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Book Title: Escape From Prison

On September 8, 2017, my youth Afripreneurship Town Hall in Lagos was filled with young Nigerian entrepreneurs and aspiring ones: students, traders, bankers, side-hustlers, business managers, engineers, and at least one very memorable social entrepreneur. About 425,000 viewers were also watching online!

When Bashiru Adamu stood up to share his entrepreneurial vision during the Q&A, my first impression was exactly as he tells it here in his book, “Wow, wow, wow, wow!”

He opened his brief pitch by telling me and about 300 others crowded in the room: “I help prisoners escape from prison”.

Although this slight young man from Kaduna State in North West of Nigeria, did not look like a jailbreaker, he got all our attention immediately. A few people laughed and then all grew silent. I asked: “You did?” and he answered without a hint of a smile, “I do!”

He tells the rest of the story in this book. Not only did Bashiru’s pitch show passionate commitment to serving humanity, but he had already developed and executed a plan, drawn together key decision-makers, and found partners who supported his idea of setting up libraries and business skills programs for incarcerated prisoners in Nigeria. His vision [first sparked in 2012 during his National Youth Service year in Benue State] came to be known as the Dream Again Prison and Youth Foundation.

Having heard Bashiru boldly speak in Lagos that day, I was surprised to learn in the book that when growing up, he himself felt imprisoned and paralyzed by a mindset of self-doubt and trepidation. He writes striking words that will probably resonate with people everywhere, facing challenges at different times in their lives:

“I was dead while alive. I was hopeless even when surrounded by opportunities. I just didn’t see life beyond the pain, hunger, helplessness, and the chain that held me down in my head. My life was not just a joke, it was a junk. It was a miracle of self-belief and hard work that I broke out of the chains”.

On the contrary, the social entrepreneur I met that Friday at my town hall, who’d also been following my Facebook entrepreneurship blog for years, stood out as someone special who did not just talk the talk [which he did memorably that day] but was also walking the talk of what he said was his favourite quote: “It’s better to prepare and not meet opportunity than to meet opportunity when you are not prepared”… He was prepared!

The fifth of seven children, Bashiru shares in one chapter about the life of his entrepreneurial mother. Amazing. These are the inspiring stories of resilient, visionary, and solution-seeking African business founders that need to be published as books, made into podcasts and films, and widely shared. Make no mistake: Amidst the challenges on our continent, greatness is being born and nurtured every day.

Dr. Strive Masiyiwa
Founder and Chairman of Econet Group

“Escape from Prison,” is a true-life story of a young social changemaker from Nigeria presented in a simple but extraordinary way that will leave the reader with strategy and plan on how to create sustainable social change.

About the Author

Bashiru Adamu is a social change maker who has brought light and hope to so many inmates across the correctional space in Nigeria and is now extending his frontiers through Africa.

Bashiru boasts about a decade’s experience in building a non-profit from scratch, beginning with a sub-rural community in
Otukpo, Benue State, Nigeria.

Today ,the organization Dream Again Prison & Youth Foundation is in full operation in several parts of Western and Northern Nigeria.

An alumnus of the Kanthari International Institute of Social Change Makers, India; the Leap Africa Social Innovators Program; and the Non-profit Leadership and Program at Lagos Business School.

He was the 2017 pitch winner of Dr. Strive Masiyiwa Youth Entrepreneur Town Hall meeting in Lagos, Nigeria..

“Bash” as he us fondly call is also a certified coach with Open Door Coaching Group (ODCG) and Catalyst Coach Certification (CCC) Australia.

He received the Most Outstanding Community Influencer award in Nigeria from National Youth Assembly of Nigeria in 2018. Most recently, he is also a 2022 Acumen Academy West Africa Fellow.

“His favourite slogan “In conformity many dreams die” is a propelling factor behind his passion and his unconventional approach to excellence to life and work.”

Connect with the Author

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