Adeyemi Adediran, a Nigerian lawyer based in the United States and the founder of the Odidere Foundation (OF), along with Pastor Segun Oduyebo of the Destiny Development Initiative (DDI), has urged the federal government to work on youth development programs to alleviate people’s sufferings during the country’s current economic downturn.
The duo made the charges while speaking at an intellectual Solution Orators Competitive program organized by their groups for Nigeria’s higher institutions.
Three students from Osun State University (UNIOSUN) and three students from Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) participated and made it to the final stage after debating on the topic “Providing contextualized solutions to Nigeria’s multifaceted socio-economic challenges within Osun state”.
At the event conducted at Obafemi Awolowo University in Ile-ife, they claimed that “if Nigerian youths are developed, the country will be developed, and our societies will progress.”
In a speech made accessible to our reporter, Barrister Adeyemi appealed with the government not to focus simply on education, but also to develop values for society through corporate innovation.
The legal practitioner stated that an individual’s perspective toward building profitable businesses may promote economic progress and communal well-being.
He also stated that Nigeria may nurture a more productive and affluent environment through individual efforts, whereas community development can greatly boost economic growth by emphasizing company innovation and societal contributions.
According to him, “Productivity is impossible without good culture; the reason we are doing this today is not to prioritize the culture of people attending school, but to prioritize people making money through profitable businesses and creating value for society.”
Adeyemi then emphasized the need of a solid cultural basis in increasing the country’s production.
DDI president, Pastor Segun Oduyebo, stated during the occasion that the project aims to promote youth development and include them in addressing the country’s economic challenges.
He charged Nigeria to develop Human Resources Development Saying, it is a strategy to industrialize the environment, and key sectors like agriculture, technology, and entertainment that can help in a growing economy.
The DDI president added that, “the mission is to empower communities, uplift individuals, and create lasting positive changes”.
Meanwhile, contestants for the competition we’re Odeyemi Ifeoluwa, Oluwanifemi Debora, Taiwo Marufat, Joy Ogundipe, Fisayo Dosumu, and Simeon Abogunrin .
Odeyemi Ifeoluwa from OAU came first with cash prize of two hundred thousand naira (N200,000), Oluwanifemi Debora from UNIOSUN came second with a cash prize of one hundred and fifty thousand naira (N150,000) and Taiwo Murufat from OAU came third with a cash prize of one hundred thousand nairas.
Some of the major problems highlighted by the contestants are Poverty, Poor healthcare system, Food insecurity, unemployment, and housing deficit.
In his own statement , the winner of the contest, Odeyemi pointed out that,
“We are at the center of all of these things and whether or not the worst we are the ones who bear the bond when the government is trying their best we can still do the little we can do within our influence as individuals”.
“It is a collection of individuals that make up a country when we do everything as individuals that effort can be joined together to produce the Osun state that we all want.
However, Odidere Foundation also funded secondary school students’ education and provided school bags and school footwear for them.
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