• Friday, March 29, 2024
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Osinbajo urges African youths to change Continent’s negative narratives

Yemi Osinbajo

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Saturday said African youths have what it takes to change the negative narratives held over the years through hard work and application of modern technology.

Osinbajo who was special guest at the 2019 edition of the Tony Elumelu Foundation’s Founder’s Presidential Dialogue at the Transcorp Hilton,Abuja, charged the youths to change the unsavory stories through the rest of the world had mirrored the continent

“Our continent continues to be defined by unsavoury and unwholesome stories, which do not often accurately represent the reality of life and opportunity.

“The people in this room are the perfect and long-awaited counterpoints to those one-dimensional narratives of Africa that have sadly gained ground over the years.

Osinbajo who paid glowing tributes to Tony Elumelu for providing African youths opportunities to compete with their colleagues worked wide, under the Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme, TEEP.

“By birthing this particular intervention, TEEP, Tony Elumelu has compelled us to focus on what really matters, our youth and their dreams.

“The message to Africa’s emerging business giants is a clear one, how and what can you contribute, like Tony Elumelu, to empowering the next generation, helping them to realize their own dreams? And you gathered here in this room, helping you write, rewrite and revise the next chapter of your continent-changing stories.”

He described African continent as a landscape emboldened by multitudes of young people who are refusing to wallow in self-pity or frustration; who have realized that conquering the challenges of their environments are the milestones for outstanding success.

“Young men and women who have come to fully understand the transformational power of technology in the 21st century.

“No matter how young or old we might be, our lives are essentially stories that are being written and revised every day. And those stories range from what is, to what could be, from the reality we are born into, to the ambitions and dreams that we create, desire and those we strive to achieve.

He noted that stories abound of those whose businesses and lives have been transformed by the Tony Elumelu Foundation and its various initiatives, including Mavis Nduchwa, who trained for the hospitality industry, and went on to a career as a TV presenter, and is today a successful farmer with the goal of feeding her native country, Botswana.

“A decade ago, a Nigerian, Zion Oshiobugie, looked ahead at life as a domestic servant for a family member. Today, he is the proud CEO of a consulting company based in the same city where he started out as a domestic servant.

He also cited the case of Mohammed Daoufhi of Morocco, founder of a 3-D printing company that produces affordable artificial limbs.

“Every day, he makes it happen for someone, he gives life to someone who had thought all life was lost when they lost their limb.

“Cameroon’s Michel Nkuindija actually tells, and retells stories for a living through his company, Noohkema Game Studios, which develops video games that are based on traditional Africa myths and legends, adding that “ his goal is to change the way Africa is perceived globally, and to give young Africans a reason to be proud of their cultural identities.”

“Uganda, Joel Cherop is a farmer, pushing the boundaries of agriculture using irrigation technologies, through the Atari River Integrated Irrigation Initiative Limited (ARII). Every day, he makes a difference in farming in his country.

“From the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Lino Alain Muniono, used seed capital to start an architectural firm, and Jose Kimoalou founded Wapimed, a health tech company providing quality healthcare across communities in the DRC.

“Benin Republic’s Vital Sounouvou is promoting trade across Africa with his fintech start-up, Exportunity, a virtual market that is now directly supported by a leading African banking institution, UBA. In the age of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), there is perhaps no bigger or better opportunity to be exploring right now.
“Outside on the streets of every village, town and city in Africa, are many more individual embodiments of the potentials of this great continent. But we can change some of the false and some of the true but unfortunate narratives of Africa.

He reminded the continent’s leaders of the need to find young entrepreneurs and provide opportunities for capacity building.

“Our school curriculums must emphasize, not just Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics which we are doing now, but Critical Thinking and Entrepreneurship. And the promises that we have made of establishing Entrepreneurship Banks must be kept.”

 

Tony Ailemen, Abuja