A Commissioner-designate and former member of House Reps in Lagos State, Moruf Akinderu-Fatai, in collaboration with the LightHouse Innovation Foundation, an Information Communication Technology hub, are making efforts to train 112 youths in Oshodi on how to utilize ICT.
The Oshodi-born Akinderu-Fatai said, the training would curb juvenile delinquency and ensure the youths harnessed their potential.
The former Commissioner for Housing noted the initiative would instill hope in the youths who have lost hope in their country by empowering them with digital skills.
“As a product of Oshodi, I felt that there is a need to intervene in the challenges that I discovered that are impeding the growth of the youths within my community from their early lives up to the time that we throw them into society. Though, it is not peculiar to only my community, it cut across the state,” he said.
The former lawmaker said apart from empowering youths, he had been assisting widows and the elderly, many years back.
He added, “I’ve been doing this secretly on my own, after the last election, I discovered that most of the youths lack proper knowledge, and many of them have lost hope in the country; they see nothing good in the country.
“What spurred me was on the day of the presidential election, I saw some of these youths playing football. While trying to talk them, to go and vote. I realised 60 percent of them had Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) in their pockets which they showed me. They said they are not going to vote that all the leaders are bad people. This got me thinking and I made up my mind that I will start engaging and empowering them. So, I called on people that are made in Oshodi home and abroad to join me in the journey. The initiative is to give hope back to the young ones. There are so many opportunities out there. The world is a global village now. One of my sons was recruited by the Amazon from my bedroom. It is because he was privileged to make himself competitive.
“While I was in the House of Representatives, we had about six computer centres in Oshodi and the aim then was to ensure every youth in Oshodi was computer literate. So, by the time they are out of secondary school, they are already certified as a web designer. Some of the students that benefited from this initiative were making use of it now. We have been able to teach the children how to use their smartphones positively instead of engaging in betting.”
The initiator of the foundation, Mayowa Magbagbeola, said the foundation sought to address the high rate of juvenile delinquency in the country.
Magbagbeola, also born in Oshodi, said, “Looking at the vices we have in the country, crime statistics, it is obvious that 60 per cent of Nigeria’s population are under 25 years, which is the critical age where youths are moulded to be economically valuable.”
“To build a community that is so valuable, this is the age where we are supposed to be grooming them for future leadership positions. This would let us have a society with responsible citizens who know what to do and when to do it.”
He added that Lighthouse is a place that gives navigation and direction to young people.
“Our core objectives are to provide mentorship, support and train the youths. We realised that our youths don’t have the right skill to harness their potentials, so we decided to empower them with digital skills and technical skills,” he said.
He noted the training is targeted at ages 13 to 25 and they will be learning all the rudiments of graphic designing.
