The year was 2013.
During his second year studying computer science at the University of Ibadan, in Oyo, southwestern Nigeria, John Robert stumbled on a pattern that changed the course of his life.
He had been reading about Nigeria’s biggest banking chief executives and business leaders, trying to understand how they built companies that stretched beyond the country’s borders.
He kept noticing one detail: nearly all of them had spent part of their lives abroad. Some had studied overseas. Others had worked there. A few had built careers before returning home. Whatever the route, international exposure seemed to be a recurring advantage.
At 19, that trend became Robert’s biggest motivation for wanting to leave Nigeria.
“The only way to do business in multiple countries, and have the knowledge to do so, is [to] actually [leave] my country, I thought, and to learn with people from other countries, to understand how they think,” Robert said.
He began saving, scraping pennies from his daily allowance, to gather enough money to travel. At the time, Robert had no destination in mind. But he knew he wanted to take his chances abroad.
In March 2018, he moved to Germany. In the thirteen years since Robert first desired to become globally mobile, the AI engineer has found a home and stability in Germany, where he said he holds permanent residency.
Robert said he is living his dream. Yet, that dream began from a strong desire to become a globally mobile business leader, which still drives him to this day.
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