Change Narratives

If school helped shape what you believe about your intelligence, can you change that story as an adult?

In Part 2 of our conversation with Asher Kure, we move from the classroom to the learner, the teacher and the education system around them.

Asher explains how the brain continues to learn, why practice matters for mastery and why different people may need different routes into learning.

We talk about reading, listening, observation, memorisation, asking questions and research, and why the right learning strategy depends on both the person and what they are trying to achieve.

Then we widen the conversation.

Because education as a social unit is bigger than the learner.

It includes teachers, schools, training institutions, curriculum, resources and governments.

So how much responsibility can we place on learners when schools are underfunded, teachers are unsupported or the right learning materials are not available?

Asher talks about government responsibility, teacher education in Nigeria, colleges of education and why learners should be taught how their brains work instead of simply being expected to figure it out.

This is a conversation about learning, but also about the systems that shape it.

And for anyone who spent years believing they simply were not good at school, the message is simple:

You can learn again.

This season of Change Narratives looks at the social units that shape people: families, communities, institutions, environments and experiences.

Education is one of the biggest.

For many of us, school is where we first start deciding whether we are smart, slow, academic, creative or simply “not good at learning.”

But what happens when those conclusions are wrong?

In Part 1 of our conversation with researcher, educator and author Asher Kure, we explore the experiences that made him question some of our most familiar assumptions about intelligence and learning.

Asher tells the story of a student who struggled badly in class, but outside school could play a sophisticated PlayStation game so well that his older brother struggled to beat him.

The child could clearly learn.

So what was really going on?

From that question, we get into learning habits, behaviour, memory, the methods high-performing learners use and the classroom experiment that helped students learn from their peers.

We also talk about Mind Palaces, memory triggers and why Asher believes learning itself should sit at the centre of education.

This conversation is not only about how people learn.

It is about how an institution like school can shape what people believe about themselves long after they leave the classroom.

What if you were never bad at learning?

Nigeria is 66 today.

And somehow, October is here too.🎊🎊🎊

So we thought we would check in.

How are you actually feeling about Nigeria right now?

There is a lot that is frustrating. There is a lot that is tiring. But there are also people doing good work, things that are moving, and reasons to still hope for better.

Eddie said maybe this should be a reflective year, and that probably sums up this conversation best.

Today gives a real chance to think about where we are, what is getting better, what still needs work, and what we want to see change.

So as we start a new month and mark 66 years of Nigeria:

What are you hopeful about?

Happy Independence Day 🇳🇬

Happy new month!❤️

September is here, and everyone is talking about locking in for the final stretch of the year.

But what if locking in didn’t have to mean doing everything alone?

In this short bonus episode, we reflect on one of the biggest ideas from our recent conversation with Precious Ebere-Chinonso Obi: the role friendship and professional networks can play in helping us build, create opportunities and make an impact.

We also look back at what we learned about working with donors without losing sight of your mission, and give a little preview of what’s coming next on Change Narratives as we turn to another social unit that shapes a changemaker: education.

If you haven’t listened to Parts 1, 2 and 3 of our conversation with Precious, this is a good time to catch up.

And as we head into the last few months of the year, here’s the question we’re thinking about:

What are you locking in to build — and who are you building it with?

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Every organisation talks about scaling. Few talk honestly about what it takes.

In Part 3, Precious Ebere-Chinonso Obi shares how DO Take Action has expanded its work across multiple donors while staying true to its mission. We discuss flexibility, innovation, procurement, trade, policy, and why solving real problems is what earns long-term support.

The conversation ends with Precious's vision for the future of DO Take Action and the practical steps needed to create opportunities for women at scale.

What if women aren't being held back by ambition, but by systems that weren't designed with them in mind?

In Part 2 of our conversation with Precious Ebere-Chinonso Obi, Co-Founder and Chief Executive of DO Take Action, we explore what justice really looks like in practice.

From care justice and gender pay to programme design and digital learning, Precious shares how DO Take Action has built its work around the realities women face every day, not assumptions about what they need.

We also discuss why listening comes before designing solutions, how research shaped every stage of their programmes, and why a hybrid learning model helped more women access training and continue learning beyond the classroom.

Whether you work in development, policy, or social impact—or you're simply interested in building better systems—this episode offers practical lessons on creating solutions that put people first.

Are we getting women’s economic empowerment wrong?

It’s a question that stopped me in my tracks during this conversation.

When we say we’re empowering women, what do we really mean? Is it grants? Skills training? Startup kits? Or have we been overlooking the opportunities that create lasting economic change?

In Part 1 of this conversation, I sit down with my friend Precious Ebere-Chinonso Obi, Executive Director of DO Take Action, to unpack why she believes procurement is one of the most overlooked pathways to women’s economic empowerment.

Drawing on her work with UN Women and partners across Nigeria, Senegal, Mali, and Côte d’Ivoire, Precious shares how research challenged her own assumptions and led her to rethink what empowerment should look like. We talk about why women contribute so much to our economies yet remain largely excluded from procurement opportunities, the myths that continue to hold women back, and why changing systems requires more than training women—it also means working with policymakers and the institutions that shape opportunity.

She also shares one of my favourite stories from the episode: how a facilitator from one of their earliest training programmes eventually became a Director General and is now helping champion women’s participation in procurement at the national level. It’s a reminder that when people believe in a vision, change has a way of coming full circle.

This isn’t just a conversation about procurement. It’s a conversation about questioning assumptions, challenging systems, and creating opportunities that last.

Watch Part 1 and let me know what resonated with you.

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#ChangeNarratives #WomensEconomicEmpowerment #Procurement #PublicPolicy #SocialImpact #Leadership #Africa #DOTakeAction

In this final part of the conversation, Sampson Kofi Adotey Jr. reflects on how his journey translates into impact.

He discusses his work across global health, policy, and storytelling, including contributions to policy shifts and initiatives across multiple countries. He also shares his approach to learning, emphasizing the importance of responding to need rather than pursuing qualifications for their own sake.

Through personal experiences and professional insights, this episode explores how becoming is shaped over time, and how that process leads to meaningful impact.

At the centre of the conversation is a simple but important question: What is your story?

This is Part 3 of a three-part conversation. Follow us on our platforms and feel free to like, comment, and repost:

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Season 2: The Making of a Changemaker

In this episode, Sampson Kofi Adotey Jr. and Sampson Kofi Adotey Sr. reflect on the values, mindset, and experiences that shape a person over time.

They discuss the balance between guidance and independence, the importance of allowing individuals to chart their own course, and how early exposure and lived experiences influence decision-making.

Through personal stories, this conversation highlights how mindset is formed not only through instruction, but through freedom, responsibility, and experience.

This is Part 2 of a three-part conversation.

Season 2: The Making of a Changemaker

What shapes the path a person eventually takes?

In this opening episode of Season 2, we focus on Sampson Kofi Adotey Jr. and the early influences that shaped his journey. From the environments he grew up in to the values he absorbed over time, this conversation explores how a sense of purpose begins to form long before it is visible to the world.

Alongside him is his father, Sampson Kofi Adotey Sr., whose life and work offer important context to that journey. Together, their story reflects on legacy, exposure, and the quiet ways influence is passed from one generation to another.

This is Part 1 of a broader conversation on what it truly means to become.

Season 2: The Making of a Changemaker