Peter Adesanya: Digital Strategist, Blogger, and Singer

Peter is switched on, really switched on, so he knows that hard work, determination, and the right letters behind your name can mean the difference between a stand-out business person and an average one. So when he was trawling for online universities to do his MBA, he came across an advert for Nexford University on Instagram. At the same time, he was strongly considering doing his MBA through the London School of Economics, but as a career-oriented person, Peter knew that if he did just a normal MBA without a specialization, he was not really going to have enough to stand head and shoulders above the rest of the go-getters in the business world.

He noted that Nexford offered an MBA specialization in E-commerce and started salivating at the prospect of not just getting three letters behind his name, but real-world experience in that exploding business arena.

Money matters when it comes to choosing a university

But, it was not just the specialization that swayed Peter toward Nexford, it was the massive difference in cost between the online university, and the traditional London School of Economics.

He says, “When I did the maths and looked at my finances, obviously starting with my income, I knew that finding a world-class next-generation online university would be a tough one to crack. So, I started worrying that my dream wouldn’t be coming true as the costs of going to a traditional university would be a bridge too far. But when I discovered Nexford, I was elated as I saw that the payments were monthly and also highly affordable. That was all that I needed and so I chose to enrol, and never looked back.”

All in a day’s work

As a busy man, Peter was doing some serious head scratching as to how he was ever going to fit doing an MBA around his hectic work schedule, but as with the cost challenge, finding Nexford turned his frown upside down. It was like a God send. Here was a top-class university that was not only affordable, but that also provided a flexible way of learning which meant he could learn according to his own schedule.

What he also loved, was the fact that whenever he is online he is never alone. Morning, noon, and night, Peter has direct contact with faculty and his Nexford Success Advisor, the latter who not only helped him to enrol, but provided useful advice as to how many courses could be undertaken without having to stretch himself too thin to the detriment of his studies and job.

Looking to the future, but remembering the past!

As they say in the classics, ‘everyone has a past’, and more often than that, the past has a big hand in shaping one’s future. Peter say that growing up he loved reading and creative writing, and just for good measure he was a bit of a singer to boot. Not good enough to get a recording contract, but enough to please the ears of all others. Going back to the writing part, Peter mentioned that he put his creative skills to good work in creating blogs with his older brother.

He tells us, “My brother and I had several blogs on the go here where we would create entertainment news about pretty much all things that were happening in the Nigerian entertainment and music industry. When new music would come out, we would update that on a website. With regards to the blogs I think that those pretty much always kept me interested in everything digital, and was probably where my love for advertising and digital media was born.”

Peter smiles as mentions that all of this side line stuff probably planted the seed to him wanting to enter the marketing and media space, which informed his original decision to study marketing.

The way forward in business is to specialize

The term ‘Jack of all trades, master of none’ never rang truer than in the modern business world where more people are realizing that the way to stand out in business is to specialize in a chosen industry. As a very astute business person, this is something that Peter took to heart and spurned his decision to specialize his MBA in enabling Ecommerce.

He tells us that this specialization pretty much opened him up to a whole new world of networking. Thanks to the networking capabilities afforded to you when learning with Nexford, he has been able to meet new people from across the globe. One minute he says you’re talking to someone in the Philippines and tomorrow it will be with someone locally in Nigeria. Something that can only benefit the business by helping it grow.

With regards to making those highly beneficial contacts Peter says, “I am constantly communicating with others about courses and trends around AI, machine learning, and cybersecurity. Nobody that I know of who is learning at another university has access to that professional network with others who have immense global business knowledge. All of these positives have really helped my personal brand, and my career as well.”

Learn, learn, and relearn

Of course doing his specialization in enabling Ecommerce is helping grow the business and his career, but Peter always has one eye on the present and another focussed on the future. Recognizing that cybersecurity is an industry that is booming right now, and where opportunity seems to be around every corner, when Nexford started its cybersecurity bootcamp recently in partnership with Thinkful, Peter’s ears pricked up. He was lucky to get on the pilot phase of the program and now is quite deep into it and excited about the future.

Because he had to learn about Python and other coding languages, Peter felt that at first it may all be a bit overwhelming. However, he soon came to realize that thanks to all of the support structures in place, he would be able to take it all in his stride.

Of his progress on the program so far, Peter tells us, “One of the many things that I love about the program is that it is very immersive, so while you are reading course content, you’re also watching videos that give you a clearer picture of what you're going to be doing and learning about going forward. There's also a virtual lab where you get to practice everything you’ve learned. So while you acquire the skills, you’re also practicing the skills. That has also helped me. I mean, I wouldn't have thought it was going to be possible for me to be accessing virtual machines that would teach me, but I did!”

These skills are already being put to work in Peter’s business, as he is now able to assess and troubleshoot cybersecurity threats.

You can never do it alone

Turning the focus back to his MBA, Peter tells us that when the going has gotten tough working through the program, he has been lucky enough to also count on the support of his family, consisting of his brother, sister, and caring parents who keep him grounded and keep tabs on whether he is not burning himself out. That said, he also has his own personal coping mechanisms in place, as he has what he now believes is the perfect work-life balance. Highly important if you are doing two university programs at the same time.

But Peter knows that when all is said and done, the hard work will have paid off, as the rewards will be there for him. And now that Nexford is DEAC accredited, it means that more doors overseas could be swinging open for him should he choose to spread his wings and leave Nigeria one day. But, Peter tells us that he is in no rush to do that right now as he would have to leave a lot behind. So he is looking to build a sustainable career in Nigeria for the foreseeable future.

Should he come to take the leap of faith and leave the shores of Nigeria, Peter knows that he can do it as he has drawn so much inspiration from his immediate family, who he says have accomplished so much themselves.

Peter tells us that he takes a lot from his religious beliefs, where he feels that God is playing a big part in his success now, and will have a bigger part to play in the future. He says, “I would say my family and God have been like the hallmark of my inspiration and basically my daily living.”

With that much faith, will, and determination, we see Peter being a massive success in everything he puts his hand to. We wish him luck.

Seeing is believing so check out Peter’s video below or on YouTube.