DO IT ANYWAY: A COLLISION OF GENERATIONS

The Defining Moment

In this second instalment of the DO IT ANYWAY series, I invite you to step into a moment that defied chronology, and pierced the veil of the ordinary. It was not just a scene on a television set – it was a portal into legacy, where time paused to honor the convergence of two extraordinary souls.

On one unforgettable episode of The Democrats Show, history held its breath as generations of visionaries collided, breathing life into the very heartbeat of our collective purpose.

Two icons – ‘Segun Olusola, the revered griot of Africa’s arts and cultural soul, and Tony Marinho, a sage of uncommon depth and compassion, walked through the doors of timelessness and into a sacred dialogue. What occurred was not scripted. It was summoned. Summoned by purpose, aligned by destiny, and carried on the wings of stories that demanded to be told.

And there I stood, anchored in the sacred stillness between them. In that divine convergence, I was not merely a host or a witness. I was the bridge between what was and what is to come. As their words moved like ancestral echoes, I felt the mantle descend, a silent passing of the storyteller’s baton. A sacred entrustment from the griots of old to a voice prepared to carry the fire forward.

It was as though destiny whispered, “Your time is now. Speak not only for yourself, but for generations whose voices are waiting to rise through yours.”

In that moment I didn’t know that something deep within me was being set in motion – that what felt like a remarkable encounter would quietly become a launchpad. A soul-awakening ignition of a global calling I hadn’t yet named.

But looking back, I see it clearly now: that moment marked the beginning of a mission to elevate storytelling as a powerful catalyst for inspiration, innovation, and impact.

To stand there, fully present, was to unknowingly be handed a torch, and commissioned to carry its flame across continents, cultures, and conversations. It was to breathe life into the stories that awaken bold ideas, spark movements, fuel purpose, and remind us of who we are, and who we dare to become.

It was no ordinary alignment. It was divine orchestration, and a purposeful weaving by the hand of time itself, reminding us that when legacy calls, destiny leans in and listens.

The G.O.A.T

Enter Dr. Tony Marinho...

To speak his name is to summon a force – an era, even. A man whose life was not lived, but poured into medicine, literature, and the soul of a nation still in the making. A poet with the pen of a prophet. A physician whose scalpel healed bodies, and whose words mended fractured minds. A catalyst of thought, an educationist of rare fire, and a visionary whose philanthropy stitched together the broken seams of community with unwavering grace.

But to me… he was more. He was a quiet mentor whose belief in my unfolding, gave my voice its weight.

I have often paused to ask - why me? In a world brimming with noise, what made my sound worthy of his echo? What did he see in my daring that made him lean in, not with critique, but with courage-giving support? With every project I brought forth – half-birthed dreams wrapped in trembling hope – he didn’t just endorse. He embraced. He stood. He lifted.

When I invited him to join The Democrats Show for the recording of not one, but three unforgettable episodes, I knew I was reaching into greatness. Here was a man whose footsteps echo in the halls of Nigeria’s intellectual, cultural, educational and leadership foundations.

Yet, with the humility only true greatness knows, he said yes. No demands. No distance. Just presence, whole and generous.

As we sat beneath the studio lights and between the unscripted silence of takes, his essence filled the room. It wasn’t just his voice -it was his being that spoke. A distilled knowing from decades of service, of writing, of watching a nation wrestle with itself. Each word he shared felt like history turning its gaze forward, an invitation to listen not only with ears, but with conscience.

He offered no performance, only truth – illuminating insights into our political terrain, our educational battles, our cultural heartbeat, with clarity that cut through the noise, and a depth that only comes from standing in the storm and still daring to plant seeds.

Tony Marinho was not simply a guest, he was a generational bridge, a keeper of memory, a G.O.A.T – not by title, but by testimony.

And I bore witness to legacy in motion.

The Collision

Nothing could have prepared me for the power of that moment. Not even the weight of all I’d dared to envision.

There I was, standing in the hallowed space of the Ajibulu-Moniya Gallery, the living legacy of Ambassador ‘Segun Olusola, the father of television broadcasting in Nigeria, cultural custodian, master storyteller, and creator of The Village Headmaster, a series that immortalized the pulse of community, identity, and nationhood.

The gallery wasn’t just a venue – it was a sanctuary of memory, of vision, of artful defiance against erasure. It held the spirit of a continent that refused to forget itself.

And there, in that same sacred space, entered Dr. Tony Marinho – the modern-day oracle of poetic conscience, social architect, and literary force whose voice, like a river, had carved through generations of thinkers, dreamers, and changemakers.

I stood, almost suspended in time, as these two titans of intellect, artistry, and cultural evolution breathed the same air, shared the same frame, on the set of The Democrats Show. It wasn’t a meeting. It was a moment written by destiny’s own ink.

What unfolded was not merely dialogue – it was a collision of epochs. A rare convergence of eras, where the legacy of old met the fire of the now. Their presence was weighty, their words rich with decades of unshaken conviction, and I, caught between them, bore witness to a sacred passing of torches, spoken not in ceremony, but in silence, in synergy, in knowing.

And though I hadn’t known it at the time, I was standing inside the very birthplace of what would become my global commission.

'DO IT ANYWAY' was no longer just an anthem of persistence – it had begun to carve out its deeper mission: to amplify the legacy of storytellers across generations, to remind the world that culture is not inherited, it is carried, and I had just been handed the scroll.

This was the ignition, and it lit a fire that still burns.

The Leap

It’s one thing to witness history – it’s another to respond to its echo with your own voice.

A year after that defining moment on The Democrats Show, something stirred so deeply within me, that silence was no longer an option. It was as though the conversation between Ambassador Segun Olusola and Dr. Tony Marinho had left behind an unspoken commission, and the time had come for me to answer. 

So, I picked up my pen, not to write a book, but to ignite a dialogue. ‘Dreams of a Patriot’ was born: not as a manuscript, but as a love letter wrapped in satire, candor, and urgency. It became a nation’s mirror, reflecting five decades of Nigeria’s leadership journey through a lens that was historical, philosophical, and deeply human.

It was not safe. It was not expected. But it was necessary. And so, I leapt.

That leap was no quiet decision. It came wrapped in anxiety, cloaked in vulnerability, and shadowed by that ever-familiar voice whispering: “Who do you think you are?” But just as fear sought to pull me back, I heard the whisper of destiny louder: Do It Anyway!

And when it came time to find a voice to frame the foreword – someone who could stand at the threshold of legacy and future, someone whose belief in my vision had never wavered, there was only one name: Dr. Tony Marinho.

I shared my idea with him tentatively, half-expecting to be told to wait, refine, rethink. But Tony, in the way only he could, responded with the steady grace of a mentor who sees beyond the visible. His words? “When should I expect the manuscript?”

That moment sealed something deeper than literary contribution – it was an affirmation. A passing of trust, a nod from a giant who had walked the terrain of truth-telling and knew the price, yet still chose to hold the door open for me to step through.

And step through, I did.

The Lesson: DO IT ANYWAY

Through it all, and even now, Tony never wore the robe of legend, though he could have.

He walked with the quiet strength of a man who measured his impact not by applause, but by the seeds he planted in others. He showed up, not just in proximity, but in purpose. He believed in me audaciously, relentlessly, without condition. And that belief echoed into chambers of my soul I hadn’t yet found the courage to open. 

Tony Marinho didn’t just join me on set; he stepped into the very architecture of my unfolding story. He didn’t just lend his voice; he offered his legacy as scaffolding upon which I could build.

In championing me, he modelled what it means to hold the door open, not out of obligation, but out of vision, for a future where storytellers, creatives, dreamers, and changemakers would rise, unapologetically, into their purpose.

That, right there, was the lesson. The essence of DO IT ANYWAY was no longer abstract. It was embodied in his choice to act, to support, to pour into someone still on the climb.

And as I looked back on those sacred moments, I realized something undeniable: no one ever feels ready for greatness. We step into it trembling, second-guessing, sometimes stumbling, but still, we step.

The call to ‘do it anyway’ is not a call to perfection. It is an invitation to obedience – obedience to the whisper of destiny when logic begs you to wait. To act while afraid. To rise while unsure. Because in those fragile, faith-filled steps, something extraordinary happens: we become architects of futures we cannot yet see.

That is what Tony gave me. Not just his name in a foreword. He gave me the courage to move forward. To write. To speak. To build platforms that echo with purpose. And now, I carry that fire forward – not just for me, but for everyone who dares to dream out loud.

And this is only the beginning.

The Call

The journey continues, not as a straight path, but as a divine unfolding. Each step echoes with the voices of those who came before me, and each moment demands a deeper yes. The lessons are no longer just mine; they now belong to a rising generation of dreamers, builders, architects of new realities, who are daring to believe that their voices matter.

Tony’s unwavering belief in me was not just a gift; it was a call and mantle passed. A call to rise, to speak, and to build. And so, as this chapter closes, I walk forward, carried by the stories, commissioned by purpose, and compelled by the responsibility to keep the fire burning.

In the series to come, I will take you deeper into stages lit not by spotlight, but by purpose, into the heart of movements shaped by words, and the audacity of storytelling as a tool for culture, innovation, impact, and legacy.  

But for now, I leave you with this truth: the regret of not showing up will always be louder than the fear of failing. The world does not need perfect. It needs present. Present and willing. Present and bold. Present and faithful.

So, whatever your mountain, your idea, your dream, your manuscript, your movement...

👉Stand tall.

👉Take the step.

👉And when everything in you whispers, 'not yet' – DO IT ANYWAY.

Stay tuned, and kindly share your thoughts.

 Yours In Service.

Oluneye Oluwole