By Millicent Ifeanyichukwu
The Founder of Nasir Giwa Mentorship (NGM), Mr Nasir Giwa, has urged Nigerian youths to see socio-economic challenges as opportunities to build solutions.
Giwa gave the advice at the Fifth NGM onference in Ikeja, where he told youths to replace complaints with innovation and collaborative action on Saturday evening.
The conference had the theme, ‘Building the Future: The Urgency of Now’. It coincided with the 10th anniversary of the foundation’s mentorship initiative.
Giwa said difficult periods could provide fertile ground for young to develop solutions capable of addressing pressing national problems and creating economic value.
“Whatever is happening in Nigeria today, we should take it as an opportunity. There are so many things we can do with what Nigeria is going through today,” he said.
Giwa warned youths to stop wasting productive time on online arguments but invest their energy in learning, collaboration, mentorship and solution-driven ventures.
“Stop lamenting, stop being among those wasting their time arguing on social media,” Giwa said.
He said mentorship could help young people to avoid setbacks by providing guidance based on practical experience.
Giwa said his commitment to youth mentorship was influenced by difficulties he encountered while seeking industrial training as an engineering student.
In his remarks, the Group Managing Director of Sahara Power Group, Mr Kola Adesina, said young Nigerians must develop capacities to solve problems rather than join in the culture of complaints.
Adesina spoke during the conferences plenary, saying that there was the need for Nigerians to develop intellectual and entrepreneurial capacities.
He said that wealth creation depended largely on solving problems confronting communities, urging young innovators to develop solutions that could be expanded into sustainable enterprises.
“Innovate in a manner to solve problems within your communities and scale to become prosperous while helping others,” he said.
Adesina said mentorship was important because experienced mentors could cite their failures to guide young innovators and help them avoid mistakes.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the conference attracted young professionals, undergraduates, entrepreneurs and business leaders.
Discussions centered on innovation, leadership, enterprise and practical approaches to national development.
The conference also featured an address by Mr Russell Rogers, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Adaptive Foundation, U.S., on adaptable leadership and future readiness.
Highlights of the event were the grand finale of the NGM and Kola Adesina DARE Nigeria Challenge, and the NGM-Afropreneur SME Pitch Competition.
The challenge supports young innovators developing scalable solutions in areas including healthcare and food security.
The event ended with presentation of NGM @ 10 Impact Awards. (NAN)
MIL/IGO
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Edited by Ijeoma Popoola
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