Mo' Sibyl

해외 나이지리아인| The One with Mr. Felix Ofiwe – On Fostering Community & Engaging Nigerians in the Diaspora: Episode 15 (2020)

The More Sibyl Podcast Presents:

해외 나이지리아인| The One with Mr. Felix Ofiwe – On Fostering Community & Engaging Nigerians in the Diaspora: Episode 15 (2020)

As a Nigerian living in the diaspora, I am sometimes saddened about the relative economic contributions we make in our resident countries, often at the expense of the Motherland. For example, in the healthcare and engineering fields, Nigerians have made a lot of advancement to the U.S. economy but have hardly been given the due recognition we deserve. And as a group, we are yet to leverage and harness our collective strength together to improve governance and effect changes back home. It’s why I engaged in a dialogue with Mr. Felix Ofiwe, a Nigerian who has been living in the U.S. since 1991! Before his move to the U.S., he was a news and sports reporter with The Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) in Benin City, and The Guardian Express and Punch Newspapers in Lagos, Nigeria.

Since arriving in the U.S., he has written for or edited several Houston, TX news publications including African World News and the now-defunct African American Focus newspaper where he served as the founding Editor.

Borne out of a desire to help Nigerians living in the U.S. know what is happening around them so they can make the right decisions, every day, he and his wife started The Nigerian Community (an online website).

In this episode, we also talked about practical tips to engage Nigerians in and outside the diaspora to build the country and so much more. You can find out more about Mr. Felix and his mission on his website - https://nigerian.community/

God Bless Nigeria!

집에 갈 때| The One with T-Dawg (Again) – On Going Back Home to Nigeria: Episode 43 (2019)

The More Sibyl Podcast Presents: The One with T-Dawg (Again) – On Going Back Home to Nigeria

It’s been eight years since T-Dawg visited Nigeria. Before we boarded the plane, I did a sesh with him to gauge his expectations – which sadly were non-existent. But I did try to dig out some potential things to be excited about regarding going back home.

We also answered a personal question from one of our listeners about our braces.

Hint: If you are using your teeth, you are doing it all wrong. Well, you have to listen to find out what this is about.

Happy New Year, and may it be the best year yet!

창작자의 생활| The One with Loretta: The Life of a Creative and Other Stories: Episode 34 (2019)

The More Sibyl Podcast Presents: 창작자의 생활| The One with Loretta: The Life of a Creative and Other Stories: Episode 34 (2019)

As a Nigerian who moved to the US in her 20’s, it was quite a challenge making long-lasting friends, especially due to cultural differences and well, inadequately managed expectations. All of which I talked about with my guest.

So meet Loretta Nwandu: who moved to the US at the age of 15 to begin college and later earned a Masters in Engineering Management. Listen to her story on how she acculturated, found community, and built friendship. Loretta and I both believe in multiculturalism and it's one of the many reasons we love the US! Today, Loretta lives in Atlanta where she does ministry work for Jesus and uses her skills as a creative to meet the needs of her clients.

In this episode, you also get to hear about the unique opportunity and challenges of being a creative person as well as the duality of being one while under the employment of someone else.

대통령 후보| The One with Rev. David Esosa Ize-Iyamu - The Nigerian Presidential Candidate: Episode 40 (2018)

The More Sibyl Podcast Presents: The One with Rev. David Esosa Ize-Iyamu

Meet Rev. David Esosa Ize-Iyamu, one of the more than 30 Nigerian presidential candidates running in the 2019 election. On a warm, humid Friday evening, just before I was scheduled to catch my flight out of Nigeria, I sat with him in his office to talk about his platform, why he is running, and what he hopes to achieve if given the opportunity to become the next president of Nigeria.

Rev. Ize-Iyamu is the senior pastor of Jesus Evangelical Assembly in Lagos. For more than 20 years, his platform – the Youth Revolution Movement (YRM) has aimed to mobilize youths to play a decisive role in the national socio-economic development and to see empowered Nigerian youths fully realize their potentials and positively contribute to the overall growth, development, and governance of Nigeria.

내 일본 섬에서| The One with Mai - On Multiculturalism and Being Okinawan-American: Episode 26 (2018)

The More Sibyl Podcast Presents: The One with Mai

Born to an Okinawan mom and an American dad, thus growing up bi-racial in a multi-cultural home meant Mai had to ask tough questions from the start about identity, equality, community, friendships and the like. An aspiring graphic designer and a secretive poet, she uses the arts to continue the journey of those questions, through her multi-cultural marriage, and the community around her. A fighter for love to be in action in all places; who loves hearing the stories of those around her in hopes to build better bridges in all places and with all people. Mai also enjoys the simple pleasures of puppies, coffee, food of all kinds, and summer activities.

In this episode, we talked about her cultural heritage and tips on how to navigate multiculturalism in language, marriage, and expressions.

PS: Okinawan-Japanese is the equivalent of Hawaiian-American; thus, Mai is ethnically Okinawan. Also, it would mean a lot to Mai if you went to see 'Crazy Rich Asians;' according to her "your ticket purchase helps affirm the industry that people want to see diverse leads."

Fun facts about Mai:

Her parents met in Japan when dad was in the US Airforce.
If she speaks too much in one language, her brain gets tired. So, she needs a fine balance of people with whom she can speak English and Japanese.
She spent a lot of time in Japan when growing up. So much so that when she moved back to the US, she was classified as an international student and had to take ESL (English as a second language) classes.

Takeaway Points:

Mai had two very good questions for me as a Nigerian about Nigerians.
Your insight as a multicultural person is always needed and valuable.
Be proud of your heritage.

Notable Quotes from Mai:

“I find the Japanese culture at times fascinating because even though it is a communal society, there is so much pressure on the individual to succeed which sometimes creates a painful tension.”

"In America, it is harder to build quality friendships because it is an individualistic society. Thus, self-love here, ironically, is to schedule spontaneous activities to make sure I spend quality time with my friends."

“Being married to a Chinese-American, we both have to learn how to navigate this space of multiculturalness we share. We both have parallel lives of being able to relate on how it feels to navigate multiple cultures and not really feeling like we belong to anyone in particular.”