Of Ramat and other Young Dreamers -By Olusegun Adeniyi

Almost a year ago, I received a call from a woman who introduced herself as Dr Ramat Muhammed (no relation to our former leader) requesting an appointment to see me. I obliged. She turned out to be one of those ‘Americana’ and her request surprised me. She asked permission to convert my book, ‘Against the Run of Play’, to audio form. I was sceptical about Nigeria’s readiness for the concept but because I’m always excited to see young people take on innovative projects, I granted her wish without any preconditions.

Out of curiosity, I decided to do an online search and discovered that Ramat graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor’s degree in Biology and Philosophy from Boston University, after which she went on to obtain her Doctorate in Neuroscience from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). She then spent ten years building a career as a Risk Management Consultant that culminated in her rising through the ranks at the Deloitte US firm. I was impressed.

In the past one year since I first met her, Ramat has managed to build an online platform, including mobile Apps to host exclusive cinematic audio content written by Nigerians, performed by Nigerians and made right here in Nigeria. She has also produced 10 cinematic audiobooks, four of which are now ready. Though raised abroad, Ramat’s parents hail from Jigawa State and that part of the country as well as many rural areas in the south have always had a strong listening culture that may be good for her business. The audio content she produces is cinematic, meaning that you feel like you’re actually watching a film. She has also built the platform for easy and convenient access. Content can be downloaded directly to your device and consumed whenever you want.

My only concern for Ramat and many of our young people in the Diaspora who see opportunities at home that they can leverage is the unpredictable regulatory environment. A few years ago, Chinedu Azodoh (my Pastor’s son to whom I have long been a mentor) came home on holidays from MIT and shared with me an idea for a motorbike hailing and delivery service he was working on with a partner, Adetayo Bamiduro. I thought it was brilliant. I was even more encouraged when upon return home the duo launched Metro Africa Express (MAX), started operations and were doing well. And then, with one policy pronouncement from the Lagos State government, the entire business—and the investment running into several millions of dollars—is now in jeopardy. I do not want to discount the security and safety reasons that informed the action taken by the Lagos State government but I hope Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu will revisit the case of the technology-driven platforms under the umbrella of Transportation Hailing Alliance of Nigeria (THAN).

Our public officials must understand that some of their decisions hurt the reputation of our country and impact the perception of investors. I will still encourage Ramat to trudge on with her vision. To access her platform, please sign up on the website at 234audio.com. You can also browse content and download the App (only Android for now, with iOS coming soon, according to Ramat). And you can drop a review. There are always challenges with anything new so feel free to give her feedback via WhatsApp at +234 818 230 1234, or e-mail at info@234audio.com or follow her on any social media platform: Twitter and Facebook @234Audio, Instagram at 234.audio.