By Olawale Ola
Mr Ekundayo Oluwadamilare, the Executive Director of Young, Talented, Optimistic and Full of Potential(YTOP) Empowerment Foundation, has trained 140,000 youths on Global networking within seven years.
The training held at YTOP Global Conference at AJose Lecture Theatre, Faculty of Agriculture, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), on Monday, in Ile-Ife, with the theme: “Youth on a Mission, Becoming”.
Ekundayo said that YTOP is a youth-led non-governmental Organization passionate about developing the competence of youths to make a sustainable impact geared towards SDG solutions.
He adding that the foundation was registered as white-up youth empowerment foundation known as white-up global under the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) with Initiative that empowers young people to become better version of themselves.
“YTOP is giving young ones capacity oriented programmes and have been existing in Nigeria and overseas for the past seven years, helping the people first found themselves.
“Connect themselves, become better version of themselves and continue with them til they can stand on their own for continuity of raising other leaders.
“We have 300 people from 32 Universities participated in the conference in Africa, and seven counties like: Ghana, Nigeria, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Namibia among others,” he explained.
Oluwadamilare expressed that the Organisation works on youth development, believes that everyone has talents and is filled with potential, and if given a platform to learn, share, collaborate, and explore, goals will be easily achieved.
He urged them to look at their past, connect with their present and have a brighter future, saying that to make a better living is a responsibility.
According to him,YTOP Global is created to influence teenagers and youths positively, enhance self- and purpose-discovery, and channel discovered abilities into proper and efficient use.
Graduate of Animal Sciences, who’s serving as Corp member, stated that the foundation enlightened youths and adults to discover their potential through an intensive capacity development hub, the more they dig, the deeper they see.
“No one is born useless or purposeless, every youths need to put efforts together, by using their initiative on what they can do to make something out of nothing.
Also, one of the Speaker, Miss Monsurat Ololade, the Creative Director, Ladenigeria crafts & Leader works, Osogbo, spoke on”Sustainability as a Journey”, told them that they need to priorities sustainability of whatever they do in life.
Ololade said that they can only achieve this through adaptation, continuous learning, and be creative.
The OAU graduate of Mathematics noted that it’s not a problem to start something doing, but sustainability always come as a challenge, charged them to thrive against all these challenges and be realistic to themselves.
She maintained that there are lot of opportunities to be a successful one in Nigeria unlike other countries, warned against looking for unrealistic part which is social media of looking at 10-year-old riding N20 million car.
“By His grace today, within six-year of my experience in my business, I’ve been able to employ 12 staff working and receiving salary monthly.
In the same vein, Mr Samuel Agunbiade, the Director UPEN Business Communication, who spoke on “Future of Work” , said that for them to have a brighter future.
Agunbiade emphasised that young must start preparing for themselves,for the future not prepare for, cannot stand out in that future .
“It’s a process to become what you want to become, learning skills, collaborating with people, submit to mentorship, would be a way out.
“The way we do work or business has changed, to be a better employer of labour, we must have a better understanding and how to adapt to it.
In her remarks, the adviser of YTOP, Prof. Bukola Oyebanji, appreciated those that came from near and far especially in supporting the foundation.
Oyebanji said that youth are the pillar of the nation, charges them to make use of the network training for the betterment of their lives and to be useful in the society.
It was reported that no fewer than 200 students from secondary and tertiary institutions attended the Conference.
