Oritome Banigo, a personality whose vision was much different than others that made him out of the league. He had many light moments in Dennis Shanghnessy’s class on social entrepreneurship at Northeastern University. He learned many good things but there was one thing which stuck in his mind that made his life different. He recalled one such thing and said, “We were taught that in whatever venture you’re doing, there’s a social impact and that there needs to be a positive impact.” This philosophy has driven everything Banigo did in his future. He started his own publishing company that develops, produces, and distributes a comic book that promotes the history and culture of Nigeria. He also runs an entertainment company that outs annual beach music in Lagos.
Shaughnessy’s classes marked the beginning of his entrepreneurial career; however, he put aside his selfish motives and took care of his community and society. He always keeps an invaluable lesson in his mind which his father told him. He said, “My father always taught me whatever you do, you need to bring value to the people; value to your family, value to your friends, value to your workplace Banigo also worked at the bank after graduating from Northeastern University with an economics degree. He worked in Lagos, during the Great Recession, when minimum wages were given to people working in corporate, health or education for a year.
He always wanted to work for Nigeria as he thought it was a waste of his resources if he can’t utilise it for his community. His exploration of different parts of the world during his preparatory school and college made him feel that he had to straddle dual identities his whole life. While he was working in a job, he co-founded a publishing company called Panoramic Entertainment and in 2012, he co-founded Eclipse Live Africa. Soon, in a year or two, he launched an annual beach music festival called Giddi Culture. This festival gained popularity as soon as it was launched.
Besides all these ventures, recently, he is diverted to philanthropy. With the support of his friends and colleagues, he developed Ventucon Partners, a venture company that can bring some positive impact to African society by providing affordable houses to students and homebuyers. He is also a trustee in Echo Foundation, a non-profit organisation that promotes music in Nigeria and an advisor for a real estate company that provides affordable housing to Nigerians. His contribution to his community and African society landed him in a position as the advisor of Timpire Sylva, the former governor of Bayelsa State in southern Nigeria. It was a major milestone in his life. He still has few items left in his bucket list. His future plan is to provide education to students by offering them scholarships both inside and outside classrooms. He also wants to resolve infant mortality issues due to environmental pollution. This extraordinary, compassionate, and empathetic personality with a great vision for his society and community will always be remembered by Africa.
Shweta Tripathi
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