Hammad Safi, an 11-year-old motivational speaker in Pakistan, is taking the internet by storm. With contagious enthusiasm, an engaging smile and enchanting words — the young boy has it all to capture the attention of netizens.
Safi's age too could be another reason for many on social media to laud the boy for his motivational talks.
The 11-year-old has already established an online presence quite well already, with around 1,45,000 subscribers on YouTube. Each of his video have garnered thousands of views. One particular video of his lecture at the University of Spoken English (USECS) in the northwestern city of Peshawar has been watched by millions on YouTube. [You can watch the video below.]
He is not an ordinary child. People have seen something in him. I have myself seen abilities in him. That's why I have appointed special teachers for him," Safi's father, Abdul Rehman Khan said in an interaction with AFP. "I want him to become a special leader. I'm very proud... For his abilities, for his intelligence, he is God-gifted," he added. Rehman is a wealthy 48-year-old businessman from Peshawar in Pakistan.
Who is Hammad Safi?
- He is an 11-year-old motivational speaker from Pakistan dubbed as 'nanha professor' (little professor) by many.
- Safi left traditional schooling to pursue full-time education at USECS.
- He is willing to continue his English studies and embark on the motivational career.
- At USECS, he was noticed for his "phenomenal self-confidence", as per the director Ammer Sohail.
- According to Safi's professors, he sometimes studies for 10 to 12 hours at a stretch.
- He has a few photos hanging on his bedroom wall, one with the Chinese ambassador in Islamabad and another with former cricketer turned politician Imran Khan.
What others are saying about him:
One of Safi's former English teachers Samiullah Waqil said, "People love him because he's just talking, he's a hit every time."
Bilal Khan, a political science student spoke highly of Safi as he explained that the boy had had a wonderful effect on him.
"A few months ago I was really disappointed with life... I was (thinking) about suicide, because there are no jobs and no success in life," he told AFP. "Then I saw a movie of Hammad Safi. I thought, if an 11-year-old child can do anything, why can't I?"
While Safi is flooded with the praises from all over the world, a professor at Peshawar University Bakht Zaman voiced a concern while speaking to AFP, "Where's the child in him? He's gone, because he thinks above his age."
According to Zaman, while Sufi "is a good motivational coach" but he "lacks intellectual depth. He can become what they want to do with him, but it will take time."
Hassan Amir Shah, the Vice Chancellor of the public university of Lahore, where Safi gave a speech, told AFP that he is just concerned that the attention the young boy is getting must not "drive him crazy."
He still has a long way to go, many books to read. We will only be able to judge him in 20 years, when he is an adult," he said.
