford. My other medical mentors include some of my lectures, Drs. Hasseeb and Sohan Gupta. Finally, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah remains my greatest political role model from whom I’m still learning.

Haadi: Sir, what is your advice for colleague medical students and anyone who will want to go into the medical profession?

Dr Stanley Asasu: As a student of the sciences in High School, and a medical student now, a trend that I have observed is the subtle and probably inadvertent attempt to discourage students of the sciences from partaking in extracurricular activities such as taking up leadership roles, because of the popular belief that the sciences are difficult areas of study and hence should not be coupled with extracurricular activities.

I believe that this is a rather unfortunate and dangerous trend, to say the least. Indeed, it is said that “health is wealth”, and enough research has proven the inalienable relationship between the health of a population and its productivity.

I hereby very respectfully, crave the indulgence of teachers at all levels of education, medical educators and senior healthcare professionals, to always make a conscious and concerted effort to encourage students of the sciences, just as their colleagues in other disciplines, to take up more extracurricular activities; to take up more leadership roles, to build their problem-solving and other leadership skill sets.

In any case, they would be the ones leading the transformation of our healthcare systems, going into the future. Shouldn’t we rather be incorporating leadership training programs in their curriculums, teaching them teamwork, leadership skills among others, to ensure that they receive a more wholistic training?

I humbly implore our senior healthcare professionals to make it a point, to impart more and more of your great wealth of knowledge to your students and your apprentices.

To my dear medical students, please remember that you are not studying to just be doctors by name; you are studying to become lifesavers. You are studying to take up arguably one of the greatest responsibilities i.e. caring for the health of all other members of society.

Do not for a single moment take your studies lightly; do not treat with despite, this noble opportunity to study to gain the requisite knowledge and skills to serve (lead) others for granted.

Remember, that you have the potential to lead such transformational change in your community, country and world, as will not only improve upon the health, but also the wealth of same. Do your best. Give your best to your studies. Strive to excel.

Strive to constantly grow in not only medical knowledge, but also in all aspects of your life. Above all, give the best of yourself to your world!

Haadi: What impact did the Covid-19 pandemic have on your medical career and the medical fraternity in general while at Jianghan University in Wuhan, P.R. China?

Dr Stanley Asasu: This is a heavy one. I’ve shared here before, the fact that I was still in Wuhan when the virus broke out. At the time, we were still taking our final examinations. When we first heard of the outbreak of a new viral pneumonia in Wuhan, it was nothing more than unsubstantiated rumors (or so we thought). Then it entered mainstream media reports, this time with a bit more worrying detail; the virus was of unknown origin. Even so, everyone still went about their own business as usual, and assurances were given by authorities to the effect that containment efforts were underway and that the mystery would be unraveled soon, and thus, people needed not panic.

It was not until several weeks later when the virus had really picked up momentum and people were getting infected in the thousands on daily basis, death rates were escalating and hospital facilities were becoming overwhelmed, that the gravity of the situation became clear. Unfortunately/fortunately, my personal experience of the viral outbreak in Wuhan ends here, as I traveled out of Wuhan to a nearby city just a day before its sudden, unannounced lockdown on 23rd January. In other words, I’d been on one of the very last trains to leave the city of Wuhan before it was locked down the following morning.

 But I was by no means exempted from the difficulties that the outbreak brought upon all of us. I watched on with mixed emotions from the city to which I’d traveled the escalating infection and death rates in Wuhan, the detection of the virus in other cities (including the one I was in), other Asian countries, and other continents, and increasingly tighter restrictions by the government and local authorities in attempts to contain the virus. A particular day I would not forget was the eighth day of the lockdown in Wuhan, when as a result of so much hysteria and depression, the local government, in a bid to increase public confidence and boost people’s morale, decided to play the national anthem and other patriotic and uplifting songs across the entire city at 8 pm that night, and they were to be sang along by people from their homes, amidst chanting of “Wuhan Jiayou, Zhongguo Jiayou” i.e. 武汉加油，中国加油!(Wuhan, more grease to your elbows, China, more grease to your elbows!).

 The level of patriotism and renewed confidence was palpable, as a city of more than ten million inhabitants sang and chanted patriotic songs in unison that night. I tell you, it all seemed like an apocalyptic scene from a movie. I’ll attempt to share a short video from that night, for those who may want to take a look.

What’s funny is, even all this did nothing to dissuade the virus from continuing on its destructive path, eventually victimizing health workers who at this point were so overstretched as to working 3 to 4-day shifts. There is no telling how many excellent and highly experienced Doctors, nurses, paramedics, janitors, and allied health workers that lost their lives in the course of the fight against the virus. The psychological impact of not being able to see their families for several weeks is a whole new chapter on its own. I share more details in my upcoming memoir.

Personally, my final year internship for which I returned home to Ghana was delayed by at least 6 months, as the first couple of cases in Ghana were detected soon after I’d begun interning. Internships were then suspended countrywide by the government, due to indemnity issues. I only got to resume my internship earlier last month. This was a confusing situation not only in Ghana, but worldwide, as millions of interns have had to sit out of hospital rotations at the “peak” of the pandemic. Couldn’t the pandemic have been the perfect time to join the medical fraternity and learn more on epidemic containment strategies? Maybe there are no straight answers to that question. In a few instances, like in Italy, at a point, graduation of a bunch of final year med students was fast tracked, to enable them join the fight against COVID, as more hands were needed.

In short, the impact of COVID has been tremendous; almost indescribable, even. It has both exposed the shortcomings and the resilience of the global health sector, but more importantly, it has taught humanity so many important lessons, if you ask me.

Haadi: You are known to be an ardent reader, a voluble devotee of books, a prolific writer and an astute poet. How do you combine the art of writing with your medical career?

Dr Stanley Asasu: Thank you for your kind words, Sir. Let me start off by saying that this is a question that I get asked very often. In fact, way back in High School, my teacher of English language (one of my mentors) would often say to me, lightheartedly, “Stan, you’re in the wrong class”, as I would almost always outperform even arts students, in English Language and Literature, although I was a science student. Today, she tells me, “I was wrong. You were not in the wrong class. You were the best arts student in the science class”. 

Combining writing and medicine has not been exactly challenging except in a few instances where my medical studies and practice would deprive me of some of my time for, and attention to, writing. In any case, I believe the two are complementary. In medicine, we do a lot of writing (maybe partly explains why Doctors have very nice handwritings), therefore, my writing skill is ever incredibly useful in my medical practice. On the other hand, my study and understanding of medicine, has to a large extent broadened my understanding and appreciation of the human condition, and as such, is an extremely valuable asset in my writing career. For instance, my understanding of Human Psychology helps me in easily identifying and picking up certain important societal issues which need addressing, and on which I can contribute my bit in that regard through my writings.

As regards how I’m able to combine the two, it’s a result of lots of pragmatism with my time, effective planning, and sheer interest; I’ve been writing during my leisure time for a long time now. Besides, where there’s a will, there’s always a way.

When I was determined to finish and publish my first book, I would write on the subway or on the bus on my way to our university’s affiliate hospital for my clinical rotations, using Microsoft Word on my phone, which was a journey of about 45 minutes. By so doing, I added about an hour and a half worth of writing each day I went to the hospital. Where there’s a will, there’s always a way.

Haadi: With specific reference to page three (3) of your book: Contemporary Leadership; Best Practices, Threshold to Excellence. You strongly asserted in a paradoxical undertone that “Leadership is serving others. Excellent leadership begins with a sincere acknowledgement of this truth. To lead is to serve; to serve is to lead”. In view of the fact that, in most instances, people seeking for political offices already have their eyes on the public purse even before the election day rather than a sincere duty to serve the people; what advice do you have for the youth who intend to join politics?

Dr Stanley Asasu: Well, Sir, let me start by saying the issue of people seeking public office with the view to misappropriating public funds is worrying. It undermines our bid to develop as a people, and corrupts our morals. My advice for youths who aspire to public office is for them to establish themselves first. Entering into public office on an empty stomach is probably one of the reasons why people steal. This reminds me of what Einstein said, “An empty stomach is not a good political adviser”. Establish yourself; build a career first.

Build a track record of excellence first. It helps, at least in part, prune off some parochial interests one may be harbouring in their hearts, if they enter public service when they’re already established.

In addition, as I concluded in my book, “it is worth reiterating the point that, leadership really is a call to service; a call to serve our community, our nation and our world; and that until and unless we are willing to accept this call, and to be that diligent servant, we have no business taking it up at all in the first place, let alone dream of excelling at it”.

QUESTIONS TIME WITH OUR READERS FROM (THE READERS’ HUB)

Carl-Grant: Studying medicine is a very demanding task. How does he blend it with authorship and research into leadership effectively?

Dr Stanley Asasu: Thank you for the question Carl.Because I am passionate about both medicine and authorship, I divide my attention between the two, but I always give prominence to my medical studies. Leadership, the third facet, if you would like; I believe comes naturally to me.So then, with effective time management, all these facets fall in place. In addition, I give my all to whatever I am working on, at any point in time.

Barnabas: Greetings, Mr Haadi and the esteemed Guest. I must say unreservedly that, I am following the discussion with glut of glee. Especially the answers delivered to the questions you posed. Tons of gratitude to you both!

Will your esteemed guest be amenable to tell or educate us on some of the topmost, or if you like, irrefutable laws of leadership, since his passion is all centred on leadership or so I thought.

Dr Stanley Asasu: Thank you Barnabas for you kind words. In place of laws; I may think more on principles, as laws are rigid and less likely to adapt in the face of challenging threats and or dynamics. The leadership principles then will include but not limited to:

1. Clarity of purpose and a sense of direction
2. Building strong, strategic partnership with others
3. Always draw from the core competencies of your “team players”
4. Learn to delay your judgment
5. Avoid conflict of interest.

Eddy Amos:

a .Ask Dr Stanley if he has ever volunteered for any NGO and whether he has the intent to operate an NGO in the future?

b. Is he having a lady or has he ever fallen in love?

Dr Stanley Asasu: As regards working with NGOs, yes. I have worked with some NGOs back at Wuhan. I volunteered at In His Image Intentional Clinic, a Wuhan-based International Clinic owed by a team of Christian American Family Medicine Specialists. In addition, here in Ghana, I have and continue to volunteer my services to SEPH-GH, an NGO committed inintially,to fighting the canker of smoking and drug abuse, but whose vision also evolved later to include various public health sensitization programs.

My most recent work with them, paradoxically, was going on public sensitization campaigns on Covid-19 in very remote and deprived communities in the Oti region.

Love? Yes, I have been in love before.am I still there? A story to tell on a later date.

Bagura Shammudeen:

1. What do you have to tell someone today if he/she is caught in the waiting room?
2. What were the factors that influenced you or were present that really made it possible for you to make good use of your time during those waiting periods?

Dr Stanley Asasu: I really appreciate this question. I have come to learn that waiting periods are some of the greatest moments to incubate and birth ideals. In my case, that was what happended.I used the period to discover and begin horning my gifts. The factors that drove that soul-searching, surprisingly, included boredom and idleness. But more important is the fact that, I detest those two. So it coerced me to move more towards productivity. I wanted to be productive; I wanted to impact the world. So I began to ask questions: “How can I impact my world”? That singly question led to my writing gift.

Eddy Amos:

1. Dr. Stan, will say Ghana is on top of issues when it comes to COVID-19 management?
2. Do you foresee and or have any fear of Ghana suffering from reinfection or possibly having a second outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic as America reported on recently?

Dr Stanley Asasu: In my opinion, initially we did a good job. As time progresses, we had some mismanagement and recklessness. For instance, I never understood why we announced the lockdowns of Accra and Kumasi 48 hours prior. As for risks of reinfection, and surge of cases, it will always be there until we find either an effective cure or vaccine. So we have to remain more vigilant.

Haadi: Where do you see yourself in the next 5 years?

Dr Stanley Asasu: I’m looking forward to developing my medical career even more, over the next five years. God willing, I would have finished off my specialisation; if in a medical specialty, I most likely would go into Cardiology. However, should the Lord lead me into a surgical specialty, I may be going into Cardiothoracic Surgery or General Surgery. It’s pretty obvious that I’m still in the process of sifting through what field I’d want to specialise in. I’m trusting God’s guidance in that regard.

 Regarding my writing career, I believe I would’ve grown even more in that regard too, publishing at least two more books over the next five years, and hopefully reaching and impacting a wider audience. I’m also looking forward to taking on more leadership responsibilities, with which I hope to contribute more to societal transformation, first in health, and then to other sectors of the economy.

Haadi: What do you do at your leisure time please?

Dr Stanley Asasu: Oftentimes, I either read or write. I’m a big fan of music as well. Therefore, I often incorporate listening to music in my daily routines (even during studies). I also spend some time educating myself on issues outside my career, by watching some documentaries on history, current affairs, literature and politics and governance.

Haadi: As a member of the readers’ hub, what do you make of this page and which book has been influential in your life that you will recommend for hub members to read?

Dr Stanley Asasu: I must say that The Readers’ Hub is the best platform I’ve ever been a part of, and I’m honoured to be among you. It’s disciplined, has very educative contents, is well-organised, and ever active. A litany of books have blessed me in different facets of my life, e.g. in financial literacy, personal development among others. However, if forced to point at only one, I’d say Dr. Ben Carson’s Gifted Hands. It stretched my imagination and showed me that I can always reach for the stars.

Haadi: Do you consider representing your people in Parliament in the near future?

Dr Stanley Asasu: I have leadership ambitions. I don’t know if I should channel them through political leadership. Maybe I should. But I consider myself still a student of leadership, and that I’m still on a path of capacity building. Nonetheless, I’m open to that possibility.

Haadi: Kindly give us your concluding remarks, Sir.

Dr Stanley Asasu: I must say that it has been deeply humbling for me to share my life’s journey thus far with you. I’m young (I think) and still growing; there’s so much more capacity building for me to do. Yet, it is my hope that by sharing an abridged version of my journey, I have caused a stir in someone’s spirit to reach for their dreams, and to remember to not relent in their efforts. Thank you.