Dami Oke is the author of Floor to Future: A Memoir of Resilience, Faith and Transformation. In this chat with GREGORY AUSTIN NWAKUNOR, she speaks on how the book has sparked conversations far beyond its pages.
When Dami Oke walks into a room, she carries more than her quiet confidence: she carries the weight of a story that has become a lifeline for countless young people who see their own beginnings reflected in hers. Her debut book, Floor to Future: A Memoir of Resilience, Faith and Transformation, has sparked conversations far beyond its pages.
Your book has resonated deeply with young people, especially those from low-income communities. Why did you write it?
“Because stories change people. I met people whose stories inspired me and kept me on my feet. I knew that I had to be that for myself, my mom and siblings, the community I grew up in and everyone who will encounter my story. I wanted to be honest about the floor I started from, literally and figuratively. I wanted young people to know they are not alone, and more importantly, that their beginning is not their boundary. Writing the book was my way of standing as a mirror and a megaphone: showing them what’s possible and amplifying their voice.”
In this chat, she speaks with striking honesty about loss, identity, dreams, and the fire that ignited her rise.
“My mother refused to let our story end where it began. That refusal became my fire.”
Born in Mushin, Lagos, and now a global voice for educational equity and transformational leadership, Oke’s journey is a testament to resilience shaped by faith and fueled by purpose.
The story begins with the moment she often identified as the turning point: the death of her father when she was just eight years old.
You’ve spoken openly about how losing your father changed everything. What do you remember most about that transition?
“I remember the suddenness. One day, everything felt normal, the next, our world shifted. Comfort became scarcity. We moved from sleeping on beds to laying our clothes on the floor. But in all of that, my mother carried this unwavering strength. She refused to let our story end where it began. That refusal became my fire.”
What did that fire look like as a child growing up in Mushin?
“It looked like determination. It looked like believing, even when it felt unreasonable, that there was more to my life than what I could see around me. My mother always said, ‘Don’t let your environment define your destiny.’ That shaped my mindset early.”
Education as escape, empowerment
You excelled academically despite the challenges. What drove that consistency?
“Hunger for transformation. I got the gift of men/women, what you’ll call destiny helper. People who took a chance on me with unwavering love and kindness. I wasn’t about to let their sacrifices down. I wanted to rewrite the script. Education became the door I knew I could push open. I studied with intensity because I wasn’t just reading for myself; I was reading for my family, for our future, for every child who looked like me.”
Her achievements speak for themselves: a First-Class degree in Economics from Bells University of Technology and a distinction in International Management from Bournemouth University in the UK.
Was that journey smooth?
“Not at all. But purpose never promised ease. There were days of doubt, scarcity, impostor syndrome, but there was also grace. And grace is louder than fear.”
The heart behind Dami Oke Foundation
Tell us about the foundation. Why create it?
“Because transformation is incomplete if it only lifts one person. My foundation focuses on providing scholarships, mentorship, and access to educational resources for young people who cannot afford it. I want to confront the barriers I once battled with and break them for someone else.”
What’s the core mission?
To ensure every child has a chance to rise. To uplift ambitions. To expand academic opportunities. And to help children believe that destiny isn’t defined by their location.
Faith, purpose, the future
Faith seems to be a recurring theme in your journey. How central is it?
“Everything I am is anchored on faith. I genuinely believe God rewrites scripts, and He rewrote mine. When I say ‘from the floor, you can rise,’ it’s because I’ve watched grace transform my reality.”
What do you hope your story does for people?
“I hope it activates something. I hope it tells them, “Yes, you can.” I hope it reminds them that impossibility is not a fact, it’s a perspective. I want people to see their future the way God sees it: full of promises.”
A rising force with expanding horizon
As our conversation closes, Dami reflects quietly, then smiles. “If my life proves anything, it’s this: you can begin on a floor made of hardship and pain, and still rise into a future filled with purpose. I’m still rising. And I want others to rise with me.”
The trailblazer’s future
As she continues to expand her foundation, speak on global stages, and mentor young leaders, one thing is clear: Dami Oke isn’t just rewriting her story, she’s helping thousands rewrite theirs.
Her journey proves a simple but powerful truth: where you come from may shape you, but it does not define you.
And for every child looking up from a place society calls “unlikely,” her life whispers something deeply freeing: Refusal can become fire.
Her journey continues, not as a finished story, but as a living blueprint of what happens when resilience meets grace, and when one woman decides to turn adversity into assignment.
