TheCable

Adetola Juyitan’s strict and tough demeanour easily give her away as one that is not approachable. Yet, the appearance has helped her in achieving her objectives both personally and as President of Junior Chamber International Nigeria.

Her talent and versatility have also stood her out among her contemporaries. This, she says, is borne of her resolve to try out new things and say ‘yes’ to new challenges. It is a resolve that makes her dislike the comfort zone. While at the Ondo State University (later Ekiti State University), Juyitan had engaged in several meaningful extracurricular activities, among which was a campus-based NGO that set her up on skills and meeting different people and which ultimately led her to the present position.

Although she admits to being influenced by her late businesswoman mother and chartered accountant father, she is also quick to say that she was always conscious of what she wanted to become in life. Her experience at Zenith Bank, where worked from 2006 to 2013, has also stood her in good stead to face challenges with competitive challenges. Altogether, her banking career spanned 15 years. But not without making her mark in Zenith Bank and UBA where she also worked and won the Transformational Manager of Year award in 2015, a feat that has yet to be equalled to this day.

Juyitan’s experience in the banking sector, which spanned, agriculture, manufacturing and hospitality branches, opened her eyes to the vast opportunities for the Nigerian youth. So were the various trainings she attended across the world – all of which motivated her to self-development and led her to found Glitz Group of Companies with interest in key sectors of the Nigerian economy. She believes it is only a matter of time before the company’s ventures in the sectors begin to yield dividend.

But nothing else describes Juyitan’s transformation since you first joined the Junior Chamber International in 1998 to date as phenomenal. She says it was easy to key into JCI right from the university days because she shared the ideals and values, borrowing some skills from her Rotarian father to actively participate in the various platforms JCI offered its members to be active citizens and positive impact-makers.

Little wonder she easily impacted her leadership and service skills on her presidency of JCI Nigeria. But she readily ascribes her success to being fortunate to work with like-minded individuals who also believe strongly in being embodiments of excellence and that service to humanity is the best work of life. Together they have resolved to achieve their objectives through collaboration than competition as ‘Act as One’ team. She says their best achievement this year are in two-fold: executing projects and forming partnerships. She also revels in JCI Nigeria being honoured with ‘JCI 100% Efficiency Award’ in recognition of its fulfilment of the overall management quality standards stated in the JCI National Organization 100% Efficiency Programme at the recent JCI World Congress held in Estonia.

The major challenge facing JCI Nigeria is the same that faces many NGOs: inadequate finance. But Juyitan hopes to use her contacts to source funds with which to execute the organization’s projects.

Although she concedes that banking has more perks, she nonetheless says the opportunities created by JCI Nigeria to travel around the world and become a global citizen cannot be less attractive.

According to Juyitan, seeing JCI Nigeria in the next ten years is on one side and looking at collaborating with government, individuals and groups to achieve the organization’s objectives in on another side. She also says the JCI Nigeria recognizes ‘Partnerships’ as the 17th Sustainable Development Goal and would pursue partnering with organizations and government with vigour. Having already achieved collaboration with the governments of Akwa Ibom and Kwara states, she believes JCI Nigeria is set to garner extensive collaboration by 2029 for the benefit of progress and development in the country.

In Juyitan’s words: “JCI prides itself as the organization that unites all sectors of society. JCI Nigeria stands to benefit a whole lot from these partnerships; majority of which will remain with us for many years to come.”