Exxon’s Lanre Adebola on the Role of Education in Past to Future Nigeria.

Good evening Mr. Adebola. Thank you for gracing our interview today to enlighten young minds on the 1010 Coding Platform. Could you please give us a brief introduction about yourself and what you do currently?

Hello, great to have this interview with 1010 coding. My name is Lanre Adebola. I am currently working as a Petroleum Engineer with ExxonMobil. Before now, I had my Bachelor’s degree in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, outside the Master’s in petroleum engineering from Texas Tech University in the United States of America. I have worked in a couple of other places before working with ExxonMobil. I worked with Rock Flow Dynamics, which makes reservoir simulator software. I worked as a Support engineer there and I also worked with Petroleum Training Institute, where I taught drilling courses and also worked as a Laboratory Assistant.

Thank you very much Mr. Debola, You did mention that you are a Petroleum Engineer with ExxonMobil. So how long have you been in ExxonMobil?

I’ve worked with ExxonMobil for a total of two years now. I’ve worked in two different roles while with ExxonMobil. I first started as a subsurface engineer and am currently a  Wells Engineer with ExxonMobil.

Your educational background and your professional background so far have had a lot of petroleum engineering experiences. What motivates you to do what you do?

What motivates me is the ability to be in a space where I can tend to energy solutions, around the globe, specifically in Nigeria. Growing up in Nigeria, and understanding that we didn’t quite have access to all these types of energy eventually understood that petroleum, and crude oil, in general, can provide as much energy as you wanted to provide. So this motivates me. Also, the ability to want to be a better me, is what drives me every single day when I wake up. So I generally want to be better for myself. And I also want to be able to provide solutions for the energy crisis that the world currently faces.

What motivated you to study Petroleum Engineering in university and do the same for your Master’s and build a career out of it for yourself?

So really young, we would notice that you know, there was no constant electricity, right? I wanted to find out why we couldn’t just have an abundance of electricity. Later I found out that one of the ways we do that is through the hydroelectric way. And then what powers these dams which provide this energy is gasoline. And just over time, doing more research, I found out that we did need energy sources in Nigeria, not just petroleum, I mean, I majored in petroleum engineering, but you know, there are other sources of energy, like solar energy, hydro energy, and wind energy, those are renewable energies. But for fossil fuels, that is oil and gas, petroleum engineering is really what drives it. So just from that young age, I was really curious to understand how I could impact life and just get better. So, that was it. And after studying Petroleum Engineering for my bachelor’s degree, I realized that I needed more and I needed to gain more knowledge in Petroleum Engineering. That’s why I decided to go for my master’s. Also, I wanted to get a bigger worldview. Having studied in Nigeria, I decided I needed to study outside of Nigeria, just to get a bigger perspective of the way things run in the world. And so that’s why I decided to go to Texas, which is the oil and gas capital of the United States, just to get a bigger and better perspective of the way the world works concerning energy. 

Helping people improve their quality of life is essential and the way to go. And when we talk about oil and gas for the developed countries, a big part of things is driven by oil and gas so it is good that you’re on that path. So our next question would be, for you to discuss the flagships of your education or your career that made you successful at what you do currently.

One of the things  I feel has made me successful so far is very simple – determination. You can be the best you can be, you can be the best you want to be, you wake up motivated daily, and you want to become a better version of yourself than you were yesterday. What that eventually leads to is academic success. And I feel like that has played a big role in all the jobs I’ve gotten. It essentially gives you a foot in the door, just having a good academic background. So the major flagship for me has been finishing with a first-class in petroleum engineering from the University of Ibadan, which got me my admission into Texas Tech University, and then finishing with a very good GPA with a perfect GPA, actually, 4.0 out of  4.0 in my master’s also was able to give me the first step I needed in getting a job while I was in Houston, which then gave me the opportunity to interview with ExxonMobil and that’s where I currently work. So it’s majorly trying to be the best of myself, and also the academic success that comes with that. I think that has helped me get to where I am today.

Thank you, Mr. Debola. It seems like you do have the perfect background when it comes to it. And I’m sure it would have taken a lot of work for you but seeing that you are reaping the fruits of your labor then all the work must have been worth it. So for our next question, can you share one or two of your biggest milestones, and how you got there, be it personal or career-wise.

I think the biggest milestone I’ve gotten is getting fully funded for my master’s degree. That opened a lot of doors for me. How was I able to get this? It took a lot of work. While I was doing my National Youth Service in Nigeria, I did put in quite some work, you know, doing applications, writing exams, just to show, because what the people in America know is what they’re familiar with. So they write standardized exams, like graduate record examinations, just to show that you can compete with people across the globe. So I needed to put in that work. And eventually getting fully funded meant that I didn’t have to put any extra stress on my parents to fund that education. So that was a big milestone for me. Moving forward from my bachelor’s degree into my master’s degree.

I know a lot of students out there that are always looking for a 100% scholarship, and you getting it that must have been good. So our next question would be, what are your plans moving forward with your career? 

I hope to continue working in an engineering role in the near term. For the foreseeable future, understanding that the oil and gas industry is constantly evolving, my goal is really to pivot into something more generic, so to speak. So I’m looking into business development roles, finance roles, and business management roles. So those are the kind of roles I’m looking for myself moving into the future. That’s kind of like my plan for my career when you talk mid-term to long term. I would like to become a business development manager or something along those lines. 

How important do you think technology is to the future of Nigeria?

Generally, I think technology is important to the future of anything, Nigeria inclusive. Most countries are reaping the benefits of investing in technology over the years, and Nigeria needs to follow suit. 

As someone that has gone through the educational system in Nigeria, how important do you think education is for the future?

I think generally, education is the pathway to doing everything great. You need to learn, need to unlearn, need to relearn. So education is absolutely the way to tap into that future that we want for Nigeria, which is a future driven by technology: technology is central to the future of Nigeria. So I think education is absolutely important to the future because if we can’t educate, especially the kids coming up, in the right and appropriate manner, then we’re not going to be able to fulfill the potential that Nigeria has. 

What is your vision for Nigeria?

I think Nigeria has the potential to be the best among the top countries in the world. We already have the population, we have the brain, although we are experiencing a brain drain currently, I think we can be the best. I want to see a Nigeria, where we regularly compete at the top, in terms of the economy of the world, whereby we compete in terms of innovation. And that’s what I vision Nigeria to be. Where you know, you’re going to get the best of the best.

When you talk about countries like the United States of America, you talk about the United Kingdom, I want Nigeria to be mentioned in that same breath. When we’re talking about the top countries whether it’s in terms of the educational system, whether in terms of the economy, whatever it is, you always get these countries at the top of innovations, right? Everything comes from the United States. That kind of power is what I vision Nigeria to be, first within Africa, and then just expanding globally. Currently, when they’re talking about the best countries in Africa, in terms of global economic power, you tend to hear of countries like South Africa, and Egypt, in terms of innovation, but you know, Nigeria needs to be the very first name that comes out from anyone’s lips. So that’s what I envision Nigeria to be in the next 10 years, and then eventually get to that global stage where we can compete favorably with other economies.

 No wiser words have been said. I agree with you Mr. Debola. We have countries like South Korea, which used to be one of the poorest countries in the world. And then they’ve attained their status as a developed nation, all thanks to technology. When we start hearing about what big companies like Samsung and LG are doing, we know that they are South Korean companies. Hopefully, Nigeria can live up to the vision that we have for it. So our final question is, what is your advice to your younger self? Going through all the experiences that you’ve had right now if you had the opportunity to go back and talk to your 13-year-old self, what would be your advice?

My biggest advice would be to go with the times. You know, invest in yourself and go with the times. One thing I’ve found, just generally working in the oil and gas industry is that this is almost like a dying industry. What you don’t want is to be super equipped for a war that doesn’t exist, right, which is why I’m trying to better myself and I’m trying to pivot into something different. For many younger people right now, that’s going to be investing in technology whether it’s coding or whether it’s data science, and things like that. I feel like that’s important moving forward. The next 20 to 50 years are going to be filled with technology-invested companies, right? So if you really cannot provide yourself with those skills to compete, then you might struggle in the future that we’re looking for. So just looking at my own experiences, that would be, to just go with the times. You might get it wrong, you know, you might have to change things along the line but the very first thing is to make sure, am I investing in the right knowledge?, am I getting the right skills to be equipped for the world that is to come and, and the world that is present, other than the one that is dying off. I think that would be my advice to my younger self.

Thank you very much for your time today Mr. Debola. I like the buzzword, go with the times, and I think we’re gonna adopt it from you. Thank you so much for giving us this time to encourage the younger generation with your words of advice. We are very sure that a lot of people are going to learn from your experience.

Once again you’re welcome. It’s been great talking to 1010 Coding and I hope that this video helps the younger ones be able to make better decisions. Thank you very much. It’s been a great time. It’s been my pleasure. Thank you.