2025: TAKING TERRITORIES

An open letter to young people.

Happy New Year! ??????

Welcome to 2025, I wish you an exciting year filled with pleasant surprises.

The world is currently experiencing the most youthful population we have seen in decades. Nigeria has a population of over 200 million citizens with 70% of this population as youth. As an advocate for youth empowerment, education and inclusion of young people at decision making tables. The theme of my work this year will highlight youth development and youth representation.

Like every other person, I will be a year older later in the year. With every passing year, I am coming to the beautiful yet scary reality that "I will not be young forever".

This means, we are growing and getting older. Whether my generation is given seats at decision making tables now, Eventually, it will become our turn to lead.

However, if we fail to prepare now there is no guarantee that we will end up avoiding the mistakes our predecessors made. Sometimes we think about change and we want to do things perfectly, not too early not too late right on time. We are young in our teens and twenties but we think that when we are "younger" in our thirties and forties we will be perfectly prepared and accurately on time to make the big national and global changes that we want. Who made the rules? We fail to recognize that systems and empires were built and fell at the hands of men and women who were our age, way younger than we currently are or older, as we aspire to be.

Why are we so comfortable with following yet so scared of leading or pioneering? Why do we think it won't work when we are too scared to dream and try? WHY? WHY?? WHY???

If we fail to prepare adequately our children will ask us "what steps we took to ensure that more competent people like us are in places of influences and authority rather than having more less competent people in leadership roles?".

In November 2024, the viral media event from the arrest of minors during the end bad governance protest in court sparked conversations about the need to create a "Child Right Act?"

Surprisingly, as a nation we have had multiple versions of the Child Right Act. Yet many citizens were not aware that such document until the recent incident. Despite the multiple challenges associated with policies and policy implementation, we (young people) have a role to play in building our capacity.

A responsibility to get wisdom and acquire understanding from understanding by books what has been, knowing what needs to be brought down and what needs to be nurtured as a collective till term.

"We can not change a system whose inner working we do not understand"-DDK.

We can not continue doing the same thing repeatedly yet expect that an enigma will emerge as a fruitful result in the area of policies and leadership.

It may sound smart to argue that you do not work with children or you do not have children (yet). But are you aware of the policies in your industry and those that affect your everyday activities?

In the end, we are all stakeholders. Our level of participation and knowledge determines our power and influence. Selah!

We can not continue to feign ignorance, act unconcerned, while we accept youth tokenism and allow representation to be relegated to social media influencing.

It was Dr Myles Munroe who said,

1. "Whoever controls and manages time and change will control our experience in time and change".
2. "Whoever plans your time and designs the changes in your life creates your future".
3. "Avoiding engagement with the powers that design and plan our time and change is to surrender to another man’s value, morals and standards".

At your current level and in your sector please get involved in decision making, locally, nationally and globally.

We may not be many now but eventually we will be many and we will lead competently.

Here are some ways you can build capacity in your sector this year.

• Pick a sector
• Study and Understand local politics
• Study and Understand regional politics
• Follow the news and conversations
• Contribute to conversations and policy discussions.

From taking these steps you may discover these and more,

• The local media is filled with headlines of more events and conversations as opposed to sustainable and meaningful project implementation.
• Policies and laws are not properly implemented due to the absence of accountability which can be attributed to ignorance on the path of locals and citizens, you can not enforce what you do not know.
• Sadly, some young people are comfortable with being excluded from decision making conversations that affect our future.

Asking for a seat at the table requires accountability and competence.

We think policy and change related conversations should be left solely to developmental practitioners and policy makers but I argue that we should be more informed and aware as citizens.

Feigning ignorance does not eliminate us from the results, effects or consequences of the actions and decisions that are made by our current envoys.

We are not going to be young forever!

This year, I will speak more on youth empowerment and meaningful youth engagement while periodically updating you on my work and activities.        

Wake up! Speak up!

Read! think and become more aware!

Make impact and have fun!

We are not going to be young forever.

Don't stay delulu, it will reduce your steeze!

Still waiting for an angel or vision to wake you up? I hope this letter does that. Let's start with capacity development and personal development of the problem and our sectors. Shall we?

Keep your mind open till you hear my next thoughts,

D Oracle!

Tolulope T Gbenro

Tolu's Tea Corner

Life Lately

It has been a while since I wrote to you. Here are some of the things I have been up before the celebratory season.

You can go through the featured section on my bio to catch up on my breakdown of all 24 lessons

Learn about the Nigeria Youth Help Desk, tell a young person about it and report a complaint when necessary.

Speaking at the iLEAD Summit, My thoughts on Youth Participation in Politics and Governance

I completed the Official Development Assistance Academy from One Young World

Year in Review, My 2024 Wrapped

START 2025 RIGHT!

Get branding resources by updating your CV and building consistency as the year starts from the HONE NYSC Store HERE!

https://mainstack.store/honenysc