Experts urge youths to turn socio-economic challenges into solutions

Experts have urged youths in Nigeria to see the country’s socio-economic challenges as opportunities to initiate or build transformative solutions rather than just lamenting on social media platforms.

They made the call on Saturday during the fifth edition of the Nasir Giwa Mentorship Conference held in Lagos State with the theme, ‘Building the Future: The Urgency of Now.’

The event, which coincided with the 10th year of establishing NGM, drew hundreds of undergraduates, young professionals, business leaders and entrepreneurs, serving as a catalyst for action, bridging the gap between classroom theory and real-world execution.

Addressing participants, the founder of NGM, Nasir Giwa, reminded the youths that periods of national difficulty historically offer the most fertile ground for innovation and enterprise.

“Stop lamenting. Stop being in the midst of those who are wasting their time arguing on social media. Spend that quality time doing something, spend that quality time collaboratively with your other friends, and be part of a mentorship platform.

“Whatever is happening in Nigeria today, we should take it as an opportunity. There are so many things we can do with what Nigeria is going through today,” he said.

Also speaking, the Group Managing Director, Sahara Power Group, Mr Kola Adesina, urged the younger generation to shun despair.

While drawing an analogy to the ongoing national conversation on domestic oil refining, he stressed the need for the youth to refine their innate refinery.

“The topic of the moment in Nigeria today is the refinery. Everybody forgets that, inherently, each one of us is a refinery. The question is, what are we doing with our own internal refinery in terms of how we are exploring our minds?

“To get the crude oil, which is what we possess today, refine it into a finished product which can power the economy, power homes, and all that,” he said.

Adesina criticised the tendency of many citizens to join what he described as a bandwagon of complaints, noting that wealth is created strictly by providing answers to societal needs.

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“The problem we have is that there are few problem solvers, and that is why you find that the majority are poor, the minority are rich.

“How do you become wealthy whilst solving problems? Innovate in a manner to solve problems within your community and scale to become prosperous whilst helping others,” Adesina said.

On his part, the Chief Executive Officer of Future Africa, Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, stressed the need for Nigerian youths to be problem solvers.

“You have to be able to solve a problem, not appear to be solving a problem. There’s a tendency to want to reduce everything to ‘if I have money, then I could solve a problem’,  but in fact, if you want to build something that lasts, it’s about the people, and you actually build to solve a problem,” he said.

Aboyeji, however, urged the younger generations to build capacity that would enable them to become real-world problem solvers, not just someone full of ideas without visible output.

A major focus of the gathering was the grand finale of the NGM and Kola Adesina DARE Nigeria Challenge, alongside the NGM and Afropreneur SME Pitch Competition.

The challenge, conceived during the previous NGM edition, was instituted by Adesina to fund and mentor bold, creative and fearless young innovators developing scalable business models.

Adesina commended the finalists for focusing on critical human needs such as healthcare, water supply, food security and clothing, as he assured them of sustained post-competition backing.

He noted that experienced mentors are indispensable because their guidance is informed by the lessons of past setbacks.

“To guide them, you need experience, which is why you see that the judges are all experienced people. They have failed before, they have fallen before, they know where they fell,” Adesina added.

Also speaking on the reward structure of the DARE Nigeria Challenge, Giwa explained that the initiative deliberately avoids traditional, rigid podium prize distribution in favour of strategic, needs-based support designed to scale each specific venture.