From Nigeria to Poland – See How Abiodun Olubakinde is Doing Life as a Product Manager, Photographer & Content Creator

Doing Life With… is a series that showcases how people are living, working, travelling, journalling, taking care of their families and… everything in between. We aim to document the lives of all people and ensure everyone is well-represented at BN through storytelling. 

Last week, we had a yummy conversation with Ify Mogekwu. Did you miss it? Read it here. Today, we’re doing life with AbiodunOlubakinde. He’s a jack of all trades and a master of all. Ha! And he’s taking us on his journey to Poland.

You’ll enjoy this conversation, so dig in! 

Holla Abiodun, how are you today?

I am fine. A little bit tired though. I went partying with the boys last night after our master’s graduation ceremony.

Hooo, that sounds like fun! Congratulations on your graduation, tell us about it

I officially completed my master’s degree in Poland yesterday. It was a 2-year program.

Let’s start with you having a master’s degree in Poland. What influenced that decision?

I was always curious about things, wanting to learn and improve myself. I grew up in Akure as the last of 4 kids in a middle-class family. My parents didn’t have much but made sure we were educated. I did my bachelor’s at the Federal University of Technology Akure (FUTA). I was always smart and intelligent, and I wanted to have a master’s program abroad. Before coming here in 2021, the things I knew about the country were its capital (Warsaw) and its national team player, Lewandowski, who used to play for Bayern Munich at that time.

I never thought of coming to Poland. I wanted a master’s degree abroad, but I could not afford the usual options for Nigerians – the UK and the US. So, I started making research about EU countries that are affordable to live in and found out about Poland. I went on YouTube and, luckily, there was a Nigerian lady living there and making videos about the country. I prepared myself, applied for a visa, and was excited about the next challenge of my life.  

That sounds super interesting. Share the most exciting and challenging thing about living in Poland as a Nigerian

Living in another continent and country, learning a new language, new culture, people, food, and so on. I love travelling, and I have been to a couple of other countries since coming here. My classmates are also very diverse, coming from all over the world. It’s been exciting having all these experiences.

Most challenging… well, coming for the first time can be tough, and settling in by yourself takes some time, but nothing was really that difficult for me.

Walk us through your daily life in Poland, from when you wake up to when you sleep

I work remotely. I wake up at 7:30, sometimes 8 am. Take a shower and get ready to work. We usually have our daily stand-up at 10:30 am. Most of the time, I don’t eat breakfast, and start working at 9 am. I usually have meetings lined up for the day with my team. I attend all online meetings and do my task for the day. I am done with schooling now but I used to have classes in the evening. After work, I go to the university and attend classes too. When I am done, I go to the city centre sometimes because it’s a great place to relax. Sometimes I go to the cinema, go have drinks with friends, take a walk or just stay home and chill. My personal mailbox and work email are always busy so I make sure to check and attend to every message. Most of the time, I sleep around 00:30. My weekdays are usually like this but weekends are different. I create most YouTube videos on weekends and have more fun.

So you work 9 to 5 as a Product Manager in Poland, you do photography, have a YouTube page where you create travel and lifestyle content, and have a blog for tech-related content. How do you juggle all these?

Yeah, I work full time and used to study full time. It wasn’t easy, but my study is flexible and it gives me time for my job and other commitments. My job is also flexible and I work with nice people. I just started doing photography and invested a lot of my hard-earned money into a Sony A7IV camera and G-Master zoom lens. My goal is to keep on working hard and hopefully be good enough to start getting brand collaborations with my photo and video content. I have a passion for these things, so it’s helpful as well.

Interesting! How did all this start?

After university, I was curious about digital marketing. I took some online courses and watched some YouTube videos to learn. I got a short gig with an e-commerce start-up. While doing that, I also created the tech blog howtotechnaija.com. After 3 months of working with the e-commerce start-up, I did an interview with TECNO Mobile and got a job as a Digital Marketing Executive with the tablet division in 2016. I was there until 2020 when I resigned. I was still managing the blog on the side, then I developed an interest in YouTube travel content.

During this period, I did a lot of freelance gigs with other brands, local and international. I also learned about cinematography and started making YouTube videos. In 2021, I started preparing for my master’s program abroad. I got admission to study Communication Management – Advertising, Branding and Public Relations at the University of Wrocław, I applied for a visa and left for Poland. I was excited about the challenge and was looking forward to living in a new place and learning a new culture. I took up a career mentorship program with one of the top executives here while learning at the university and that was very helpful. We had meetings, worked on my CV (different from how CVs in Nigeria are) and he was always helpful with my growth. I was always learning too and trusted in my ability. I started applying for jobs on LinkedIn and got a job with a mobile gaming company as a product manager. I connected and made friends with Nigerians – Nigerians are everywhere in the world, haha.  

Looks like Poland suits you

Yes, indeed! It’s a nice country and coming here is one of the best decisions I have ever made.

Love to hear a positive Japa story. Tell us what excites you about your job, life, and yourself

For my job, it’s working the great people, the opportunity to learn and develop, good work-life balance.

For life, it’s the fact that I’m in a good place at the moment. Life is good and there is a lot more to be discovered and learnt. I love travelling and I am looking forward to visiting more places.

Myself, hmmn… I’ll say my bravery, my courage, my free spirit and my strength to always forge ahead regardless of the obstacles. 

What’s that unconventional belief you hold about the world – something you think people may not agree with you on?

Ha! tough question. Wait, let me think deeply, haha. Okay, apart from the issue of life and death, we all have the ability to shape and control our destiny with our actions. We can always rewrite our story.

But that is not unconventional na

Manage it, haha.

Okay! If you could possess any magical power, what would that be and how would you use it? 

To travel back in time to whenever I want – to see how life was, how people lived. This world is crazy, so many things have happened. Great people, bad people, and so on. To travel back in time to centuries, thousands of years and just watch. It is fascinating.

I agree! 3 things Nigerians looking to relocate to Poland should keep in mind?

Forget about what you have heard before, all the stereotypes about Poland. Be open-minded when coming here. Learn the language, be social and mix with people. Be deliberate about your goals and have fun.