Aigboje will soon announce five Leaving the Tarmac mentored internship positions
“ … young people with the grit, determination, smarts and ambition to do great things”
To celebrate the global launch of his memoir Leaving the Tarmac: Buying a Bank in Africa, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede has created five salaried mentored internships across his businesses and philanthropic ventures.
Speaking at a virtual event with young people of the Ovie Brume Youth Centre in Lagos, Aig-Imoukhuede talked about the pivotal ‘leaving the tarmac’ moment described in the book and how the experience helped shape him into the man he is today. He advised the youth to be intentional about learning from their own experiences, and determining the way in which they want to impact humanity. He stated that while it was up to young people to take the initiative and build a future for themselves that enables growth and prosperity, the importance of having good mentors was a critical element in youth development and he felt it was his responsibility and his privilege to mentor tenacious, ambitious young people and so give them the very best professional start possible. It was for this reason that he created the mentored internships.
He said. “I myself had the benefit of excellent mentors as a young professional and I talk about some of my mentors and what I learned from them in my book. I want to give young people the same opportunities that I was afforded. I know we have in Nigeria truly exceptional emerging leaders: young people with the grit, determination, smarts and ambition to do great things. All they need is somebody to believe in them and give them the chance to learn and grow.”
Applications for the mentored internships opened on April 27 and closed 31 May 2021. Applicants were required to write their own ‘leaving the tarmac’ story. The names of the successful candidates will be announced soon. Watch this space to find out which five young people will be working alongside Aigboje and his senior colleagues as mentored interns over the next year.