Championing the Youth Cause for Africa’s Devt

As the World Youth Day and International Youth Day 2023 is being marked around the globe this month of August, the focus is on the efforts of visionary leaders in the development community who are bringing young people across Africa closer to the United Nations. Ugo Aliogo highlights some strides of Niyi Ojuolape, a development expert, in harnessing the youth bulge for greater opportunities for the younger generation.

Nigeria has been blessed with some of the most brilliant minds serving in the international development sector. Within the United Nations agencies particularly, several of them continue to sojourn across continents and regions to lead the country programmes of their respective agencies. Among the ranks of these UN diplomats, Niyi Ojuolape and his pioneering work with and for young people strongly catches the eye.

THISDAY Development first noticed the high performance of Ojuolape in 2015 in New York, when he was the Chief of Staff to the late Prof. Babatunde Osotimehin, Executive Director of UNFPA – the UN Population Fund. Although relatively new to the agency at the time, Ojuolape was already an experienced technocrat who had served in Nigeria’s Ministry for Health and the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA).

Following a brief stint as Deputy Representative in DRC Congo, Ojuolape moved to Ghana as the Country Representative where he steered UNFPA’s agenda for young people to uncommon heights. First, he initiated the Babatunde Osotimehin Memorial Essay Prize, in celebration of the former UNFPA Executive Director and as a germane avenue to stimulate creative writing among young people on issues regarding the United Nations and their own communities. The competition invited entries from graduates in Ghana and winners were given the honour of receiving their prizes from the UNFPA Regional Director of West and Central Africa. 

The above, however, was only the start of Ojuolape’s plans to bring young people in Ghana closer to the UN system. In late 2018, Ojuolape initiated the Youth Leaders (YoLe) Fellowship. An open call ensured where recent graduates from Ghana’s tertiary institutions applied to the competitive fellowship and the best candidates were selected by the UNFPA. Tens of candidates were selected, most of them young women; in line with UN’s commitment to achieving workplace gender balance.

These fellows and the succeeding batches had access to organised training, overseas conferences, talks and meetings with ranking UN officials in Ghana as well as policymakers in their country. Above all, they had a dedicated space, known as the Orange Loft, built from the scratch with facilities and activities to keep them engaged. The ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Orange Loft happened in June 2019, by the current UNFPA Executive Director, Natalia Kanem. Evidently, the structure serves as a physical representation of the organisation’s long term commitment to young people in Ghana.

Leading UNFPA’s collaboration with the Ghanaian government on the population and housing census in 2021, Ojuolape would come to leverage on the energies and drive of the fellows among other actors. There were of course, several local and international partners who brought to bear their technical capacity on the exercise. Yet, the involvement of the fellows in the population and housing census was an important experience for them to learn the systematic interaction between planning and development.

Enthralled by the objectives he accomplished, THISDAY was moved to understand where his passion for young people stems from. “A major aspect of the UNFPA’s mandate is a commitment towards the welfare of adolescent and youth,” Ojuolape explained. “Young people bring with them a unique energy and drive. It is almost infectious. They come into any setting and they are quick to find more effective or innovative ways of doing things. And because they have the best tools at their disposal to navigate the new world that we live in, their contribution matters. As you may be aware, Africa is the continent with the youngest population. So naturally, it is essential to make room for young people to reach their potential,” he emphasised.

Moving to Somalia as UNFPA Representative a year ago, Ojuolape set his sights on enlivening the potential of young Somalis through both formal and informal channels of engagement. Given its peculiar context as a country recovering from decades of conflict and escalating climate disaster, the challenge appears relatively daunting. “There is also so much to be optimistic about here,” Ojuolape quipped.

His belief in the potentials of young people, palpable in his tone. “If you know the story of Somalia, you will know there is much to be hopeful about. Despite the known challenges, the country has a vibrant youth population, and a large diaspora community that are financially invested in the country and the youth potential. You also have several international partners supporting UNFPA’s work with young people in the country,” he emphasised. Some of his plans for the country office are already manifesting.

“We are looking to replicate the youth fellowship programme here in Mogadishu and plans are currently afoot. It is known as the Somalia Youth (SoYo) Fellowship and we’ll be having our first cohort this August, which will equip them with leadership and innovative skills as well as mentorship from leaders of various UN agencies in Somalia,” Ojuolape disclosed. “Already, we have an ongoing programme where young Somalis are brought into peacebuilding processes by training and identifying those with capacity to be peace champions in their communities,” he added.

Beyond these measures, Ojuolape has also digitally enhanced the UNFPA Youth centres in Somalia, which are eight currently, while several others are being constructed. These spaces are open to all young people in Somalia across different geographical locations and targeting mainly out of school youth. That is, those with no formal education. The Youth Centre offers literacy and numeracy courses, and provides digital skills and related life-skills. Additionally, age-appropriate information regarding sexual and reproductive health are also shared in the space. UNFPA ensures the quality of service and learning in the centres by providing oversight on the recruitment of expert trainers and instructors.

These efforts have been effectively steered by the country office, with Ojuolape leveraging on his experience to attract the needed funding by donors and related partners. Hence, expanding the quality and capacity of youth-related programmes and activities of the UNFPA. Evidently, young people in Somalia have a lot to be hopeful for with Ojuolape driving and deepening UNFPA’s programme in the country. With initiatives like these taking place in other countries in Africa, including Nigeria, the present appears better and the future looks brighter for the youths around the continent.

QUOTE

“Young people bring with them a unique energy and drive. It is almost infectious. They come into any setting and they are quick to find more effective or innovative ways of doing things. As you may be aware, Africa is the continent with the youngest population. So there is an added impetus for those of us facilitating the work of the United Nations in Africa to ensure that young people are given all the support they need to reach their potential.”

“If you know the story of Somalia, you will know there is much to be hopeful about. Despite the known challenges, the country has a vibrant youth population, and a large diaspora community that are financially invested in the country and the youth potential. You also have several international partners supporting UNFPA’s work with young people in the country.”