By Collins Yakubu-Hammer
The Managing Director, Nigerian Tulip International Colleges (NTIC), Mr Feyzullah Bilgin, says welcoming new ideas through open-mindedness by Nigerian youths is key to the nation’s development
Bilgin made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the sideline of the NTIC
Abuja Youth Conference in Abuja organised by TEDx.
TEDx is a grassroots initiative, created in the spirit of TED’s overall mission to research and discover “ideas worth spreading.”
He said that the youth’s ability to focus could spark and illuminate one’s level of thinking, which is a necessity for discovery.
He encouraged them to always dream big, think out of the box and do something new and different in their communities.
“Let us embrace the experiences, thoughts and perspectives of experienced people and identify what we need to start doing and those things we need to stop doing.
“Let us collectively make the world a better place to stay. Open-mindedness is the key to igniting new ideas and possibilities,” he said.
Mr Jilani Aliyu, a former senior creative designer at General Motors, U.S. and later National Automotive Design and Development Council, who also spoke with NAN said the world was changing very dynamically.
According to him, there are a lot of new opportunities and technology that can be used to enhance the lives of people.
“Nigerian youths should be aware of these technologies as part of this new era. I have always loved the opportunity to inspire young Nigerians to think that they can make a difference.
“Every one of them is special with a special talent. They should understand what that talent is, work hard to develop it and use it for the betterment of Nigeria, Africa and the world.
“The key is the psychological state of mind to succeed; when we make Nigerian youths to start thinking and believing that there is nothing impossible, they will do better,” Aliyu said.
Similarly, Mary Onyali, former Olympic and Commonwealth Games Champion, urged parents to encourage their children to go into any sports they have passion for.
Onyali said it was through sport that she got scholarship to go to the U.S.
A student of NTIC, Nour Elsharnoby, said human beings had the chance to change the future of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Elsharnoby said it was not good for humans to fully depend on AI, because once AI is no longer functional, the effect could be catastrophic.
“If you depend on AI, you may not know the intention of someone; and you don’t know whether it is the person that is acting intentionally or he is being controlled by another person,” he said. (NAN)
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