YOUTHVILLE ISSUE #109
Friday, December 16, 2016
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youthville@dailytrust.com
We’re helping 10,000 youth find jobs — GRAFO
Emmanuel John is the President, Graduate Foundation (GRAFO) based in Abuja since 2009. In this interview, Mr. John said the foundation is helping to connect employees with employers. He spoke about his recent Job Providers Awards and other issues. By Simon E. Sunday @SimonEchewofun & Latifat Opoola @LatifatOpoola
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hat inspired you to start the Foundation? A good number of us have worn the shoes of unemployment and know where it pinches most and I keep telling people if there is anybody that can fight unemployment very well, it is someone who has been there or still wearing the shoe.
At GRAFO we try to empower unemployed youth through skills acquisition, entrepreneurial training and this is what we have been doing since 2009, although we’ve not as yet gotten to where we desire to be due to certain challenges. How did you raise funds to start the foundation? I got inspired from solar energy system training where I was to be trained along with 40 others but realised that it stopped halfway. We later found out that money budgeted for the training was diverted and so we were frustrated. I came up with the idea and sold it to a few persons and they bought it and contributed money. We recently got donations from the Board of Trustee members and the training partnership we entered with Bwari Area Council. How many persons has GRAFO empowered since inception? About 300, but when we started if we had gotten enough support I was hoping by now we would have fully empowered at least 10,000 persons. We have trained them on solar energy system, glazing that has to do with car glasses, cosmetology and fashion designing. My biggest challenge is that after the training I want to give them the start up working tool. What is the Job Providers’ Award about? The award is aimed at encouraging and appreciating those who are demonstrating actions towards achieving this. We are looking at 11 sectors including governors, public and private organizations, federal and state legislative houses banks, philanthropist, youth mentors and then a testimonial.
Firms celebrate blind pupils, donate 50 braille paper packets By Latifat Opoola @LatifatOpoola Bass-Jin Nigeria Limited and the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) have organized a yearend party for pupils of Abuja School of the Blind. CEO of Bass-Jin, Alimi Banire who is also blind, said the essence was to bring joy to the pupils of the school and give them some sense of inclusion in the society. He said the pupils in the school fall within “the category of persons with disability and are among the class of people that are marginalized in the society. They need to be given hope and feeling of selfworth also dignity to let them know that they are also members of the society. This prompted us to work with AEDC to put smiles on the faces of the kids.” Oyebode Fadipe, head of corporate communications AEDC said the company aims at providing light to
...young at heart
all Abuja residents hence “philosophically we are here providing light and joy to these pupils today”. Head teacher of the school, Mrs Regina Dung, said the pupils were in need of reading materials and braille machines to facilitate their learning. “I appreciate them for their gesture today. They have provided us with 50 packets of braille papers, food flasks to keep our pupils’ food warm and other goodies. They have brought smiles to the kids’ faces and we appreciate them for it,” she said. Highlight of the event was singing of Christmas carol by the pupils, cutting of cake and quiz competition.
The American University of Nigeria (AUN) has said its scholarships examination for newly admitted students will hold nationwide this Saturday. A statement by its spokesman, Daniel Okereke said the scholarships are for new students joining the university for the 2016/2017 academic session to start classes on January 18, 2017. It said a total of 49 scholarships will be offered for winning in 3 categories. One scholarship covering 100% of ALL university costs will be awarded to the overall national winner. 36 Scholarships covering 50% of the tuition fees for Spring 2017 will be awarded to winners from all the 36 states – 1 from each state, while the remaining 12 scholarships also covering
‘Network marketing is the biz of our time’ By Taiwo Adeniyi Youth have been urged to consider going into network marketing as a remedy to staying afloat economic recession. Ajisefini Idowu, an award winning marketer with BF Suma who made this known in Abuja said there are several opportunities in the business if done with the right company adding that youth have no reason to be scared of network marketing. Though he admitted that there are some fraudulent companies, he urged youth to do a good background check on any organization before joining. “I am a marketer and one of the top distributors of BF Suma and I will advise youths that the business of our time is network marketing,” Idowu said. “I just returned from USA where I saw how the products are manufactured,” he added.
UniAbuja rewards best student with job offer By Latifat Opoola @LatifatOpoola
The governing council of University of Abuja yesterday honoured some of its Law graduates that have been exceptional in their undertakings. Fatima B. Sani, one of the awardees emerged the overall best graduate of Nigerian Law School in the history of its existence. 50% of the tuition fees She graduated as the overall best student for Spring 2017 will be of the 2014/2015 set bagging a total of nine awarded to winners awards including the best student of the year from all the geo-political regions of Nigeria – 2 from award, overall best female student award, and the award for best female student in each region. Candidates criminal litigation. may win in multiple Others include Director General Nigerian categories. Law School prize for 1st Class student, Winners in each Council of Legal Education star prize donated category will be by council of legal education amongst others. selected based purely While speaking the Vice Chancellor of on a combination of the University, Micheal Adikwu offered their scores on the the Fatima a job as a graduate assistant in 2016 Joint Admissions the University adding that more academic and Matriculation excellence like this must be rewarded. Board (JAMB) UTME He said the university was proud of examination and their performance on the AUN her performance and would continue to mould students with moral and academic Spring 2017 scholarships excellence. examination. Fatima, recipient of the award, said the It added that all 2016 secret to her success was the dedication she UTME candidates gave to her course work. newly accepted into the She said “everybody knows the course university for the Spring 2017 Semester are eligible work in law school is very bulky, but I started preparing on time. Throughout my stay in and invited to sit for the scholarships examination. Law school I dedicated my time to thorough and intensive study and started preparing for AUN advised the exams long before time. I was not involved in candidates to come any form of social activities, and with lots of with their Acceptance Letters and a valid means prayers I wouldn’t say that I was better than every other person or I read better, but I read of identification to its well and prepared early enough”. centres in Port Harcourt, Other Law graduates who received award Enugu, Lagos, Abuja, were Halima Edun Temitope, and Esther Kaduna and Yola among Johnson-Chu. others.
AUN opens 49 scholarships in 2017, holds exam tomorrow By Latifat Opoola @LatifatOpoola
The youth of today are the leaders of tomorrow. - Nelson Mandela
DAILY TRUST, Friday, December 16, 2016
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YOUTHVILLE
Emerging Nigerian leaders hold Confab in Owerri today
‘I hope to make braille textbooks for the blind’ By Latifat Opoola @LatifatOpoola
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uliana Oluwayemisi Owolabi is a public school teacher with JSS Area 10 in Abuja. She volunteers with her students to recycle waste paper into tissue paper, exercise books, serviettes, and Braille books for blind students. The 2016 YALI alumni spoken how she started and her future prospects. “ T h e project (recycling of waste papers) came about as a
By Adelanwa Bamgboye Aspiring, young, Nigerian leaders are holding a conference to enrich themselves on leadership skills today in Owerri, Imo state. The event organised by the Centre for Social Awareness, Advocacy and Ethics, Inc. (CSAAEINC) will showcase a number of innovative, community development programmes which the emerging leaders have been involved in for the past three years. The participants are youth drawn from various tertiary institutions across the country and placed on a mentorship programme under CSAAE, an organisation working towards the creation of a new Nigeria, with sound moral and ethical leadership. A representative of the Senate Ethics and Privileges Committee will speak to the youth on ethical matters while Mr Chike Nwosu, Technical Director, Addax Petroleum Development explores the serious issue of accountability, teaching the youths to take ownership and control of their Actions. A statement from the organiser said Prof. Abubakar Momoh, Director General the Electoral Institute of independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) would provoke the youth to think more deeply, as he gives a State of the Nation speech. Participants will also get tips on team work and solidarity from Founder and organiser, Fr. Dr. Godswill Agbagwa at the conference where new members will be received, as it marks the beginning of CSAAE’s new mentoring/ nurturing year.
result of an NGO that came to the school called Students for the Advancement of Global Entrepreneurship (SAGE). They encouraged students and give them some hands-on training on entrepreneurship and it is under this umbrella we decided to take up this project”. Julianna began encouraging and campaigning to her students to begin gathering waste papers around them for recycling to allow for cleaner and safer environment. The process which she said started in 2013, was to teach the students entrepreneurship and make them learn that going to school and having a degree might not solve the problem of unemployment, but having a skill and being entrepreneurial could give them an edge.
Abuja students sweep LearnAfrica awards From Nurudeen Oyewole, Lagos Three teenagers, Egbunu Gabriel and Suleiman Ibrahim of the School of the Gifted, Gwagwalada and Osemeke Mary of Louisville Senior Secondary School, also of Gwagwalada, Abuja have won LearnAfrica/ National Examination Council (NECO) prizes as first, second and third best overall candidates in the 2016 June/July examinations. At the presentation of award ceremony in Lagos, the Chairman LearnAfrica Plc, Eweke Iwerebon said the fact that the trio who bagged overall best results
are from Gwagwalada, Abuja is a pointer to the fact that the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) is getting it right in terms of Education, and special kudos must be given to both the Federal Minister of Education, the FCT Minister and everyone else along the education chain in the FCT. Iwerebon said it was however not surprising that students from the FCT are putting up good performances in public examinations considering the fact that LearnAfrica Plc publications especially in the core subjects of Mathematics, English Language and others
are adopted for usages in schools in the FCT, in the last six years. The annual award ceremony has been on since 2012 to support
Abuja to host youth festival, OUT tomorrow Lizzie’s Creations Launches By Latifat Opoola @LatifatOpoola In the heat of Nigeria’s economic recession, Abuja is scheduled to host first kids and youths festival to ease the economic tension. The festival “OUT” which is a collaborative project between Eat Drink Connect Nigeria (EDC) and Agon is aimed at showcasing emerging musical talents along with variety of food and drinks, a statement by Head of Strategic and Media Planning, Haqq’ Yahaya for Agon, a youth organisation said. The statement also said over 3000 people aged 7 to 40 years are expected to grace the event. “The OUT, is a festival oriented towards great outdoor music and food with specific experiences tailored by a select group of creatives that ensure what we have to offer is unique. We also see it as a platform for emerging musical talent with a penchant for conscious music to spread their gifts to an equally conscious audience” the statement said.
The Jss3, home economics teacher said recycling is done three times a year to allow her students gather as many waste to transport to Kaduna. Julianna also noted that transportation was another challenge they face considering her school does not have a school bus to help with transporting the waste, adding that they sometimes pay Abuja dirt buses to help with the transport. Her prospects for the future: Julianna said she hopes to get the transcribing machines to do the transcribe textbooks for the blind in her community. She said her experience at the Mandela Fellowship was an opportunity to network and see things in broader light while learning other culture and traditions.
the country’s “quest in bringing about a complete qualitative transformation in the education sector by rewarding academic excellence,” he said.
Project Fame season Education apps For Children 9 winners get cars By Bamas Victoria @bamasvictoria Lizzie’s Creations has launched a new educational app for babies, preschoolers and toddlers, called Teseem – First Words’. “Teesem - First Words is specifically designed for touchscreen devices as they provide the most attractive and adaptable devices for the demographic,’’ Elizabeth Eremie said. First Words is an educational app for babies, preschoolers and toddlers (aged 1 to 5). It is ideal for teaching your kids and it’s intuitive so they can also play and learn on their own. She noted that in addition to learning their first words in English, kids can learn African languages and culture right from the start, from their very first words. She stated that Teesem - First
Words is packed with awesome features that make it a musthave for parents keen on having multilingual children. The features includes: Super fun interactivity, over 70 words to learn (and more to come), fun animation, available in English and 3 Major Nigerian Languages (Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo), engaging graphics and Ad Free. She said she was inspired by Teseem a Tiv word, derived from a native Nigerian Language, which means “Teach Me”.
From Abdullateef Aliyu, Lagos Winners of MTN Project Fame Season 9 have been presented with brand new cars amidst excitement, fun and ecstasy. The winners Okiemute Ighorodje, Elizabeth Emoruwa and Okiemute Okotete emerged as the winner, first runner up and second runner up. The competition organized by Ultima Studio Limited and sponsored by MTN Nigeria were hotly contested before the trio emerged recently. Okiemute, the overall winner is a 25
year old Linguistics & Communications graduate from University of Port Harcourt. She won N5 Million cash prize, a brand new SUV, and a recording contract worth millions of Naira. Okiemute used to have a career in modelling, but lately she is following her passion as a band lead singer. A first timer on Project Fame, Okiemute said she made the decision to participate this season because she was certain she had built enough confidence.
Good habits formed at youth make all the difference – Aristotle