Nigerians urged to dress in indigenous attires 54 >>
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YOUTHVILLE
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Friday, December 11,, 22015 015
Young Mordi,
touching through advocacy …wants others to take a cue. Empowerment: FG graduates more GIS trainees in Abuja, states 55 >>
7 in 10 youth without jobs - Employment expert 56 >>
From the
YOUTHVILLE
TEAM
Friday, December 11, 2015 Page 52
Dear Readers, Welcome to this week’s edition of Nigeria’s foremost entertaining, exciting and educative youth-friendly magazine YOUVILLE. We have some of the most inspiring and educative stories from entertainment, education, sports fashion and business to get you doused and prepared for an innovative weekend. Mordi Joel is our personality for this week. The founder of Mordi Ibe Foundation (MIF) tells us how he thinks poverty and child labour can be eradicated and how he hopes to inspire youth through his advocacy activities. Get all the inspiring details from our REFLECTIONS page. Last week was World AIDS Day, and the National Secretary of Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS (NEPWHAN), Abdulkadir Ibrahim is advocating for more support to ending the virus in Nigeria by 2030. Its on SHOWTIME! With the reality of job opportunities getting more competitive, the federal government is training more graduates under the Graduate Internship Scheme (GIS) to be self reliant.... Learn more about that and why in our BIZWIZ On the BACKPACK, employment experts are raising the alarm over rising figure of unemployed youth. And in our SUCCESS CORNER Nigerians are shinning wherever they find themselves. Three bright youth are among the 60 young people to be recognised by the British Queen Elizabeth II in 2016 for being exceptional. Be Motivated, Be Creative and Be an Inspiration to others. You can get in touch with us via mail: youthville@dailytrust.com Join our growing community on Facebook: Daily Trust Youthville and on Twitter: @DT_Youthville. Keep a date with us for more inspiring and entertaining stories next week!
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Facebook >>> Re: Three-Year JAMB validity: Nigerians reacts to senate proposal Idris Ismail: Abolish JAMB, all over the world there is nothing like JAMB before gaining admission into the universities, the universities are strictly in charge of admitting their students...
policy. But JAMB will lose more. No annual charges for buying JAMB forms again. Tasiu Kwiwa: I am really in support of this idea.
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Re: Paul Walker: 2years after, fans discuss death on social media Hamza Nasir: It Is left for them. All I know is that he won’t come back again.
Netizens react to proposed social media bill… resident Muhammadu Buhari in response to the proposed social media bill said his administration Remained committed to the protection of free speech in keeping with democratic tradition. The draft bill to “Prohibit frivolous petitions and other matters connected therewith,” was proposed by Senator Bala Ibn Na’Allah (APC, Kebbi South), and it has passed second reading. The bill makes it illegal to start any type of petition without swearing to an affidavit that the content is true in a court of law.
It also proposes up to two years in prison, or a fine of N2million, or both, for anyone posting an “abusive statement” via text message, Twitter, Whatsapp, or any other form of social media. Despite assurances by the lawmakers that the law is meant to protect Nigerians, the public insists that the draft bill would muzzle free speech as the hashtag #NoToSocialMediaBilltrends. Netizen Henry Smith posted “It is because they want to silence people not to talk when they steal the national cake, as the normally do.” Ehi Omorede wrote: “These
are bunch of idle people as they do not have better things to do with their time. There are so many outdated laws e.g jail terms for corrupt leaders that needs to be changed for stiffer penalties. They are occupying their time and taxpayers money on social media bill to protect their shameless act on social media.” Igodomigo Suleman posted “The sponsor and his gang are men who must have had a shady past and desperately want it hidden and do not want it exposed. Since Buhari has disassociated himself from these gang sooner or later we will know what they are hiding.
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I must eat suya today. Owie Osarhen Joshua: Choi.... Now I want to eat SUYA. Can someone grill some for me?? Hayatudeen Suleiman: Sweet Suya.
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Zenababs Half-moon Resort It is located in the heart of Ijesa land; the resort is situated in a peaceful and beautiful part of Osun State, surrounded by natural beauty, nearby hills, with over 25 acres of lush grounds, providing a luxurious and tranquil environment in which to celebrate specials occasions. Rojenny Village This is a secluded and romantic retreat for fun-seekers sitting on the suburbs of Onitsha town in Anambra state. The destination offers a lot of exciting attractions. Tinapa Business Resort Situated by the Calabar River, Tinapa is a business and leisure resort conceptualized to be an integrated business resort. It also has an open exhibition area for trade exhibitions and other events, a movie production studio commonly called “Studio Tinapa” or “Nollywood”.
REFLECTIONS
YOUTHVILLE
Friday, December 11, 2015 Page 53
Young Mordi, touching lives through advocacy …wants others to take a cue.
Text by Victoria Bamas @sinach360
W
hy is your foundation planning the Walk-a-thon? We are a nonprofit organization focused on breaking the cycle of poverty. Next year we are having a walk-a-thon around Nigeria. Our kick-up is going to be in Lagos. The whole walk entails what Nigerians call trekking across the 36 states of Nigeria. Our every step will be sponsored, that is what makes it unique. It is a walk for hope, to break the cycle of poverty and child labour and we want to use that to contribute or own quota in poverty eradication. Poverty is the lack of income or financial strength to carryout and solve basic daily needs. Poverty results in hunger and also child labour. It takes courage to plan a walk across Nigeria that will span a year. The walk is not going to be done simultaneously, We will start with a state, go into a community ask them what their challenges are and see what we can do for them . For now we a limiting ourselves to the 36 states in Nigeria but we hope to move into other African countries eventually How long has this foundation been operating? We have been operating for three years now, with offices in Abuja, Lagos and Delta states. Young people shy away from nonprofit work. What motivated you? I think it has to do with the passion and calling, it is not something you just dive into, if you are not passionate about it. It is about making a difference and in turn spurring others to do same. Because I believe no challenge is beyond the human will and zeal. We can all do something about anything.
cy, neering to advoca tion gi En al ic rg lu al et From M e Founda under of Mordi Ib Mordi Joel, the fo LE his hopes on eradicating VIL (MIF) tells YOUTH bour, his vision to be an la poverty and child youths, what his NGO is all r inspiration to othe y fundraiser ‘Walk-a-thon’ lt ve no e about and th . he plans for 2016
Why did you choose poverty as your main focus? There are two types of poverty, situational poverty and generational poverty and we are more focused on breaking the cycle of generational poverty, it should be noteworthy that generational poverty cannot be changed with small software-hearted plans. It must be addressed with great intentions and the thing about poverty, hunger and child labour is that “they have no regard for age”, it leaves individuals with low self-esteem and a dysfunctional family.
Funds are setbacks in business expansion. How do you surmount that in your nonprofit venture? We have a lot of followers on our social media platform from within Nigeria and outside the country. Overtime they have seen what we have done and they become supportive of it financially. What are the challenges the foundation faces in its operations? Aside from fund which was initially a challenge which we have overcome because you can’t run an NGO without a source of funding. The other challenge we face has to do with language. When we go to a community we have to go with an interpreter or look for one within the community this makes communication difficult as a lot of things are lost in translation. What are some of your achievements so far? In Delta State, we sponsor an 11 year old boy, a drop out whose farmer parents were displaced by flood and could not afford to train him further. Similarly, when we heard that the IDP camps in Nasarawa state had little to sustain them, we
gathered our volunteers and raised well over 350,000 naira to buy relief Materials for the IDPs earlier this year. In Gaube, a village in Kuje Area Council of the FCT, we strive to improve health especially for women and children by donating maternal kits and educative booklets as well as mosquito nets among others. How would you maintain executed community projects so they are not wasted? When we go into a community we don’t work in isolation we use the existing structure where possible and we have people who are from the communities we work it, these are the people we keep in touch with. What do you hope to achieve in the long run? I am a youth, I am not giving up on the youth, so in my life’s journey, I really want Nigerians youth to take a cue from me and do something for our nation. I really hope I can inspire Nigerian youths to come out and be the change they want because the change doesn’t belong to a certain group of people we are the change and Nigerian is ours, to protect and nurture. Who are the people you work with? Myself, a head teacher, a constituency representative, skills acquisition expert and a secretary taking on various roles as vice-president, secretary, publicity secretary, and an Auditor, we presently have over 100 off-line volunteers ranging from health experts, education consultant, media executive, photographers/documentary personnel and several thousands of growing online volunteers.
Sometimes it’s the smallest decisions that can change your life forever - Keri Russell
SHOWTIME
YOUTHVILLE
Friday, December 11, 2015 Page 54
HEALTHNEWS>>
‘Don’t think life’s miserable after confirming
HIV status’ Abdulkadir Ibrahim is the National Secretary of Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria (NEPWHAN). Against the backdrop of the recent Worlds AIDS Day 2015, the young health advocate talks about his experiences living with the virus, and on ending HIV/AIDs in Nigeria by 2030. Text by Victoria Onehi
H
ow did you feel when you discovered you were HIV positive? I can remember the date on the 12th of October 2009 was the day I discovered I tested HIV positive. At the counselling unit, they will tell you that it is two things; you are either positive or negative. Thank God they linked
me up with a support group. Even then, I found it difficult to participate in the support group meeting. Then, I just finished from secondary school and got scholarship to study medicine in India by my state government. I did not go eventually because the doctors advised me to stay back and take treatment. I eventually
studied Microbiology at the Usman Dan Fodio University Sokoto. Are you married now and do you have children? Yes and I have a child. We did Early Infant Diagnosis( EID) and she is negative. She is five months old.
What advice do you have for people who have known their status? It’s a wrong perception to think that once you are HIV positive, you can’t make it or that life will be miserable for you. I will advise that you don’t play with your drugs. You take them as prescribed. Also, don’t allow opportunistic diseases. Have you faced discrimination before? I have not personally but my wife experienced that. She got HIV at the age of seven. Nobody knew how she got it and her parents were negative. Her parents did not want to take her to the facility where she will access treatment because they don’t want people to know her status. We were able to trace her during our contact tracking. Now, I and my wife are living happily and there is no discrimination. Do you think people are still taking the virus as a fallacy? Yes, there are still people like that. But what I tell them is that HIV/AIDS is real. But I educate them that AIDS is the disease that kills but HIV is the infection. Also, that with the anti-retroviral drugs, people with HIV can live
ENTERTAINMENTNEWS>>
NGO holds Nasarawa CULTURAL CONTEST tomorrow Text by Simon E. Sunday @SimonEchewofun
M
iss Aisha Judith-Umaru, the Coordinator of Miss Unity, a Non Governmental Organisation (NGO) has said arrangements had been concluded to unfold its plan to conduct a cultural contest. Judith-Umaru told newsmen in Lafia that the contest was meant to promote peace among the various ethnic groups in the state. She said it is also with a view to finding permanent solution to the unnecessary unrest and to reunite the various tribes in the state. In an interview with the local news agency, Aisha urged state and local governments to support the programme as a way of achieving peace and unity, announcing that 15 contestants would participate at the contest. She said the winner would be given a star prize of a brand new car at the event holding Dec. 12, Saturday with star artists like 2face Idibia, Black face, and Face Alone attending. The coordinator added that other runnersup would be given consolation prizes. She said awards would also be given to other distinguished personalities partnering with the NGO to promote peace in the state.
longer. Another issue is when people don’t accept that they are HIV positive. I have a friend that has refused to accept the reality. He refuses to accept any form of medication. For those who cannot not access antiretroviral drugs, what is their fate? The only thing is to call on the government to intervene because its only the government that can bring a solution to this issue. Because as it is, once someone is tested positive, he/ she supposed to be placed on the ARVs immediately. Do you think it is feasible to end HIV/AIDS by 2030 as proposed? A lot needs to be done to end HIV/AIDS in 2030. Presently, we can’t say we are seeing the end of HIV/AIDS in 2030. The government is trying but we need more action. In some states, development partners are still battling to access the 30 per cent counterpart funds. 80 per cent of the drugs we are taking is from development partners (donors) and now they are declining their funding, and the commitment from our government is very slow.
FASHIONNEWS>>
Nigerians urged to dress in indigenous
attires
Text by Mustapha Suleiman
T
he Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has called on Nigerians to patronise Nigerian-made goods by dressing in local wears. The Minister, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Mrs Ayotunde Adesugba made the call yesterday at the ministry’s ‘Dress Nigeria Fashion and Body Adornment Exhibition’ in Abuja. Alhaji Mohammed said if we want the international market to open up to our stakeholders in this sector, we at home need to take the lead, celebrate our Aso Oke, Akwette, Luru and the likes. He stressed that the fashion industry has the capacity to employ a large number of persons from diverse discipline thereby making the creation of
Let us live for the beauty of our own reality - Charles Lamb
wealth a reality. Earlier, the Permanent Secretary, Mrs Adesugba represented by the Director, Entertainment and Cultural Services, Ms Grace Gepke said “The fashion industry will create the much needed employment for our teeming population especially the youth and boost foreign exchange earnings for our country.” The Dress Nigeria Fashion Show/ Exhibition debuted in year 2011. This year’s edition is to stimulate awareness on investment opportunities of the sub-sector, galvanize local patronage of our indigenous fabrics and textiles A renowned Assistant Director of Culture in the Ministry, Mr Ayo Ayanwale entertained guests with the talking drum to add colour to the event.
BIZWIZ/SPORTS Text by Balarabe Alkassim, Bauchi, Tony Adibe, Enugu & Francis Arinze Iloani, Abuja
T
he motive behind the Graduate Internship Scheme (GIS) of the Federal Ministry of Finance has been the realisation that opportunities available for graduates to become employees of organisations are getting slimmer and more stiffly competitive. Latest official data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) indicated that Nigeria’s unemployment rate stands at 9.9 per cent out of the country’s 104.3 million working age population. It was in recognition of the employment problem in the country that the federal government initiated the scheme in which graduates are deployed to willing employers as interns for one year with a stipend of N30, 000 per month. While it is expected that the 26,000 interns deployed to different organisations so far will receive the needed experience to face the challenges in the labour market, they are also expected to acquire skills that will enable them set up their own businesses. Speaking at a recent training in Abuja on career development for graduating interns, the Director of GIS, Mr. Peter Papka said: “Others have secured financial facilities and moved on” while “others have yet established cooperative associations with co-interns and saved enough to start up businesses immediately after exit.” In an exclusive interview with Maryam Kayit, who was the Representative of the Director in a separate training for interns held in Abuja, she revealed that there are interns in Kebbi, and Lagos who got YouWin grants and set up their businesses based on the skills acquired through GIS. “We encourage the interns to save part of their stipends for their small businesses. You mustn’t start with something big. You can save, start small and then grow; but based on what they have acquired, they can go to any bank and source for loans,” she said. In an interview with the Youthville, an intern, Aigbokhan Itua, expressed his desire to establish his own business when he exits the internship. He urged the federal government to set up vocational centres where graduates can acquire skills that can enable them set up their trades. “I have a lot of jobless friends. Those people that graduated before me. They didn’t have
YOUTHVILLE Friday, December 11, 2015 Page 55
Empowerment: FG graduates more GIS trainees in Abuja, states
Cross section of the GIS graduates at the seminar in Bauchi this week. the opportunity like the one I have now. Government should expand the programme,” he advised. In another situation, more than 200 youth in Bauchi State have completed training under the Graduate Internship Scheme (GIS) by the Federal Ministry of Finance and some private consultancy outfits after a three day exit seminar this week. The scheme was aimed to tackle the unemployment affecting the youths by providing them with entrepreneurship skills to either start their own chosen business or pick a job. They were selected from the pool of unemployed University, Polytechnics and other Tertiary institutions graduates across the 20 local government areas of the state.
Photo: Balarabe Alkassim
Miss Florence Olusola Bagbe, Executive Director, Operations of HR Aspects Nigeria Limited, one of the Consulting outfits said: “We believe that the skills and experience you have acquired through GIS have placed you in a position to contribute meaningfully to national development.” Some of the trainees who spoke in Bauchi called on government to provide necessary tools and grants to their entrepreneurial outfits. The exit training also held in Enugu and Port Harcourt this week where Pakpa said registration figures on the GIS portal show 13,781 firms in Nigeria participates in the scheme with 305,780 registered graduates.
SPORTVILLE
Taekwando instructors Tennis: NCC to global to raise cash dispatched refugee camps prize for next league Text by Ibrahim Kabiru Sule @ikabirsule
Text by Simon E. Sunday @SimonEchewofun
T
he Executive Vice -Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Danbatta has said the commission had planned to increase the prizemoney for its sponsored lawn tennis championship. Danbatta disclosed this in a statement published by a local news agency in Lagos. The agency reports that the telecoms regulatory body earmarked N11 million for the maiden edition of the championship
which started on May 24 and ended on Dec. 5. The statement said that the first four-winners of this edition of the league went home with N5 million, N3 million, N2 million and N1 million respectively. It stated that the planned review of the money was to encourage more clubs to participate in the next edition of NCC Lawn Tennis Cup. “We sincerely believe that our young men and women are capable of becoming world champions in this game since the journey of a thousand miles begins with a step. Competitions expose the players and ensure that they practise more
and play more. “We were told that no Nigerian has been able to reach the stage achieved by Nduka Odizor because of lack of support and sponsorships,” the statement said. It would be recalled that Odizor reached the round of 16 at Wimbledon. Team Tombim won the maiden NCC Tennis Cup, after it defeated the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC). Tombin got the sum of N5 million, the NSCDC received N3 million, Team Kalotari which came third got N2 million and Team Ogun that came fourth went away with N1 million.
R
efugees scattered across the different countries in the world would soon be assisted by the World Taekwondo Federation through the training of their children in the sport under the Taekwondo Humanitarian Foundation scheduled to commence early in 2016. The world body had earlier this week launched the pilot program at the Zatari refugee camp in Jordan, which is expected to provide the necessary road map for subsequent replication around different refugee camps in the globe. The new humanitarian programme, according to the World Taekwando Federation’s website, “aim is to dispatch teams of taekwondo instructors, as well as related educational and medical personnel, to refugee and displaced persons’ camps worldwide. Over 107,000 refugees, mostly Syrians, are expected to be covered by the pilot scheme, WTF said.
The entrepreneur always searches for change, responds to it, and exploits it as an opportunity - Peter Drucker
BACK PACK
YOUTHVILLE Friday, December 11, 2015 Page 56
7 in 10 youth without jobs - Employment expert
‘Expensive’ holds talent hunt for YOUTH in Abuja
Text by Latifat Opoola @LatifatOpoola
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Text by Ojoma Akor
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n on-air -personality with Wazobia FM, James Emmanuel ‘Expensive’ will soon hold a talent hunt for youths in Abuja. Speaking during a one day seminar for youths shortlisted to participate in the talent hunt called ‘Mega Talent Competition’, ‘Expensive’ said it is aimed at encouraging the entertainment industry in Abuja and its environs, and to also give the youths a platform to showcase their talents. He said many youths are at home doing nothing and so it is a platform to discover hidden talents as the entertainment market is very wide. He said the talent hunt is also to help artistes who have been facing challenges and always saying “I am an artist, I have never been to show before, I can do comedy but I have never gotten a platform to do that, among others,” he said. Between 500 to 1000 youth are targeted for the competition and the winner will go home with a brand new car, adding that those with talents who don’t emerge winners will be trained and given opportunities to harness their talents, the presenter said. A participant, Susan Diamond, an actress, said she will showcase her acting talent and enjoined youths not to hide their talents. Another, participant Ugochukwu Onyeama, an undergraduate of the National Open University said he is a script writer, musical producer and musician. With the stage name St Ash, Onyeama said he wants government to financially support talented youth to enable them showcase their talents.
n employment expert, Christian Alozie has said about 7 in 10 Nigerian do not have jobs. Alozie who is into employment consultancy and the founder of ‘employme.com’, a recruitment consultancy firm told YOUTHVILLE this week that “In the present sphere, more than 54 person of the 18-39 year olds are not in any form of collar job. The statistics are worrying and the projection from the above tends to an explosion of 7 in 10 Nigerian youths without a job.” He said Nigerian youth aged 18-39 constitutes about 43 per cent of Nigeria’s population; it is expected to grow to between 59-64 per cent by 2025. “Meaning present day kids aged 6-17 will be the said age bracket by 2025,” he noted. The expert however regretted that most youth are somewhat unemployable. Alozie said: “Regrettably Nigerian youths are low on employment status rating despite their brilliant academic disposition. We tend to equate good university degree as the reason why we should land that dream job but over the years our youths should now realize that does academic degrees are not enough. “Organizations are on the lookout for truly multitasking, talented, independent minded, out of the box thinker and tech savvy youth to engage. Most of our youth have been the exact opposite.” He advised youth to present themselves employable by developing soft skills while in or out of school; engage in community services,
interaction and participation in your constituency and be generally informed; it improves your horizon and broaden your knowledge base. Other tips he gave are searching for internship, holiday and volunteer jobs and play an active/lead role when engaged; attending seminars, trainings and
workshops tailored to your career path, and obtaining professional certification/ membership of your career field. “Moreover, know that your social media handles are a window to who you are (your brand). Positive engagement increases your brand value on the job search field,” he cautioned.
CAMPUSGIST >> KUTS, WUDIL
Opens admission into post graduate The Kano University of Science and Technology (KUST), Wudil said it has began admission into its 2015/2016 post graduate session. More details can be found at its site via: kustwudil.edu.ng.
Success Corner! Text by Ben Atonko
T
hree Nigerian youth are among 60 young people from across the Commonwealth who are being recognised as exceptional leaders in their community, the Media Relations, Queen’s Young Leaders, Christina Cullen has announced. The 60 young people will receive a prestigious Queen’s Young Leaders Award. The award which will be presented in London by Her Majesty The Queen in 2016, and is part of The Queen’s Young Leaders Programme, celebrates the achievements of young people who are taking the lead to transform the lives of others and make a lasting difference in their communities. This year’s award winners, aged between 18 and 29 who came from all over the Commonwealth are working
3 Nigerians to receive young leadership award in the UK to support others, raise awareness and inspire change on a variety of different issues including; education, climate change, gender equality, mental health and disability equality. Twenty-three-year-old Olanrewaju Adeloye from Lagos is being recognised for his dedication to maternal health. Adeloye said, “I’m so honoured to be part of the Queen’s Young Leaders programme. I’ve always had an interest in health care, and volunteered as an intern at a small health centre, which served over 12,000 pregnant mothers and newborns a month.”
Twenty-three-year-old Imrana Alhaji Buba from Yobe State has been selected in recognition of his work around peace building while 28-yearold Olumide Femi Makanjuola from Ogba has been acknowledged foradvocacy. Dr Astrid Bonfield, Chief Executive of The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust said, “Once again 60 incredible young people from around the Commonwealth have shown strength, leadership, empathy and drive. Some of our winners are just embarking on their leadership journey
and others are more established.” The Queen’s Young Leaders Programme was established in 2014 by The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust in partnership with Comic Relief and the Royal Commonwealth Society in recognition of The Queen’s lifetime of service to the Commonwealth. Over the next three years the programme will support thousands of young people to achieve their goals. Nkechi Azinge was one of the four Nigerians that got awards from Queen Elizabeth II in the recent 2015 edition of the Queens Young Leaders.
Education is what survives when what has been learned has been forgotten - B. F. Skinner