It was a moment of brainstorming and cross fertilization of ideas as young people from the southwest geopolitical zone on Saturday gathered in Ibadan to discuss the best ways to move Nigeria forward.
The youths, who are from Lagos, Oyo, Osun, Ogun, Ekiti and Ondo, converged to analyse the milestone on various projects funded by the Nigeria Youth Futures Fund (NYFF). The projects are implemented by various youth-led organizations across the country.
Speaking at the Forum, the Grants and MERL Specialist of LEAP Africa, Kamal Afolabi, appreciated the participants for their works in the region, stating that the purpose of the meeting is to learn from one another, analyse the challenges and chart a new way forward.
Afolabi said the NYFF, which is a joint project of MacArthur Foundation, Ford Foundation and Luminate Group which is being implemented by LEAP Africa, “is to support the activities of young people at the grassroots. It started with visioning process produced the NigeriaWeWant Document in 2022.
“We have seen the ongoing works and we want to learn from your projects, analyse challenges and collectively form a community of change makers. This is important to catalyse development in this region. We must work together to realize the NigeriaWeWant.”
Also at the event, the Community and Youth Engagement Coordinator of LEAP Africa, Maimuna Sani called for collaboration among youths working on different projects in the Southwest.
In her speech, the Senior Special Assistant to Ekiti State Governor on Students Affairs, Mary Adetiba called for more synergy among youths in the region.
Adetiba, who is a member of the Advisory Council of NYFF, also applauded the zeal of the young people and youth-led organizations towards a prosperous Nigeria.
Some of the participants at the event expressed gratitude to NYFF and LEAP Africa for bringing about a community of change, describing the town hall engagement as strategic to their growth.
