Under the global umbrella of the International Day of the African Child 2024, this initiative was launched in at least 20 Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja secondary schools.
Organised by the Africado Foundation, the event included an intergenerational dialogue on national development, ‘Which Way Nigeria?’, and the final round of a national debate championship.
Richardson Ojeka, the founder of the Africado Foundation, emphasised the need for a generation that can bring significant positive change.
“What must the saviour do? The saviour must be set apart. He mustn’t follow the rest. The saviour must be selfless, he mustn’t think for him or herself alone. He must feel for other people. He must think about what he can do to the people.
“There was a time I sold my car twice to run my company. The saviour must be selfless. It’s not about yourself,” Ojeka said.
Dr Wale Adekanye, the Senate President’s Special Adviser on Health, stressed the importance of Nigeria’s education system focusing on skills training and innovation to equip youth for the future.
Young people must be involved in decision-making – Ene Obi
Ene Obi, the former Country Director of Action Aid Nigeria (AAN), underlined the necessity of involving young people in decision-making processes.
She said, “I would say that there’s a significant gap in terms of inclusion. Are these young people involved in decision-making, even down to the educational sector? Often, very old people are making these decisions.
“For instance, when decisions are made regarding school feeding programmes, I wonder who was involved in these decisions. Was a needs assessment conducted to understand what these young people need?
“Inclusion is crucial. When developing policies, who are the major stakeholders involved? Policies are announced without consulting those who are most affected. For example, young people suffering from the consequences of oil spillage are not included in decision-making.”
Benjamin Ogbaji, Programme Officer of Africado Foundation, called for greater collaboration to address the issue of out-of-school children.
“We urge the government to collaborate with us as we reach out to communities with a high number of out-of-school children to provide them with educational skills and technological knowledge for the future. We are advocating for the implementation of more policies aimed at addressing the issue of out-of-school children,” he said.
