Tag: Aanu Damola Morenikeji

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‘I See Hope’ – Former Nigeria President Obasanjo commends Aanu Damola Morenikeji


It was just like yesterday; though exactly six years today, I can vividly recall those words spoken (and written) to me by the former Nigerian President, Olusegun Obasanjo.
“Your book (Spare the Rod and Spoil the Child) is a further confirmation of my belief

Aanu Damola Morenikeji and former Nigerian President
Olusegun Obasanjo

that there is hope for Nigeria and Nigerians. I cannot but see hope when a young person like you at a tender age (of 9) could author a play on such a complex issue. I salute your courage and depth. You must continue on this path and not relent and the sky shall not be able to limit you”

He gave me the children and youth versions of his book ‘I See Hope’ and said “I am sure they would further encourage you to go for gold“.
Those words and the gifts (children and youth version of ‘I See Hope’) have over the years been appreciated.
To our generation and other patriots of our country and continent; I say to you -once again- today that I SEE HOPE.
I see hope in the intellectual development of our citizenry, who in turn contribute to the development of our society and country.
I see hope in the educational sector providing qualitative education to Nigerians – to aid young people in learning and living (not just existing).
I see hope in an enabling environment that promotes values and ethical reasoning, and integrally encourages/promotes active participation of young people in building a better world.
I see hope in a Nigeria, where social, ethnic and religious divide is a thing of the past and we relate based on the content of our character.
I see hope in a Nigeria, built consciously by Nigerians.
I SEE HOPE today!
I SEE HOPE!

Aanu Damola Morenikeji
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Watch Your Thought!

You are what you think. Whatever you are doing, whatever you feel, whatever you want—all are determined by the quality of your thought. If your ‘thinking’ is faulty, it will lead to many disappointments and unhappiness. If your thinking is overly pessimistic, it will deny you due recognition of the many things in which you should properly rejoice.

Try this out; identify some examples of your strongest feelings or emotions. Then identify the thinking that is correlated with those examples. For example, if you feel excited about going to school or work, it is because you think that positive things will happen to you while you are at school or work, or that you will be able to accomplish important tasks and feats. But if you dont feel exited about what you want to do, it is as a result of an expected negative outcome – established through your thought.
If the quality of your life is not what you wish it to be, it is probably because it is tied to the way you think about your life. If you think about it positively, you will feel positive about it. If you think about it negatively, you will feel negative about it – its a simple natural principle.
Mysteriously, most of people’s ‘thinking’ is done in the subconscious; that is, never explicitly put into words. Or have you ever heard someone who thinks negatively about himself say that, “I have chosen to think about myself and my experience in largely negative terms. I prefer to be as unhappy as I can be”?. The problem is that when you are not aware of your thinking you have no chance of ‘correcting’ or ‘altering’ it. When thinking is subconscious, you are in no position to see any problems in it. And, if you don’t see any problems in it, you can’t alter it.
Henceforth, make a list of all the things you have done today. Then, for each act, figure out the thinking that led you to do, or guided you while doing, the act. (Remember that most of your thinking is unconscious).
Join the ‘Cerebration with ADM’; host or attend a cerebration (creative critical thinking) session close to you. Share this with your loved ones!
Visit www.tinyurl.com/cerebrationwithADM, you can also join the event on Facebook via www.tinyurl.com/cerebrationfb.

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Letter from AllforDevelopment; #Appreciation

#ForRecords
31st January, 2013
Dear friend,
On behalf of team members and volunteers of All for Development and our Network for Talent Discovery (NETAD), I write to acknowledge and appreciate your support, commitment and contribution to development in the year 2012.
We are delighted to have contributed our quota to positive change process which we believe rekindles fervently the hope of unprecedented development and a brighter future for our country and continent. However, it is your thoughts, words of advice and encouragement, critiquing and moral support that has brought us this far, with the following achieved in the year 2012;
  1. ‘Path of Excellence’: an academic seminar we organized in March 2012, for university undergraduates in Ogun State.
  2. NETAD Young and Emerging Leaders’ Summit;  a summit that brought together and engaged emerging leaders from various parts of the country in leadership deliberation, towards exploring strategies and concepts of leadership through participation, and fostering active youth participation in decision making processes and leadership development, aiding quality governance.
  3. International Youth Day celebration with African Resourceful Leaders Foundation and other youth organisations in Lagos State on 12th August, 2012.
  4. Youth Stakeholders Forum: organized in collaboration with the Nigerian Youth Parliament and United Action for Democracy on Wednesday, 15th August, 2012.
  5. Entrepreneurship Seminar: organized through a partnership with Great Entrepreneurial Minds (GEM) – on 3rd November, 2012 – for young and aspiring entrepreneurs, especially in the agricultural sector.
  6. Studership: a youth/student leadership training aimed at re-orientating and redefining leadership concepts, and building a global network of values-based and integrity conscious student leaders. The first series of the training – which focused on leadership, critical thinking, idea generation/ sustainability, ethics and values – was held on Wednesday, 12th December, 2012.
  7. Participation/representation of Nigeria at the African Youth and Governance Conference held at the Kofi Annan International Peace Keeping Centre, Accra, Ghana between 9th and 10th August, 2012.
  8. Participation at the African Youth Heritage Festival held at the National Theatre, Accra, Ghana on the 11th August, 2012.
  9. Participation/representation of Nigeria at an African Youth Condolence Walk held in honour of former Ghanian President- Prof. John Atta Mills. The walk, which involved over 35 African countries, took off at the National Theatre to the Independence Square, where the national valedictory service was held on Saturday, 11th August, 2012 in Accra, Ghana.
  10. Global Youth Forum: participated as a vDelegate at the Global Youth Forum held in Bali, Indonesia from 1st to 4th December, 2012, and contributed to a strong set of recommendations for global development policy.
  11. Periodic interaction, communication and dissemination of information and children, youths and adults through our online media, and the effective use of the print and electronic media.

 

Apart from the above, I’ll like to inform you that the Team Leader – 19 year old Aanu Damola Morenikeji, who is also a 300 level student of the Federal University of Agriculture, studying Plant Physiology and Crop Production – participated, and subsequently was adjudged a Fellow of Africa’s foremost annual youth democracy academy (DESPLAY Africa), and in May 2012 was awarded by the Ogun State Government, and became the first recipient of the Ogun State Youth Award for Excellence in Health and Community Service.
All we collectively achieved was accomplished with no external funding, but with your unwavering commitment, encouragement and support. To these, we say ‘thank you’.
While been continually appreciative of you, we look forward to working with you and making more positive impacts in the year 2013.
All for Development Foundation Secretariat.
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ADM-Foundation launches ‘YouthSpeakDevelopment’ (Online Opinion Bank)

In ensuring the participation of young people in the development process of the African continent, an online opinion bank – YouthSpeakDevelopment – have been launched by All for Development Foundation (ADM-Foundation).


With youths constituting over 60% of the African population, it had been observed that they (youths) possess strong, unimaginable zeal for the development of their countries and the continent, thus, the need for their voice, opinions, ideas and feelings to be shared and positively considered, regardless of their nationality, gender, age or culture.

In a statement accredited to the Executive Director of the organization – 19 year old Aanu Damola Morenikeji – he noted that ‘since youths are the greatest assets that our continent possesses, our opinions and ideas have a strong influence on our future. So, we are launching YouthSpeakDevelopment an opinion bank meant to give youths from within African and diaspora an avenue to share their views, opinions and ideas towards the development of the continent.


Noting that African Youth Day will be commemorated on Thursday, November 1st, 2012, he urged African youths to share their opinions via www.tinyurl.com/YouthSpeakDevelopmentAYD2012.

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Youths discuss participation in qualitative governance at the NETAD Young and Emerging Leaders Summit

In recent times, the idea of youth participation in governance has become a popular discourse in Nigeria. Young people are getting more interested and sensitised on the need for active participation in the decision-making process. It is on this note that over 3000 youths across the country met last Thursday to chart a way forward.The colourful event, tagged, “Young and Emerging Leaders Summit”, was organised by Network for Talent Discovery (NETAD), an organisation committed to making positive contribution in ensuring talent discovery and development, leadership development and fostering patriotism among teenagers in the African continent and beyond.
The morning rain could not deter the participants who were already seated by 10am at the magnificent Aduke Maina Hall, Federal College of Education, Abeokuta, Ogun State.
Some of them were youth leaders from Ogun, Lagos, Ekiti, Ondo, Oyo, Osun, Kwara, Delta, Edo, Enugu, Kano, Gombe, among other states. Members of the Youth Parliament, Ogun State, and the Nigerian Red Cross Society were also at the summit.
Students of the Federal College of Education, Abeokuta, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (UNAAB), Premier Grammar School, Abeokuta and Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Abeokuta were also present in their numbers.
In her keynote address entitled, “Youth Participation in Qualitative Governance:Mirage or Reality?”, wife of Ogun State Governor, Mrs. Olufunso Amosun charged the youths to get themselves involved in the process of evolving a better future, adding that the act of good or qualitative governance is not an exclusive preserve of a particular generation.
Mrs. Amosun, who was represented by the wife of the Deputy Chief of Staff, Ogun State, Dr. (Mrs.) Rasheedat Salisu, said: “ As a mother, I see our youths as the pivotal pillars with abundant and fresh energy that can help us build a great future. It is a truism that ideas rule the world. Our youths are full of ideas and they have responsibility to come forward to make those ideas available so as to take our society to the next level.
“The theme is very apt and timely, considering leadership challenges our dear nation is passing through. Though these challenges are not insurmount-able, it requires our concerted efforts to bring forth new ideas in order to transform our society.”
The facilitator and Executive Coordinator of NETAD, Aanu Damola Morenikeji thanked the participants for the success of the programme. And in his presentation tagged: “Emerging Societies, Emerging Leaders”, he described leaders as people who are able to think and act creatively in non-routine situations and who set out to influence the actions, beliefs and feelings of others to achieve set goals.
The 18-year-old Ogun State Youth Coordinator, Nigerian Red Cross Society, and winner, Ogun State 2012 Youth Award for Excellence in Health and Community Service, noted that 10,000 new leadership positions shall emerge over the next de-cade in different fields.
“The world is changing. The world is emerging. Everything is shifting, even nature. Only those who change along with it shall survive. Only the unique folks, visionary leaders shall emerge to rule in the new world order,” he asserted.
Morenikeji, who is an author (having written six story books) and motivational speaker, told the participants that “the three things that can stop you from becoming your dream is you! you!! and you!!!”
Another speaker, Ogunbowale Oludayo made a stimulating presentation. Speaking on “Participation is you;Encouraging blue ocean participation”, Oludaya who is President, DESPLAY Af-rica Republic, Season 7, defined youth participation as young people getting involved in what happens around them and decisions that affect their lives and well-being.
He enumerated corruption, bad governance, non functional education, hike in fuel pump price, poor health care, unemploy-ment, inequality, among other problems, as some of the reasons that call for their participation.
“Get involved today in social change and what’s happening around you! Nigeria, democracy, your community offers a unique space and possibilities….what do you offer as youths? To live is to participate!” he charged.
Similarly, National President of The Young Journalists Fo-rum, Ayodele Samuel Ayokunle pointed that there are over 45 million young people in Nigeria, yet 90 per cent of these populations are not involved in decision-making process while less than 50 percent have access to one form of social media.
Making a presentation on “Youth Participation in Gover-nance and Decision Making; Using the Social Media Effectively in Nigeria,” Ayokunle urged the tech-savvy young Nigerians to gear up to use BlackBerries, mobile phones and social networking services such as Twitter and Facebook to contribute to decision making process.
Interestingly, budding artistes, comedians and others displayed their talents to the admiration of everybody in the hall.  Participants were, however, given certificates.
NOTE: The above article was written by Leonard Okachie and published by National Mirror. Click here to view story.