The Servelead Humanitarian Initiative has urged youths to be active contributors in national development of Nigeria, saying that they should prepare themselves for leadership roles before time.
Founder Servelead Humanitarian Initiative and Country Director, Social Good Fund, Mr. Oyewole Joledo, spoke at the iVolunteer Nigeria event with the theme: “Fostering National Development Through Volunteering, #thenigeriawewant,” in Abuja.
The project is supported by Ford Foundation, with other partners from MacArthur Foundation, Leap Africa and Nigeria Youth Futures Fund.
According to him, “Well it’s ironic I would say how do we think we can develop the youths but now we have to go to our youths to contribute to national development. I would say that they can first develop themselves, you can’t give what you don’t have so they need to prepare themselves for both business roles, political roles and civic roles and come together as a team as one United nation to contribute back to national development so it’s about them going to get the knowledge they need to contribute to some of these challenges that we’re having and also taking action and putting in the work.
“At a time like this I’ll say all hope is not lost but we have to understand that change doesn’t happen overnight it’s a process and it takes time so I’d say they should be patient, they should keep expressing their voice, they should keep championing the causes that they’re championing but most especially they should remain patient whilst they do the work.
“I want a Nigeria that is free and fair, a Nigeria that provides opportunities for everyone, the high class, the middle class and the low class. A Nigeria that is safe and of course a Nigeria that is a leader not just on the African continent but globally.”
Explaining details about the iVolunteer event, Joledo said, “It is just a platform that gives youth the opportunity to give back to their communities and to their society. We understand our government cannot develop the whole Nigeria and we are trying to get youths to take action and to also put in work to achieve a better country and nation. That is basically the idea behind the iVolunteer initiative.”
On her part, Manager/Team Leader, Servelead Humanitarian Initiative Ms Martha Eginiwin, said a new Nigeria is possible and youths can shape the Nigeria they want.
She said, “We are here today for the iVolunteer Nigerian conference. We are here for this program to equip young people and tell them that they need to participate actively in national development for the Nigeria we want.”
One of the participants, Ann Orefi James, said, “The conference was an eye opener to me, as I was able to learn, relearn and to understand that it’s not always about volunteering but doing it with a purpose that aligns with my goals as a person.”
