Youths urged to be catalysts for positive change

Young Nigerians have been urged to shun excuses and embrace a shift in mindset to be catalysts of positive change at the Pre-Wake Up Youth Conference held in Lagos.
  
The conference with the theme, ‘Catalysis’ was convened by the founder of Afárá Africa, Olamilekan Oyebanjo, and was attended by students, entrepreneurs, and early career professionals.
  
Oyebanjo said that Afárá Africa is not a business, but an organisation that aims to make a difference in the lives of young people to impart knowledge, skills, and resources in young people for overall growth.
  

“We want to build people who are not just wise in their heads, but also heavy in their pockets,” he said. “And the only way we can achieve that is to empower them with skills,” Oyebanjo said.
  
Oyebanjo noted that it is essential for young people to learn from older people’s mistakes and be awakened early in life to fully maximize their God-given potential to affect change in their families, communities and nation.
  
Founder of ESHIRYA-Africa, Dr. Olakunle Soriyan, in his keynote address, said that every individual in the world is enslaved to something – a person, an idea, or a belief system, stressing that true freedom is the ability to recognise and choose one’s own slavery as a cause of life.
  
Urging young people to take charge of their lives, he emphasised that the past is not fixed, but can be reshaped by one’s present actions and mindset.
  
Soriyan urged young people to seek mentors who are spiritually, professionally, and morally qualified, prepared to hold them accountable and stand with them on their best and worst days.
  
The Chief Executive Officer of Identita Brand Concepts, Ugo Ezeagwula, said that the life of a ‘Catalysis’ extends beyond personal success but seeks to nurture a new generation that values contributing to society over individual gain.

He stated that young people should look beyond being seen as the future, but as present change makers, not waiting till they are older to make impacts.
  
The Group Managing Director (GMD) of Roudo Group, Chukwuma Nwachukwu, said a catalyst whose output can be described as ‘Catalysis’ is one that is given to learning daily from experience and consistently implementing changes.
   
“You can be anything you want to be as long as you believe that there are no limits. You don’t deserve anything you are not willing to fight for. So, fight for your dreams.”