By Precious Oham
No fewer than 16 youths drawn from the 16 local government areas of Ekiti State were trained on mentorship skill for inclusive governance and political participation.
The Youth Leadership Workshop in Shaping the Future of Democracy which held on Thursday in Ado-Ekiti, was organised by Youth Leadership Development, YLD, and supported by LEAP Africa and funded by Nigeria Youth Futures Fund with the theme: “Mentorship Trajectory on Empowering Young Nigerian Women and Men Towards Strategic And Effective Leadership Development And Good Governance With Government.”
In his opening address, the Convener of YLD, Oluwamuyiwa Ajaja said the participants were selected based on their capacity and experience aimed at impacting mentorship opportunities, tools and resources towards achieving their full potentials.
He noted that a ‘Policy Brief’ will be produced to engage the government and legislators for advocacy on inclusive governance and political participation of youths in decision-making process.
He said: “The Ekiti young persons across the 16 local government have come together. We selected them based on their capacity and experience for this training and workshop for us to build their mentorship skill and impact a whole lot of knowledge on them so that they will be able to know how to engage the major stakeholders such as the government, CSO, international development partners and others that matter on policy development.
“We have impacted a lot of knowledge based and research impact to these set of persons from Ekiti State. We expect them to do a recommendation. It is that recommendation that we will use for policy formulation and submit it to the government and legislators so that they can work on it to develop something that will be good enough for youth leadership.”
Delivering his keynote address on the topic; “Leadership and Political Participation: The Role of Young People in Shaping the Democracy of the Future”, the Special Assistant to Ekiti State Governor on Tourism Development, Michael Peculiar Ekiran urged the youths to get involved in governance by adding value.
He tasked them to seek mentorship, build capacity to lead, be an institutional influencer, build capacity to impact policies, advocate for change and educate themselves and others.
He said: “The role of young people in shaping the democracy of the future cannot be overstated. We are not just the leaders of tomorrow; we are the leaders of today. Our actions, our voices, and our participation are crucial in building a democratic society that is just, inclusive, and forward-thinking.
“As we move forward from this workshop, let us carry with us the lessons learned, the connections made, and the inspiration gained. Let us commit to being active participants in our democracy, to seeking mentorship and to mentoring others, and to leading with integrity and vision.
“The future of our democracy is in our hands. Let us shape it with courage, with wisdom, and with a relentless pursuit of justice and equity.”
Also, delivering his keynote speech on, “Leadership and Political Participation”, Barr. Temitope Omotayo enjoined the youths to actively participate in politics and build capacity to effect changes in the society.
“I encourage all of us to participate in politics and build capacity. Let’s continue to develop ourselves for effective participation and competence. You must have a voters card and get information about the country.
“If we want good governance, we must all participate. There can never be vacuum. If there won’t be vacuum, that shows some people must be there. We must groom ourselves, develop the capacity lead.
“I thank God for the present leadership of Ekiti State. They are really doing well. The young people are seriously getting involved but we can do more. The convener have done well. We can only encourage him to do more to cause that required change in the society.”
Other highlights of the workshop include; interactive discussions, focus discussion group, sustainability plan and development of policy briefing, among others.
