Prepare to Meet Kellogg’s Latest Royal Guest During Mosaic Week

by Ifeoluwa Oshoba, MD, 2Y 2018

It’s the first day of CIM week. I’m jet-lagged as hell, having arrived just the day before. I took a long, winding route to Chicago – Lagos – Doha – Rome – Chicago – in a frantic, Amazing Race sort of challenge to make it in time for CIM. I get to the Jacobs Center for the very first time, and I head over to the International office. While filling out some paperwork in the waiting area, someone catches my gaze. Rachael Tachie-Menson (MMM 2018, Ghana), whom I hadn’t met before smiles at me, clenches her fist and says, “My AAffffricaan brother!!!” as she walks out of the office. These are first words I hear from a Kellogg classmate in Jacobs (a castle from whence Kellogg deans of yore ruled until the reign of Dean Sally), and so I thought to myself Hmmm! I didn’t leave home after all.

Turns out that was a good omen, and my Kellogg experience has been like the S&P 500 index (i.e. up and to the right, before the return of volatility). Kellogg brings together the most amazing people from all over the world and I have always wanted to share not just the business side but also the rich cultural aspect of my country, and what better time to do that than during Mosaic Week: a time when Kellogg students get to share their rich cultures with their peers.

Emir Muhammadu Sanusi II of Kano, Nigeria is coming to Kellogg

So, not to brag here, but I come from a land of princes. And it just so happens that one such prince is showing up at Kellogg this spring. (Sorry Peter Chadri (2Y 2018, Kenya) – he had been the resident Nigerian prince at Kellogg – you’ve got competition!)

This prince is no one-trick pony. Before ascending the throne of his forebears, he was an investment banker and rose up the ranks to head one of the largest banks in Africa. He subsequently ran the Central Bank of Nigeria during the turbulent period of the financial crisis, and made Time Magazine’s global list of 100 most influential people in 2011.

HRH Muhammadu Sanusi II is the 14th emir of Kano and the 57th in the long line of Kano’s rulers stretching back to 999 A.D.E, and he will be delivering a keynote address during Mosaic week.

Chances are over the next decade you are going to be leading a company that has operations in Africa or is thinking of having one. The African Continental Free Trade Area agreement was recently signed by most African states and covers a geographical area the size of China, the United States, Europe and India combined, with 1.2 billion people and combined consumer and business spending of $4 trillion.

I have always wanted to share My Africa with my Kellogg cohort, and as I enter my final quarter at Kellogg I’m glad that’s crossed of my Kellogg bucket list.

Look out for and sign up for the event during Mosaic Week. And get ready: Africa Business Club Week is coming up soon, and we’ve got something special cooking.

Prior to his arrival at Kellogg, Ifeoluwa Oshoba was a practicing eye surgeon. He is the VP of professional development for the Kellogg Africa Business Club.