By Fatima Mohammed-Lawal
A non-government organisation, Dele Shittu Foundation, has sponsored the mentorship of 27 youths in various fields including business, medicine, entrepreneurship and climate protection.
The Chairman of Dele Group of Companies and promoter of the foundation, Dr Lanre Shittu, said that the youths were chosen across the federation with more focus on women.
He said this during the induction and workshop for select beneficiaries of its mentorship programme on Monday in Ilorin.
“The idea is to make sure we continue to give people hope and to help them connect with other people that have passed through their journey,” he said.
Shittu observed that such mentors were expected to help the youths navigate more easily in area of business and skills.
He added that the programme facilitated the connection of the youths to internationally recognised scholars form United Kingdom and the U.S.A. as well as in Nigeria.
According to him, the programme includes extensive knowledge about business entrepreneurship and innovation.
‘’The programme is a way of giving back to the communities and to impart and promote the talented youths to make positive change, ‘’ he said.
Shittu, who described Nigeria as having great potentials, however, said that the country needed to prioritise some policies that were crucial to the nation.
He underscored the importance of building the capacity of youths and human capital development of the country for sustainable development.
‘’The foundation will continue to support and promote the aspirations and talents of Nigerian youths.
‘’This is the first cohort of the programme and more of the programme is expected to continue for other youths,” Shittu said.
Also speaking, Dr Muhammad Balogun, the Resident Advisor, Nigeria Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Programme, urged mentors to play positive roles in the lives of youths in Nigeria.
Balogun explained that the mentorship programme could be a gamechanger for Nigerian youths as it offered guidance, support, and valuable insights from experienced professionals.
‘’This helps young people navigate their careers and personal lives including networking, career development opportunities, confidence boosting and skill development,” Balogun said.
Speaking during the induction, a beneficiary, Miss Emmanuella Fomto, said the enlightenment and knowledge that was acquired had improved the beneficiaries’ business acumen.
She said that the programme also provided them with funds to ensure they were able to put into practice knowledge imparted in them.
Another beneficiary, Miss Raheema Ahmed, explained that the foundation selected the participants based on some criteria that they had met.
She said the programme focused on educating participants on how to be professionals in their field of endeavours, adding that mentorship was way beyond copying the mentor, but an expectation of doing more. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Esenvosa Izah/Bayo Sekoni
