06/28/2026
When I hear people say that some jobs are "too small" for certain people, I smile.
I hold a Ph.D. I have spent years in classrooms, laboratories, boardrooms, and reading countless books. I have built a career in engineering and project management. Yet today, I wake up early to bake bread with my own hands, package it, market it, and sell it.
There is dignity in honest work.
Recently, Nigeria's First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, encouraged Nigerians to start small businesses to make ends meet. Her comments generated different reactions, but one truth remains: every great business was once small.
For me, baking bread is not a sign that my education has failed. It is proof that education should empower us to create value, solve problems, and never be ashamed of honest enterprise.
My Ph.D. is not too big for the bakery. Instead, it helps me build better systems, improve quality, manage operations, understand customers, and grow a business that provides value to others.
No legitimate work is beneath an educated person. What is beneath anyone is refusing to work because of pride.
Whether you are selling bread, akara, software, or consulting services, if you are creating value honestly, you deserve respect.
I am proud to say:
I have a Ph.D. in engineering, and I bake bread for a living. I don't see that as a contradiction—I see it as entrepreneurship, resilience, and the dignity of honest labor. Every loaf I bake is another reminder that success is not defined by titles, but by the value we create and the lives we impact.
