Editor’s Note:
Nigerian Youth Speak Forum 2016 themed – Leading
Transformational Change In Nigeria held on Friday, September 23, 2016 at
Glory View Hotel, Bodija Housing Estate, Ibadan. The Forum which is a phase of
“The Youth for Global Goals (Y4GG)”
is an initiative of AIESEC as its contribution towards the achievement of the
Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). The Y4GG other phases include: YouthSpeak
Survey, YouthSpeak Insights, and the YouthSpeak Project.
Opetu Ebibote, a young writer was part of the occasion and she opens up her thoughts
about the event which happens to be her first.
You have got to agree with me, for a
seminar that I had barely prepared for because I thought that it would be just
like any other seminar; a total lack of interest is justified. This was the picture that came to mind, few
hours listening to old boring people narrating long stories about their
achievements without really teaching us how they got there. Little did I know
that I was in for a big surprise. Truth be told, there were old people who
talked about their achievement and there were times when I almost did fall
asleep. But at the end of the day, all I thought was anyone who missed it,
missed out on a whole lifetime opportunity.
The
gathering that met my eye rooted my feet to the ground. I wouldn’t have called
it a crowd but it was sure more than I expected. I was lost when I got in (late
though)and heard the event compere shouting "AIESEC"and theecstatic
audience replied “What’s up!!!”. At first I didn’t understand - “what was up”
but after the program I did. The forum was an extension of a three day seminar
that was organized for AIESEC members across the country. I was told before my
arrival, that AIESEC is a non-governmental organization that has its main focus
on the
empowerment of youths. But if I were to describe AIESEC, I would say,
"AIESEC isn’t just an organization - it
is a society with a culture of its own."First of all, they had a
distinctive mode of greeting which baffled me and when they got angry, instead
of the usual response of “What’s up”, they replied the speaker’s call
with“sounds like shit”. Next was the presentation of seminars. Theirs wasn’t
the usual motivational speeches delivered by highly paid motivational speakers.
Members of the alumni engaged the participants in different interactive
sessions after a series of lectures on “transformational
change”. This scenario created the mental picture of a father or mother
nurturing their children.
The program went on smoothly and though
it was business oriented,there was a little shower of pleasure. It wasn’t only
about the long doses of seriousness but also the little pills of laughter that
seemed to set the mind at ease. The organizers kept in mind that though the
program was designed to make the country a happy one in the future, efforts had
to be made to ensure that the participants were happy even with the present
state of things. They kept into proper
use, the saying “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy’. The program was a
fusion of work and play. It got more excitingduring the break when some of the
participants went to the front of the hall and began a group dance. The sight
of feet moving to the left and right; and hands swinging forward and backward;
made me burst out in laughter where I was seated. At that moment, one could
barely think of the problems that plagued the country, problem for which we had
gathered todevelop a solution. All that came to mind was the sound of the hip
hop music blasting through the speakers, the comical steps of dancers who
didn’t really know how to dance and the feeling that 'all iswell.'
However, it didn’t end there. After the
second session of seminars and conversations with the panelists, there was a
break for lunch. Sitting down all day had weakened me and all I wanted to do
was go home but I was stopped in my tracks. The DJ, thinking of ways to keep
the audience busy played different clips from Britain Got Talents and for
minutes my eyes were glued to the screen oblivious of the world around me, and
again for the second time, we did not think of the problems that defaced our
country instead we concentrated deeply on the wonders that others could perform
with their talents.
At a point, I felt so out of place
and bored that I prayed that the program would end but then came what I call
the enlightenment stage. A stage that explained what AIESEC is or should I say
who she is, heraims, her achievements and most importantly her work in progress.
Believe me, nothing could be more inspiring than a young guy standing in front
of you telling you about his global company and how he started it with a zero
naira plan. He was among the members of the alumni. The first speaker mentioned
names of people who had once sat in AIESEC meetings and now where making their
mark on the walls of time. As a lady,it is normal that the young guys who were
part of the panelist would interest me. But this time, it wasn’t the beauty of
the Italian suit or the nice pair of jeans or the dazzling native fabric on
beautiful dark skin that caught my fancy. It was the fact that young guys like
that had started making history no matter how little we may think it is.
There
in attendance were also other organizations that were geared towards not just
the empowermentof youths but adults as well. It was really impressive that
AIESEC reached out to other non-governmental organizations that could make
better, the life of their members and 'stumblers' like me. A representative
from one.org
stepped to the podium and created awareness about the NGO. There were health
facts that were to be learnt, the encouragement to read about the happenings in
the country and ways in which they served as voice to people deprived of good
health care. In giving a voice to these people, they recorded their lives and
made it available to the whole world to see the trauma they were made to pass
through. Some might disagree to this but what amused me about this organization
was the petition we were asked to write. On the card was written “To President Buhari. I wondered how my
thoughts on what is right or wrong can change the situation of things in the
country. The fact that I wasn’t a believer of such made it hard for me to
humour them.
Despite the major highlights, nothing
was much more fun than the opportunity to meet with different people and share
ideas with people of like minds. Though I felt too out of place to leave my
seat, and therefore could not interact as I would have loved to; nevertheless,
I still met a few people and just the thought of exchanging ideas was more
exciting than words can describe. For the first time since almost a year of my
knowing him, I met a friend yesterday. The forum served as a platform for ourmeeting.
If anything could be erased from my memory, the ideas that were birthed in that
forum while discussing with my friend, could never be erased. It was really
interesting that these members were not only hearers of the word but were also
doers. There were different little organizations that were advertizing
different products.One contact I would never forget was when a lady walked up
to me with stickers in her hands. At firstglance, the stickers were barely
noticed because of the unique design of the cloth she was putting on. I was
wowed when she told me it was hand sewn. But that is not the lesson I learnt
the stickers in her hands read vision 2020. I didn’t see it as Important so I
didn’t buy it. Later on, I was admonished by 'my friend' who stated clearly
that no matter how little it was, she was effecting a change in her life
financially.
So, departure for me came with mixed
feelings. Though I would have loved to stay I was tired of seating for hours.
But the major thingis I went disinterested but I left empowered to take
necessary steps in changing my future and this article is a proof.
Maybe, I'll tell you more about my
friend is the coming days, first, let me put to practice a little out of the
much I've learnt at YouthSpeak Forum2016
Opetu
Ebibote is a young writer who appreciates the
gifts of words and its power to effect a change in the society. For her,
writing is not limited to pen and paper. It also extends to social media
platforms. She is based in Ibadan and currently a student of the University Of
Ibadan.
She
blogs @ Musespills
and can be contacted via [email protected].You
can also follow her on Twitter.
No comments
Post a Comment