Sam Idowu interview The real London

I was born in Nigeria but I came to live in the UK just before the mid-1970s. I have in effect existed here for almost five decades but since I am still not a centenarian yet, it means I have lived here for more than two-thirds of my life. This is my home and I am proud to say this. All my children were born here; this is their country. Some of them in fact have never been to Africa.

I am a practising Christian; I belong to a Pentecostal church and have been a member of this particular church for more than 50 years. I joined the church in Lagos, Nigeria, before I came to live in the UK. The church has been in the UK since 1967, well before I came here. I am in fact one of the senior elders of the church with a congregation of just over 500 parishioners. The church is my other life after my professional activities. We expect all our members to behave well wherever they find themselves and whatever the circumstances; they should be good examples to others. The church is so important to me.

I expect anyone I come across or deal with to be of high integrity and honesty. I use integrity and honesty to place people in my scale of good individuals, those I should trust and call my friends.

I have been seriously involved in corporate social responsibility since 2003 and we have been fortunate to have made a difference and continue to make a difference in a number of other people’s careers and professional standings. It pleases me when we receive messages from others, from different parts of the world, thanking us because some of the things we do have progressed them professionally. No one in my own estimation can quantify the feelings we get from that in terms of money, which is one of those things that drives me most; I am very honoured to say that.

It is very difficult to pinpoint any particular moment of my teaching career (which has been more than three decades) as my proudest moment. A number of things make me proud, a few of them I share with others, and some of them I keep to myself. In February 2019, I was honoured with an excellent award by the World Corporate Social Responsibility Congress in Mumbai, India, as one of the world’s most impactful CSR leaders; I can say that I am surely proud of that. I also received another award in Cologne, Germany, in November 2018. I am equally proud of that.

The proudest moment in my life was when my eldest child was born.

London Met means a lot to me. I have been here for nearly 20 years, I have met a number of great people, have helped understand the qualities good individuals possess and a few not-so-great individuals, but that is what makes life interesting.

If our world is full of good people we get on with, we are unlikely to cherish life or have time to reflect about the importance of God in our lives and what he expects us to do to our neighbours – love them! My career has thrived here in a number of ways, which means a lot to me and, above all, good people have always been chosen to be at the helm of management since I have been here. That’s the reason I am still here. We should all celebrate the great leaders we continue to have here.

Being here has shaped many of the things I do and I am grateful to the University and a number of good people I have worked with at London Met for that.