Every week, we throw 10 questions at someone whose mind we find fascinating — the thinkers, founders, innovators, policymakers, builders, and culture-shapers quietly changing how we see the world and inspiring us to do things not just differently, but better-differently. First thoughts only.

This week, meet Emmanuel Stephen Oluwaseyi, an award-winning Chartered Accountant and tax consultant who started in Botany at Obafemi Awolowo University and ended up as one of ICAN’s brightest talents. His pivot from the sciences to accounting is less a deviation and more a masterclass in knowing when to follow where your strengths lead.

With eight ICAN prizes to his name, including the Best Qualifying Candidate award at the Institute’s 77th Induction Ceremony in 2025, Stephen has built a reputation for excellence, discipline, and the kind of quiet ambition that speaks loudest in results. He currently works as a tax consultant at a Big Four professional services firm, helping businesses navigate complex tax challenges while proving to young professionals everywhere that where you start does not determine where you finish.

What does it take to walk away from one path and master another entirely?

Read as Emmanuel Stephen Oluwaseyi shares his thoughts on discipline, reinvention, and what it really means to pursue excellence:

1. You walked away from a science degree to start over in a completely different field. Was that a decision you made for yourself, or were there other voices, pressures, or circumstances that shaped it?

My path into sciences in the first place wasn’t entirely self-directed. I was strong across subjects, so I could have gone many ways, but there was a strong push toward science from school and family. I eventually studied Botany, did well, but never fully felt it was a deliberate personal choice. After graduation, I chose to consciously redirect my path into accounting not as an escape from science, but as the first time I was fully owning my direction.

And looking back now, I don’t see it as walking away from science. I see it as finally stepping into a decision I fully owned.

2. Eight ICAN prizes suggests you were not just passing exams but dominating them. At what point did you stop studying to survive and start studying to win, and what shifted in your mind?

To be honest, there was never a point where I studied just to survive or simply pass an exam. That mindset has never appealed to me. I was never one that studied just go get pass mark and go. I always aimed for excellence.

I didn’t even know ICAN gave prizes until after I had already won my first one (from foundation level) and written the second stage (skills level).

By the time I realized, I was already deep into the process. At professional level, I became more aware and just committed fully. The mindset was simple: pursue excellence, and success will follow.

Emmanuel Stephen Oluwaseyi on integrity, identity, and what he tells young professionals who are struggling

3. The Big Four attracts some of the sharpest minds in finance globally. As someone who arrived without a conventional background, did you ever feel like an outsider looking in, and how did that feeling drive or haunt you?

Yes, at first [I was worried]. But that feeling faded quickly. I saw colleagues from non-traditional backgrounds excelling, including someone with a law background winning an ICAN prize. That reset my thinking. I realized success here is driven more by effort than background, so I focused on proving myself through work, not comparison.

4. Tax consulting sits at the intersection of law, money, and power. Have you ever been in a situation where doing the right thing professionally put you in an uncomfortable position, and how did you handle it?

Not in a way that felt like a dilemma, largely because of my firm’s strong ethical culture. When client expectations don’t align with technical reality, the approach is simple, explain clearly, stay within the law, and help them make informed decisions. Integrity is never optional; it’s the foundation of the work.

5. You are described as inspiring young professionals, but inspiration is easy to perform and hard to mean. What do you actually say to a young person who is struggling, not thriving, and running out of belief?

I focus on perspective, not motivation. Everyone has moments of doubt, but you must not accept the voice that says you are a failure. Struggling is not the opposite of success—it’s part of it. Progress is often slow and messy, but quitting is what makes failure permanent. Keep showing up and stay anchored to your original reason for starting.

So my message is simple: don’t listen to the voice calling you a failure. Listen to the reason you started. Keep moving, keep learning, and keep showing up. Sometimes success is not about making a giant leap; it is simply about refusing to quit when quitting feels easiest.

6. Botany is the study of living systems, growth, and adaptation. Looking back, do you think that discipline trained you for something your accounting peers did not quite have?

Yes. It trained me to think analytically and ask “why,” not just “what.” That curiosity helps in tax and accounting, where problems aren’t always straightforward.

It also taught adaptability – understanding that systems evolve, and you must keep learning and adjusting.

7. Winning “Best qualifying candidate in 2025” is the kind of achievement that redefines how people see you. Has it also changed how you see yourself, and not necessarily for the better?

More in how others see me than how I see myself. I’m still the same person, but expectations have increased. I’m careful not to tie identity to achievements. Prizes are milestones, not identity. What matters more is long-term impact, not past recognition.

In fact, one of my biggest motivations now is ensuring that my best contribution to the profession is not the prizes I won, but the value I create afterwards. Because eventually, people stop talking about your results and start talking about your impact.

And if I am being honest, I still feel like the same person. The only difference is that now when I make a mistake, people are a little more surprised by it.

The alternate path, the discipline behind it, and who Emmanuel Stephen Oluwaseyi turns to when ambition gets heavy

8. What is the version of this story where Stephen does not pivot, does not win the prizes, does not make it to the Big Four, and how close did that version come to being real?

The closest alternate path was a full teaching/lecturing career. It was very real. I had job offers and a clear academic path. But accounting came through a chance conversation with a colleague during NYSC, and that changed everything.

The good news is that I eventually realized something important: teaching was never tied to a classroom; it was tied to my purpose. I didn’t have to choose between being a professional and being a teacher.

Today, I still teach. I teach aspiring accountants in a prominent ICAN tutorial, mentor young professionals, and share knowledge whenever I can. So in a way, both versions of the story survived. The accountant won, but the teacher never left.

9. Discipline is central to your identity now, but discipline is usually built on top of something painful. What is underneath yours?

It comes from my father, who wasn’t formally educated but embodied excellence in everything he did. Losing him early made me carry his memory as a quiet responsibility. My discipline is less about pressure and more about stewardship ensuring that potential for excellence is not wasted in me.

10. Career success at your level often comes with isolation, few people truly understand the pressure. Who do you talk to when the weight of your own ambition becomes too much?

When ambition gets heavy, I talk to people who knew me before any of the titles or achievements. They remind me that my value isn’t tied to results, and that perspective is often enough to lighten the weight.

For instance, my family and a few trusted friends have a way of reminding me that life is bigger than the next exam, promotion, or achievement.

That balance is invaluable.

Connect with Emmanuel Stephen Oluwaseyi on X: @McSteve__ and on Linkedln: Stephen Emmanuel