The newly inaugurated National Youth Council of Nigeria, NYCN, Ondo State chapter has unfolded its plans to meaningfully engage the youths of the state in productive activities that will bring joy to the youths, their parents, the entire people of the state, make the state peaceful and governable for the State Government and make the state exemplary among other states of the federation. In this interview, the new State Chairman of the Council, Pathfinder Ogunmolawa Mathew Adewale, explains how his administration would go about this task. At the interview session, which held in Akure, the state capital, on November 16, his Deputy State Chairman, Mrs Grace Aderonke Atoyebi and Deputy Secretary, Mr Osewa Adeshina Vincent, also contributed. They all spoke with Banji Ayoola of The Radiance.
What are your mission and vision as the Chairman of the National Youth Council of Nigeria, Ondo State chapter?
My vision for Ondo State youths is to lead them to the expected place because for some time, Ondo State youths had been misled in many areas to the extent that the who and who in the society did not have belief in the youths generally. And we need to do one or two things to bring back the glory that had been lost. My vision is to organise the youths. Many are saying they are youths; but they did not know what and what is expected of them.
There is a document called Youth Policy. We have National Youth Policy and State Youth Policy. Majority of the youths could not lay hands on these these documents. We will make sure that we gather the youths and study the documents so that everybody would know what and what they are supposed to do.
We are also planning to organise programmes. Particularly we are going to organise a retreat that large number of the youths between 3,000 and 5,000 would gather together for about two to four days so that there, we can invite different people of different backgrounds of different careers and professions to come and talk to us. The security agencies for instance– what are they expecting from the youths. It is not on everything that we say let’s fight. No. we would look for a way of bringing some investors. Everything is not about government. We are government. Government cannot give everybody employment; but at least the youths would know how to build wealth by themselves. These are parts of the things that we have in store for the youths of this state and many others that would be unfolding themselves as the programmes come.
Are you not bothered that the majority of youths are now into yahoo business, gambling and all sorts of things?
To be candid, I cannot blame anybody for that. I can’t blame government for that. I can’t blame the so called youths that are involved. It depends on the orientation that the individual has. Everybody wants to make money. Is that the only way we can get money? No. We are going to reorganise the youths so that everybody will now know that it is not until you are cheating on others that you can make it in life. That is what I believe.
What is the population of the youths in Ondo State?
The youths of Ondo State are over one million.
And what do you think about channeling their bubbling energies into productive activities?
I believe that these people who are playing gambling, yahoo, doing this and that, are using their brains. If the youths use these on productive activities, they would get it better than some other people. I do tell people that if you see a graduate that is into all these skills acquisition or handwork, he would do it better than an illiterate. If you see a graduates riding okada, they are the ones that are building houses, having cars because they are learned persons.
Now, everything is not about formal school. You can get education through formal and informal means. Gathering people together both the educated and uneducated persons, we can educate them on how to create wealth, change their orientation, divert their energies to another way such that when they are making their money, you would not be feeling afraid of what would happen. You cannot send your child to go and buy something for you because you are afraid of ritualists. But if we can take care of these youths and the society is okay, everybody will have rest of mind. So we will try our best to educate them to bring them back to the track.
What are you going to urge the state government to do for the youths, to help them so that their potentials would be better channeled?
To me, the government of the state and the Federal Government have good intentions for helping the youths if we should be sincere; because their policy is about empowering the youths; but they are afraid. We hope that the youths they want to empower would be ready to be empowered. If the youths have good representation we would make progress because formerly we did not have good representation as far as the youths are concerned.
The set of the executives that I have now are from different local governments, organisations and wards of youths. We would sit down and ask ourselves: what are the government plans; how are we going to work on them and stand on them? Not only that. We are going to send our searchlight out to see where we can penetrate government. The governments we now have either at the state or federal levels, I say it and I use to say it anywhere, are listening governments. Just tell them that this is the problem; analyse it for them and tell them the solution to it. They are ready to partner with you.
So we are going to have a blueprint of the problems that are facing the community, majority of which are caused by the youths, and how we can use the youths to solve them; and how the youths would execute it. And the areas we want government to come in, we would let them know. If they can just do a little, I promise that the youths that we have in Ondo State are ready to make the state a peaceful state and governable to this administration and the ones that will be coming after it.
Could you give examples of these areas that you want government to help?
When it is time for us to organise programmes, government should partner with us in organising them. Now, to gather 5,000 youths for four or five days, you should be talking about nothing less than 40 to 50 million naira. Personally can I raise the money alone without government support? If you want to organise even only five youth leaders from each local government, we would be talking of about over 100 people. Is the government ready to sponsor them? And I know with the little training that I had that it is what you hear that you digest, that you act on. But if you did not hear it, there is no way you can act on it. So if the people that are outside there said anything, that is not their fault, I cannot blame them. It depends on where they find themselves.
We now have made ourselves available to organise symposiums, training and lectures. But if we can partner with government, these people have leaders, you cannot fight them because you cannot use violence to settle violence. Let’s call them to the round table. Somebody cannot go to an office by 8 o clock and come back around 5pm and still says that he wants to go and forment trouble. Somebody, a graduate, that has been in the town smoking, without getting anything, and you now say take this job for three months, and they now say because your boy misbehaved, go away, they would not want it.
I have taken some steps about that one and some other steps. My being a youths leader is not a youth leader of a party, or religion, but of all the youths in the state whether they are political youths, religious youths, social or voluntary organisations. All of them are under the youths council. All these communities based ones are under our supervision. But most of them did not know. Instead of fighting, they should come and report to us. We will take the necessary actions as we are guided by the law and our own constitution.
What are the main challenges you are facing?
Currently we do not have particular challenges. But what I know is that we need more patronage from government and the well to do in the society. They should not leave the work for us alone. If we have them supporting us financially or morally, we can call on anybody to come and deliver lecture. If we do not request for money, they should give us the grace to call another person. Everybody should partner with us. Let the press, security agencies cooperate with us. For now we are not ready to task anybody. When we start the move and they see it, we want everybody to come around. Anywhere they can help, let them come in and help us. Let them call us at anytime, any hours of the day. I know that one or two of my exco members would attend to them and would be able to settle their issues.
How would your exco support you in carrying through your programmes?
We held the inaugural meeting immediately after our inauguration where we officially announced our programmes; and everybody promised that we are going to be one. We had been meeting before the inauguration. Now as you are talking with me, I have my deputy with me and the deputy secretary here. That is how it would be. We are going to be moving together, do things in common. We did not plan it because we were coming to you. All of us are together. As we are here now, some of my exco members know that we are here; and we would give report back to them. And when you are giving report always, when you carry everybody along, they will use everything they have to give you support. So my exco members are intact and are ready to support. We are just 19.
How was it with the youths council in the state before your emergence?
Before I came on board as the chairman, some people had been doing it. What I saw that pushed me to contest is that the youths council had been covered, there were few people who knew about it. And government was giving normal patronage, but they refused to expand it. As one of the executives of the last tenure, I pushed for it that let there be affiliation to push the organisation. And from 25 which used to be, we increased to 57. That was where the issue occurred. The other group said no, it cannot be. But we thank the Lord; we have our papers from the national body.
In all our activities we carry the national body, the Ministry of Youths along. We follow the constitution. That is what the government saw before giving approval for our inauguration and recognition. In Ondo State today, there is no faction. The only faction that is leading the Ondo State Youth Council is the Ogunmolawa led exco with my deputy Grace Aderonke Atoyebi. My secretary is Bode Alegbe. Anybody that does not belong to our exco and says they are exco somewhere is not saying the truth. The national body, the Federal Ministry of Youths, the Ondo State Ministry of Youths and state Government will not accept that. We are free born of the state and are ready to serve our land. It is not by force. They are not paying salaries. But what we are doing and we intend to do is to bring the youths together, to make sure that the youths know their rights and privileges under government.
What will you do to ensure that your colleagues at the local and grassroots levels are carried along in your programmes?
In the local governments, we suppose to, and we used to have executives. But you discover that in some local governments, it is just the coordinator and the secretary. Some time, it is just the secretary. Now we are going on inauguration of excos in the local governments between now and three weeks. All the local governments will each have their complete 11 excos. Local Government is supposed to have 11 exco members according to our constitution. Also we suppose to have 11 members exco in the ward. This is to cover the grassroots. We are grassroots organisation. So, 11 members exco from each ward, 11 members exco from each local government and 19 members exco from the state.
There are other positions, appointments, SA this, SA that, chairman board committee of this or that like we have it in the real set up of government. The same thing we have in the youth council. If we now bring all these excos or leaders together in Ondo State, we should be about 3,000. Let all the 3,000 go out and effect the change. Let them go out and preach peace. We know our language. Youths should not be doing all these havocs. We live together. But when you now know that you are responsible and noted, you would know how to correct the person beside you. When somebody is doing wrong things and the government is not favourable, you do your own. What you are doing does not affect Akeredolu. It is affecting the individuals.
For instance, the #EndSARS protest that happened in Ondo State, most especially in Okitipupa, where people started destroying government property, who is government? We are the government. It’s our property. There is no way Akeredolu or his children would go and enter all these shuttle buses. They are for the common men. But we destroyed them because we did not like government. Who is government? Akeredolu is an entity. Government is for all of us.
So we are going to bring the youths together through the grassroots, the local governments and ward excos. Thank the Lord for my Deputy. She is mobile. My Vee Pee, Secretary and most of my executives are mobile; and they are free born indigenes of this state. They can enter anywhere. I cannot reach all. It is because I have them beside me that I believe we can do it. They can go to Okitipupa or anywhere. Any time we hear that something is happening that is going to affect the youths, I promise you that we will be there, and even we will call your attention to it as from now.
What would be the connection with the national body to ensure a synergy?
We have direct connection with the national body. I can talk with the national president directly. I can talk with the Southwest president, Southwest chairman of chairmen directly. I can also talk with the one that heads the 36 states and Abuja. I can use his link to talk with the president also. I access the Secretariat directly and I have the support of the people from the Secretariat. And I can access the Federal Ministry of Youths, through my National President. Even I can access the Presidency. There are laid down programmes. Like this issue of security summit, sometimes ago I suggested it at the national level. The next thing was that they wrote letter to states that they should mobilise people for security summit for the first time. We are going to try and organise the same programme here. When you talk about security, you talk about your own protection. When everywhere is secure, you can move at any time you want. We have synergy with the zonal, national levels, and government.
Who is Pathfinder Ogunmolawa?
I am a native of Owo. I was born to the family of High Chief Alajagho Ogunmolawa of Iloro Quarters.
What about your childhood, growing up, schooling and the likes?
I was about five years old when I lost my parents within seven months interval. My mother was the first one to leave me. After about seven months I had information that my father had died. I was with my grandmother for another ten years. So when I was 15 years, I did not have mother or father, I did not have anybody. It was from there that I took over my life. That is why I can find myself where I am today. Since then I looked at it that I know what I passed through. I don’t want other people to pass through the same experience.
Personally I do look for people who need help to do little that I can do personally. Now as the chairman and luckily I have able assistant who often says let’s talk about windows, girl child. Those are areas I have passion for. The Pathfinders is a movement, an organisation registered with the CAC. We search and ask: this path, can we move, can we help this person? The person you help today will help you tomorrow. When the child you help today becomes a professor, you may have forgotten; he will come back and say Daddy, the N5,000 you gave me the other day has helped me so far. That is my belief and I do tell people that your future is in your hand. That is my motto. You can design your future the way you want it to be. I have designed my future the way I want it to be, and I am still moving.
Your schooling?
I attended Eporu Primary School; Imade College; and Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo for my ND and HND in Electrical/Electronics Engineering. Currently I work in that school in the Department of Works and Maintenance as Technical Officer.
Any further comments?
I will just encourage our people that they should please cooperate with the youths of this state. I want to beg our fathers and mothers that they should see us as the persons they will leave the state for. If you do not train us well, when you are leaving the stage, nobody will maintain it. Show us the way to follow so that when you are leaving, we will be able to do it better than you.
I want to encourage the youths of this state and generally that we should please, let’s do our best to support the government. When we are supporting the government, we are supporting ourselves. I want to say that NYCN is the umbrella body for all youth organisations. The youths of this state should take it like that so that all of us together can benefit from the goodies that are before us.
We will empower youths with programmes – Deputy chairman, Mrs Grace Aderonke Atoyebi
As the Deputy Chairman, how would you go about your assignments?
I appreciate this opportunity given to us. My chairman has earlier spoken well. In my own office I am going to support him just as they say that behind every successful man, there is always a good woman. I am going to work in hand with him. I am very sure that he is also going to be a good father who is going to be a good listener. You know, we ladies, when we want something done, we want it quickly. But as a father of the youths because a leader of the youths is a father of the youths, I am going to work in hand with him with total submission to make sure that once there is cooperation between the two of us, the people we are to lead are going to be successful. Once there is harmony between the two of us, the people we are going to preach the gospel to that don’t go this way, let’s go this way, this government is our government, let’s support them so that they would see us whenever we cry to them that this is what our youths need, they would listen to us. I am very sure that it will be easy for him to fulfil his words.
What special programmes do you have for ladies, women and children?
There are a lot of programmes and summits to organise. Like my chairman earlier said that everything is not about formal academics. As much as you are learning, it is still academy. It is just that you may not put it down in writing, but in an entrepreneurial way. There are a lot of people we are going to bring in like this networking. We can partner with them and tell them to come and train our females on how to generate wealth. If it is just doing mobile transactions on your phone and you are able to bring something to your pocket, you won’t be a liability to a man.
When a man is not happy there is nothing you can say to him that would enter his brain. But when you are able to bring something to your pocket, nobody would take you for a ritualist, nobody would deceive you, use you as a target to the government to penetrate somewhere and come back to collect some money. But when you sit down and are able to get something for yourself, a lot of things would change.
Secondly learning how to make foods like in my school, even for the fact that I am a Sanitarian, we were taught how to produce custard, cream as environmental technologists. What are we using that for? We were taught that because government is not going to employ everybody. There are ways to assist our pockets, parents, people and neighbours around us. By the time we organise one or two summits in the state, they will know that the females are going forward.
I am even more concerned about our females. This issue of adultery has to stop. How can we hear that a lady is participating in stealing? It doesn’t speak well. It is poverty, and we can end poverty. If we believe we can end it, we can if we join hands together. There are a lot of things we can learn. Every lady has to make hair. If you don’t make your hair, you barb it like I barb my own now. We can teach them how to produce shampoo, how to make body cream, lot of things, like all these things I use to take care of my body that reduce my costs of going to supermarkets to go and get cream worth almost N50,000, N70,000, or N100,000 just to maintain my body. I go to the market and buy my chemicals that I would not spend even N10,000 and produce what is worth N80,000 by the time I apply it on my body.
So if we call them, go to their schools, channel letters to their schools, let them know there will be a programme at certain time, we would go through the students, through NANS and penetrate them through the SUG body that the females of this school should attend some programme at a certain date for their own benefit.
By the time things like this go on, other states will understand that yes youth council is not just for the government but for everybody, not even the youths alone. The adults will benefit because there are people there who cannot go out and work. If the children of all these our widowers that cannot go out and prepare foods, are able to get some things for them, they will rest and sleep well. With these we would be able to assist our females.
Who are you?
I am Sanitarian Grace Aderonke Atoyebi, nee Ikumawoyi.
Your schooling and background?
I went to King Emmanuel College of Health Technology Ore, Omikunle Comprehensive, and Success Kiddies University Ondo. Those are my primary backgrounds because my mother happened to be a civil servant and I am the last baby of the house. So wherever she is going to, she takes me along. That was how the background of my primary academy sounds like that. For my secondary education, I attended Victory Comprehensive College. I went to Adeyemi College of Education, Ondo; and finally I am a student of Kwara State College of Health Technology Ofa. I just dropped my pen last week. I would still be going back for my licence exam by January and to crown it up by June. But I am free to serve.
Do you have any further comment?
I just want to appreciate the government to have recognised us. For government to say Ogunmolawa should lead means they have faith in him. We are using this medium to tell them that there won’t be any disappointment; and we will make sure that a lot of things change. They’ve been trying for the youths, even without the youth council. And now that they bring us in, we are telling them that the burden would be less. We appreciate them; and like my leader said, they should please support us when needed. Whenever we want to see them, they should attend to us. We are not coming in violence. We are coming as humans, not as animals, and they should give us ear of listening; and we are going to reciprocate that outside.
We will reorientate the youths – Deputy Secretary, Osewa Adeshina Vincent
What will you contribute to this administration?
Besides the constitutional role that I have been given which is the assistance to the Secretary, I am going to first of all support my chairman and the deputy chairman and other excos in making sure that their responsibility in projecting Ondo youths to higher apogee is achieved because that is the essence of youth council. It is for us to supervise the youths, to reorientate them.
I heard my chairman talking about the yahoo yahoo, the fraudulent youths and the likes. Just like he said, it is not their fault but they need reorientation, and this starts with the youth leaders. So as deputy secretary, besides my constitutional role, I would always abide in making sure that as long as it has to do with the advancement or progress of the youths, I would make sure that I use my own position to fight for that submission.
Could we know you?
I am Osewa Adeshina Vincent, the deputy secretary, NYCN, Ondo State chapter. I am currently the media aide of Ayotunde (Akinola) Bally, CEO of Arvo Finance and Founder of the Movementng, Project Coordinator of Beulah Initiative. The major essence of his calling is to eradicate poverty, which is what we unquestionably will include in the youth council’s programmes because we need investors. If we are fortunate to have people like that, we have no choice than to bring them in as long as it has to do with the progress of Ondo State youths. We are going to bring them in because when the youths are happy, the state becomes happier.
I am a content writer. I write for people. I write books and journals. I am a freelancer as well. I am a project coordinator of … Initiatives, a girl child advocacy platform. I am into so many things, but the calling of the youth council supersedes other callings because we are talking about the progress of the youths. And for posterity sake, if the youths of the state are in alignment in terms of being progressive, the state will be peaceful.
The only issue why we are having a lot of difficulties in Nigeria today is because we have a higher percentage of youths who are idle, who are not doing something. About 70 percent of Nigerians are youths aged between zero to 35 years. Imagine we have up to 50 percent of these people equipped, empowered, whether through the academic angle, job creation, or skills acquisition, I can tell you that Nigeria will be the best habitat for any species in the world today.
Mrs Grace Aderonke Atoyebi
Osewa Vincent Adeshina
