By Olanrewaju Adesanya
Royal African Youth Leadership Forum, an initiative of Ooni of Ife has pen down 100 youths in Africa, who have distinguished themselves in their various fields of endeavour for an outstanding award.
Our youths are doing well in their chosen endeavour all over the world and we need to begin to celebrate them”, these were the words of His Imperial Majesty, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, Ojaja II, the Ooni of Ife, during a press briefing in Lagos on Monday.
The Monarch while briefing the journalists on the Royal African Youth Leadership Forum,an initiative to bring together successful African Youth who have distinguished themselves in their various endeavour.
“We have our youth doing great things all over the world, nobody is recognising and celebrating them, they need to be celebrated so that they can do more. We need to forget the negativity and concentrate on their good sides.
During my coronation as Ooni of Ife, I dedicated it to the youth of African continent, the youths need to be celebrated, that is why we came up with this initiative.
When we celebrate our youths,the younger generation will be encouraged and inspired. A lot of our youths are seriously making waves within and outside the shore of this country, they are making us proud, so we should also encourage them.
We are going to be giving an award of outstanding achievement to 100 outstanding youths in Africa between the age of 19 -39 who have distinguished themselves in chosen fields.
This award programme is going to be a week- long, starting with a press briefing today, that is why you are here, other programmes will follow subsequently”the Ooni said.
Fielding questions from journalists on the criteria for selecting the awardees, Kabiyesi said that a team of experts have been watching the awardees for the past one year and have carefully selected the 100 awardees based on certain criteria.
“When you see the profile of this people we have selected, their profile would blow your mind, these are great youths doing marvellous things globally.
Some of them are selected from the public sector, some from private sector, you won’t believe there are youths in their late thirties who are representing their constituents both at the state house of assembly up to the national assembly”,he explained .
According to the Ooni, after the event , the awardees would be taken to see leaders in their chosen fields, leaders in the political world, president and governors in African countries, leaders in business world.
We are going to follow up these people to ensure they continue to do well so that they can remain role models that other youth would want to pattern their lives after”, the monarch said.