The Nigeria We Want

The first edition of the Naija Youth Talk held on the 9th of September, 2019 to mark the 2019 International Literacy Day.

The 21st century holds immeasurable potential for the youths. However, young individuals in some parts of Nigeria live perpetually at a disadvantage, especially in the area of education.

Nigeria has the world’s highest number of out-of-school children – about 10.5 million Nigerian children are not in school. UNICEF is on a mission to overturn unfortunate statistics such as this, keeping youth voices at the center of the movement.

UNICEF collaborated with some partners to host the first edition of the Naija Youth Talk event on 9th September 2019 at the Silverbird Cinemas in Abuja to mark the 2019 International Literacy Day. The event, themed ‘The Nigeria We Want’, allowed young people reflect on and celebrate the progress made by youths to create the Nigeria we all want, as well as to build momentum and support for further action.

Keynote Speakers

SAEDConnect CEO, Segun Araromi, and others make crucial suggestions on how to improve the Nigerian educational system.

As part of UNICEF’s global Youth Talks, Naija Youth Talk engaged young people and several youth change enthusiasts in discussions to proffer solutions to crucial issues facing the youths of the country.

Segun Araromi, SAEDConnect CEO, was among the youth change initiators who shared their stories at the event. The others include:

• Aisha – A Young girl from Borno
• Musa Musa – Programme Assistant, Centre for Citizens with Disabilities
• Olaoluwa Osinbajo - Founder, AWA Customer
• Seyi Oluyole - Executive Director, The Dream Nurture Foundation
• Sagir Musa - President, UNICEF Youth Advocates for Education

A number of the panelists also graced the event to throw light on education in Nigeria and its various challenges. The panelists included:

• Tolu Ogunlesi - Special Assistant to the President on Digital Media
• Maryam Laushi - Communication Expert
• Hamzat Lawal - Founder, Connected Development
• Farida Kabir - Advocate for women and girls in STEM, founder of OTRAC

The event brought several issues to light and promoted the belief in the possibility of a future where the Nigerian youth can enjoy equal access to education as their peers from more developed countries of the world.