Read Benson’s story below:
- “Growing up with a single mother in the very urban parts of Calabar, Nigeria, I never really understood what my mates living in rural areas were experiencing. Constantly exposed to peers who had the same interest and were receiving the same education, I assumed every kid had the same opportunities.”
- “When a family emergency forced me to pay a visit to my aging grandmother in the village (who passed away shortly after), I was distraught by the realisation that boys and girls my age did not have access to some of the most basic educational resources. Three in every five children that I met had never been to a school.
- “Consequently, communicating with and blending into my own local community became a major challenge.”
- “Distressed by the discomfort, I returned home with a vow to make a change.”
In 2015, after the adoption of the Global Goal, Benson made a commitment to contribute positively to his community, state, country and continent. Since then, he has worked hard at creating awareness about the importance of the S.D.Gs. Personally, he is a supporter of goal number: 1 – No poverty. 5 – Gender Equality. 8 – Decent work and Economic growth, and 16 – Peace, Justice and Strong institutions.
Meet Oto-obong Benson, the aesthetically creative and fashionable young Nigerian interested in social change!
High charisma, much energy, extremely trendy and always in a high spirit, that’s Oto-obong Benson for you but you may also call him, The Benson Ekpo. Benson is a small business owner and young global citizen currently living in Lagos, Nigeria. He is passionate about leading conversations with the public-private sector towards ensuring that every child has her/his fundamental human right to education preserved, as targeted by SDG 4.
Benson is also a professional digital marketing executive who understands social media strategies and content development. He serves brands and public figures in the fashion, beauty and lifestyle value chain by helping them create aesthetics that will place them at the forefront of the global industry scene. Through his writings, he enjoys creating all-round conversations and content about finding ones own personal freedom via fashion, travel, culture, food & self development. You can see check this out through his Instagram page.
Social Change and ProDistraction
Benson is passionate about Social Change and helping other young people, which is why he is always ready and willing to help with his time, skills and all the resources he has in his arsenal. Thus, with this mindset, he began ProDistraction, “a collective of kick-ass millennials who are putting their daily distractions to good use by taking responsibility to first contributing to actualize the Sustainable Development Goals by becoming initiators; deployers and activist: Therefore building policy development and economic value.”
At the 2016 Akwa Ibom Economic Summit, he was the youngest speaker sharing the stage with the likes of Mmanti Umoh (Founder – Nigerian Professional and Entrepreneurial Women’s Network [NIPWEN]) Tolu Ogunlesi (SA to President Buhari on New and Social Media) & Awobokun Yomi (CEO Oando downstream.)
Wanna personally catch up with Benson? Grab his Instagram handle right here: @iambensonben and LinkedIn over here!
Catch up with other creatives such as Amina the tech fashionista and Amaka writing about social change.
