By Amin Kef Sesay
The scene is set at the Kenema Information, Commutation Technology and Management College (KICTAMC) and the main cast is a crowd of students, academics and extras who are residents of Bockarie Bay Street in Simbeck Community of Kenema.
The key protagonist is Sierra Leone’s highly acclaimed motivational speaker, preacher, consummate banker and Managing Director of the Rokel Commercial Bank, Dr Walton Ekundayoh Gilpin. The erudite MD was in Kenema to teach and preach what a student of the KICTAMC aptly described as the “Algorithm of Success.” But Gilpin himself had not titled his presentation as such. Rather, he had simplified his motivational lecture with the title; “Creating Your Tomorrow” – an attempt to provide penultimate information on clear pathways one can follow to become successful and meaningful citizens of Sierra Leone.
Elegantly cladded in jeans suit with dark glasses, Gilpin instantly created the impression of a man on a mission – a mission to change mindsets and behavioral patterns of his compatriots. He took the mic to explain how our attitudes can determine our altitudes – or how we behave and interact with our immediate surroundings can influence how far we go in life. Gilpin told the students they own the key to their own success and must therefore be bold and brave and taking risks.
“The future depends on how you want it to be but a positive mindset determines and help you master your own destiny…I went through my own steps in life to be where I am today,” he said.
For Gilpin, “The only disability in life is a bad attitude but dealing with a bad attitude is the biggest challenge”.
Diversifying your interests and ensuring you nurture self-control and remove irrelevancies to avoid what he described as “systematic abandonment” was among the many tips he concluded his talk on, amidst uncontrollable applause from a vividly excited student audience.
The Kenema lecture follows another motivational speaking session to Secondary School students organized by the Empower Girls Advocacy Group at the Christian in Action Church in Freetown.
Gilpin’s motivational speaking sessions in Freetown and around the country have also provided a ready-made platform for the aggressive marketing program of the Rokel Commercial Bank.
