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Ambassador ARMA is one of the most influential speakers in the world with a smashing world record of Public Speaking which is recognized by the United Nations and the Center for International Development of Harvard University. His story is very inspiring as he has been through so many phases of life which has made him a strong minded person with deep positive character and virtues. Please enjoy and as well get inspired by reading the summarized version of the story of Ambassador Abayomi Rotimi Mighty (ARMA). WHO IS ARMA? ARMA is an emerging Icon of Ideologies and Concepts for development; he prefers to be referred to as a THINKER and TALKER, in his word, he will say: “I THINK deeply about so many things and when I discover one reality…. I TALK about it” ARMA never experienced quality parental care from 1989 (when he was only 4 years old) when his mum left his dad after they divorced in the same year. ARMA’s father is a devoted soldier of the Nigerian Army and was among those sent for peace keeping mission in the Liberia and Sierra Leone; for this reason he was moved alongside his elder brother Dele to Ijebu Ode from Keffi in then Plateau State now Nassarawa State. ARMA grew in abject poverty with his paternal grandmother who only lives by what her (very poor) children (ARMA’s Uncles) send to her since she was already old and was no more working. He also experienced great rejection due to a high level of poverty which made him wear near-rags as cloths. At the very tender age of 7, ARMA began to experience great hardships as he was involved in hawking for personal survival. He sold cocoa yam, vegetables, kerosene and iced water. He was almost kidnapped while hawking. He stopped hawking as a result of the kidnapping experience he had. The drastic level of poverty and hunger was so high that ARMA was involved in petty stealing (at age 8) until one night when he was caught; shockingly ARMA was not beaten because of his acute intelligence which left the people around thrilled, he was given what he stole that day but was corrected by an elderly man who taught him to beg instead of stealing: this encounter is one of the greatest encounter ARMA had in his childhood; so he stopped stealing and started street begging at the tender age of 8. Street Begging will not stop ARMA from being the best pupil in his class (Pry 4, 5 and 6 in Baptist Day School Ereko) and one of the best pupils in Ijebu Ode. His chasm and charisma was so great that his fellow children gather round him to listen to TALKS from the Interesting little Boy. ARMA’s favourite song when he was 9 was Michael Jackson’s All Stars We are the World which he taught virtually all children that came in contact with him. ARMA was once again denied of going to the school of his choice (Ijebu Ode Grammar School) because of lack of funds and as a result he attended a low standard high school (which he never regretted afterwards) instead of a grammar school. THE GREAT CHANGE: BIRTH OF REAL ARMA ARMA stopped street begging in 1997 after he was influenced by Mr. Tope Ekundayo (fondly called Grandpa by the adolescents) who was then the programme officer of a youth project in the town (Ijebu Ode) called the Youth Action Project (YAP). ARMA began to get involved in all the youth activities in YAP with all interest and he was always the best in every activity he was involved except that of Press Club since he could not speak good grammar as at that period (1997) but he • Kept on speaking English, • Made the mistakes, • Got corrected and • Took to correction and never forgot the correction; By this time, he was already emerging as the best speaker in English in the whole town. ARMA’s chasm continued to exempt him from other students in secondary schools in the whole town and he soon gained respect from all students from all secondary schools with their teachers in the town. ARMA was not academically the best but there was something about him that made him stood out of all the thousands of students in the Ijebu province………….. Powerful and Insightful Talking. ARMA was good at virtually all students’ activities; to mention a few: • He was a gold medalist in high jump, • Semi finalist in 100 meters, • He was undoubtedly the best student comedian • He was the best mock news caster, • Best student actor, • Best social student as he was able to interact with all students from various backgrounds and from different schools. By 1998, at age 13, ARMA was already making money as a comedian, dancer and a laundry expert. ARMA came into a great fame in Ijebu Ode when he spoke in a programme organized by YAP to commemorate Nigerian independence; he inspired the audience as he boldly predicted that “A time is coming in Africa that the voice of the youths will be heard, the power of the youths will be known and the world will be a better place for us all to live; I believe in a better Nigeria and I believe in a better world, thank you all” ARMA 1997 (Age 12) ARMA was only 12 years old when he made this thought-provoking and very inspiring speech. He got a standing ovation and a lot of people sprayed money on him including the legendary Nigerian story-teller Pa Jimi Solanke. ARMA wore torn cloths that fateful day but the rags never mattered to the people but what the special little boy was saying, a man moved by his talks wrote “small but MIGHTY” and pinned it to ARMA’s torn cloths; that was how he gained the name Mighty. “There is one thing about him when he speaks….. Power! I felt it in his words when I first met him and that drew me to him” Hilda (ARMA’s Fiancée speaking about his speaking prowess) ARMA became the most wanted speaker in the whole town, everybody wanted to listen to this wonderful little boy whose speaking power is considered by many as Devine; he automatically became the best students’ representative in community activities as he was always the one chosen to speak in community events that involve students from several schools. ARMA became an adolescent Guest Speaker for YAP at the age of 13 (1998) when he was called upon to speak on issues that relate to Adolescent Reproductive and Sexual Health at the Repro Health Concert which was held on an annual basis. THE ULTIMATE DISCOVERY OF ARMA BY THE United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) ARMA was sent as a youth rep to a national youth conference on HIV/AIDS organized by UNICEF in Lagos; there he was discovered and was nominated by the United Nations Children Fund to speak on behalf of the youths and children of Africa at the African Summit on HIV/AIDS held in Abuja, Nigeria from April 21-27, 2001. THE SPEECH…. THE YOUTH…. THE HISTORY Abuja was agog on the 26th of April, 2001; virtually all the great leaders of the world were present including the former United States President Bill Clinton. The whole UN Super bodies were present as all the Executive Directors of all UN Agencies including the then United Nations Secretary General Kofi Anan were around to hear the plights of Africans most especially that of the youths who are considered to be the future. The whole development world waited for the presentation of the youths, the axis of development was about to change like never before, history was to be born, the yearnings of the youths of Africa in a unanimous echo like never before was about to be heard, the power of the speech depended on the speaker….. In summary, the yearnings of several millions of African Youths were to be heard by African Leaders with heavy presence of World Leaders and World Press and it was to be presented by One Youth..... Abayomi Rotimi Mighty. He dazzled the whole world on that fateful day as he valiantly spoke about the plights of the African Youths and Children, ARMA called for Youth/Adult Partnership in Africa; the leaders of Africa who were heavily present at the conference were moved to commit themselves to give great room to Youth/Adult Partnership; this is what gave birth to Youth/Adult Partnership in Africa. ARMA is a pillar of history in African Youths Development. ARMA was also nominated by UNICEF to represent the Nigerian Youths in the Massive Awareness Raising Campaign (MARC 2001) where he posed with former President Olusegun Obasanjo in the very popular HIV/AIDS poster tagged “I Care, Do You?” While meeting with the President, ARMA's would not get excited over his passion which is to advocate for change with any available opportunity; he used the one on one meeting with President Obasanjo to remind him of the commitments of African Leaders to the course of the youths by saying "Your Excellency Sir, even when you are eating and the youths call for you sir, please answer our call" ARMA’s UNDAUNTED BELIEF: ARMA have strong belief in grassroots development and he has proven this to the core as he refused to leave the semi urban Ijebu Ode for greener pastures either in Lagos or any other state in the country though he occasionally attend major conferences on leadership, youth and health development in Port Harcourt, Calabar, Abuja and many other areas in the country. At the grassroots level, ARMA has personally trained over 800 youth leaders in various communities who are causing great changes in various areas in Nigeria and even abroad. Some who ARMA has trained are doing so fine internationally in development work. “Nothing will stop me from realizing rural community revitalization; World’s Greatest are in the slums… we need to discover them and empower them to unleash their inner strength” HIS THINKING POWER With 8 hours daily meditation which ARMA have been doing for over 15 years now, ARMA stand as an authority of individual findings about how the society should be. ARMA is on the verge of making one of the greatest human histories as a Christian Philosopher who though have a strong belief in Jesus Christ but speak of all humans from all race with an objective mindset and see them all as brothers bonded together by God who put us all in mother earth to live together. “The truth is that we are all Family and God knows to it, if not, he wouldn’t have put us together in the same planet” ARMA HIS TRAINING: ARMA have a strong background training, undaunted skills and hyper intellectual dexterity in communications strategy, Human Resource Development, Branding and Ideas Generation, Adverts and PR, Films Scripting. He is also gifted in Songs writing and so many other creative things. He is greatly endowed by God who he referred to as The Magnificent Power of House of Ideas, Planning and Implementation for a mind blowing success.
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