COMMUNIQUE OF THE 1st IKORODU DIVISION YOUTH SUMMIT

Preamble

The 1^st Ikorodu Division Youth Summit organized by Ikorodu Division Youth Movement on 1st of October, 2018 at Ikorodu Town Hall, Ikorodu, Lagos to championed the future of youths in Ikorodu Division and create a platform where all indigenes and non-indigenes of the division at home and in Diaspora can contribute their quota towards the reality of the socio-economic, political growth, and human development of their various communities.

The theme of the summit is: “Youth Inclusiveness in Community Development and Governance”. The programme further marked a milestone in the historical development of Ikorodu Division as it witnessed a conglomeration of stakeholders’ from different facet of life, political icons, religious leaders, traditional rulers, and well-meaning youths from Ikorodu Local Government and five LCDA’s in the division.

Mission and Vision Statement

1. To be the most influential youth advocacy group in Ikorodu Division.
2. To promote economic, social, and cultural uniqueness of the division with a passion for world recognition.

iii.            To create networking platforms, build gaps between the traditional rulers, Ikorodu Division stakeholders, political actors, the business icons, and youth across the nation.

1. To be an advocate group for job creation, youth employment, political inclusiveness, wealth and empowerment creation for youth and the less privileged.
2. To re-orientate youths on life and personal development.
3. To be a catalyst for eradication of social vices and violent activities within and outside Ikorodu division.

Objectives/ Goals of the Summit

• To create an opportunity for physical interaction for all the youths within and outside Ikorodu Division and discuss matters related to youths and community development.
• To create an avenue for career networking, promoting culture, unity among youths, political development among others.
• Youth re-orientation towards the coming 2019 general election, youth inclusion, and active participation in the socio-economic and community development.

ROLL CALL

• BOLATITO BABASOLA Esq, LLB, BL, PNM

Principal Counsel, Bolatito O. Babasola& Co.

Topic: Community Development and its effect on economic growth: Role of youths.

• PASTOR (MRS.) ADEBOLA McPRINCE

Founder, Builder & Maker Foundation

Topic: Promoting Youth Inclusiveness in Community Development and Governance: Problem and Prospects.

• DR. ABIODUN FATAI-ABATAN

Senior Lecturer, Department of Political Science, LASU.

Topic: Tapping Limited Resources Towards Attaining Individual Growth

• MR. OKE GODWIN OLAOLUWA

Economy analyst and Co-Founder, Advocacy for Community and Economy Development (A-CED)

• AMB. PATRICIA OKOSODO

MD, Golden Group of Companies

Topic: Entrepreneurship and Empowerment.

• PRINCESS ADEROJU LADEGA

Founder, Never Say Never Foundation

Topic: Community Service

• AMB. BAYODE OLAWUNMI-TREASURES

Guinness World Record Breaker on Marathon Read Aloud

Topic:  Self Discovery

• MR. BABATUNDE OLALERE GBADAMOSI

CEO, Amen Properties

Topic: Young People and Opportunities in I.C.T in the 21st Century.

• PROF. KUNLE ADE WAHAB, OON

Chairman, Conference Leaders of Ikorodu Division (COLID),

Father of the Day.

Brief Proceedings of the Youths Summit

The discussions, lectures and opinions as deliberated and expressed by the invited guests of the summit are summarized as followed:

1. The guest speakers at the summiturged youths to embrace a do-it now, be time conscious approach and shun procrastination.

2. They submitted that youths should be focused, determined, develop a good entrepreneur mindset, stop complaining about the system, and start something profitable. That every youth should learn how to sell or brand him/herselfand carry out feasibility studies before going into any business.

3. Youth organizations were also advised to be more interested in strategic community development.

4. Youths were imploredto always read biographies of great people in order to be inspired towards living a purposeful life; to take responsibilities, set goals, and have a good vision and most importantly good intention; and not to give up irrespective of their ordeals. If you don’t take responsibility, you will become a liability.

5. Youths are advised to be data-wisei.e.using mobile data wisely.

6. Youths are cautioned not to bear grudges, learn to forgive as easy as possible. That negative energy kills faster than cigarette.

7. They reiterated that youths are critical factor in every society and Ikorodu Division youths need to be ready to take charge.

8. They cautioned youths to stop giving excuses, rather wake-up to embrace challenges, develop a problem solving skills, and think of a solution. They noted that leadership is not by age, it is about influence and the youths need to be positive influencers in whatever they do.They counseled youths that to become a community activist individual youth should be goal-driven and be conscious of what they want to do for their community.

9. It was proposed that youths should change their mentality and develop themselves in order to contribute to community development. Leadership is about influence towards purposeful action and the role of every youth is to influence other youths in the society. It was stated that youths need to change their orientation, mindset that, nobody can unlock their potentials except them because their future lies in their hands.

10. It was indicated that youth bodies don’t need to be multitude to achieved great things that, with few likeminded people withzeal, can achieve the impossible.

11. Youths in Ikorodu Division are also implored to embrace change,be open-minded and should not be afraid of taking risk,and be self-reliant through creative, innovative ideas that can help in solving societal problems or challenges and always put their communities first in all their endeavors.

12. Youths were also advised to engage in politics and develop participatory political culture.

13. Youths were also enjoined to always cultivate the habit of building themselves and always look for people above them that they can learn from and always concentrate on the results and not the differences. Youths of this generation are indulged to be self-taught and be ready to embrace emerging technological innovations. The youths need to be updated in order not to be outdated.

14. Youth are admonished that community service serves as alternative ways to societal development. It involves giving back to the society through engagement in projects that can enhance development. They are imbibed to understand the value and economic potentials of their various communities because we all have a role to play in development of our communities and always imbibe the spirit of empowering others. They affirmed that community service pays a lot and the reward for community service does not always come immediately but bit usually come as a shocker.

15. They were also hinted to be hardworking, develop a saving culture, invest, and always note that salary cannot be enough.They pointed out the fact that to change the world, you must first change yourself. We need to understand who we are in order to effect any changes in the society.

16. They divulged that youths in Ikorodu Division need to develop new mind-set, approach, and techniques towards community growth and development. We don’t need to wait for government to do things; we need to be useful by taking responsibility and ready to solve societal problems.

17. They agreed that in the equation of success, the only person that matters is you. So, youths should know that there future lies in their hands and they shouldn’t wait for anybody to come and change it for them.

18. They asserted that Ikorodu has the highest rate of crimes in Lagos State and this was due to the fact that many of her youths are yet to be fully engaged. So, speakers encourage youths to change their orientation politically, socially, and economically.

19. They made it known that the central power towards achieving a meaningful economic growth and development in any society reside in the young people and Ikorodu Division need to annex this kind of power in order to orchestrate social transformation.

20. They disclosed that continuous neglecting and lack of proper monitoring of public school students is a bane in our society. Most students in public schools are neglected and allowed to do what they like. That is why some of them engaged in activities that are criminal in nature. For instance, imagine students hiding in uncompleted building within their school premises or elsewhere with nobody having no idea of what they are doing there.

21. They informed all the youths that to be a good leader will see youths to their peak and help them in unlocking their hidden potentials but many politicians are more interested in using youths as instruments of political violence to achieve their political agenda.

22. They also made it known that there is power in synergy and youths must be ready to come together and put their strength towards achieving a common goal. They must be honest to one another and stop fighting each other.

23. They revealed that you don’t need to be a native of a town before you can start making impact, you don’t need to be rich, and you don’t need to be politician before you can start doing something good in the society.

24. They suggested that for a determined mind, failure is a normal thing and youths shouldn’t allow their past mistakes and failures to drag them back. It is not about what happens to you but it is about how you react to things that happened to you.

Recommendations to Public Policy Actors in Ikorodu

As a development from the proceedings of the summit, Ikorodu Division Youths Movement (the initiator of the summit) resolved to make the following recommendations towards “Youth Inclusiveness in Community Development and Governance”in the Ikorodu division.

1. Political stakeholders should start building next generation by promoting youth inclusiveness in the political processtowards 2019 and beyond.

2. Stakeholders in the division who are captains of industries should strategically reinvest in Ikorodu division youths and create more affective opportunities for human development.

3. Public school pupils in primary schools and students in secondary schools in Ikorodu and elsewhere in the country should be proper monitored and guided.

4. Continuous youth orientation programs should be organized recurrently to train youths towards developing positive, creative, innovative mindset and entrepreneurial thinking as an alternative to personal growth and community development.

5. The use of youths as instruments of violence during periodic elections, fighting over landed properties and personal vengeance should be completely eradicated.

6. Youths should be psycho-socially motivated, pragmatically educated, politically informed, technologically grounded and purposefully empowered to grab opportunities available in I.C.T and SMEs.

7. Politicians should avoid sowing perpetual seed of discord among young people as divide and rule tactics (using youths against youths) which may hinder peaceful coexistence of various communities in the Ikorodu division.

Conclusion

At the end of the first edition of the 1stIkorodu Division Youth Summit, it was anonymously agreed that youths in Ikorodu Division should be ready to share responsibilities of working together to stimulate sustainable community development that will benefit the entire Ikorodu Division in particular, and Lagos State at large.

It was also agreed that there is going to be continuous organization of subsequent edition of Ikorodu Division Youth Summit, community projects, and other innovative programmes geared towards youth emancipation in politics and sustainable community development.