By Fatima Mohammed-Lawal
The Dele Shittu Foundations has sponsored the mentorship of 27 youths across Nigeria in various fields, including business, medical, entrepreneurship, and climate protection.
Speaking during the Induction and Workshop of the Mentorship programme on Monday in Ilorin, Dr Lanre Shittu, the Chairman of Dele Group of Companies stated that the youth were chosen across the federation with more focus on women.
“The idea is to make sure we continue to give people hope and to help them connect with other people that have passed through their journey,” he said.
Shittu observed that such mentorship is expected to help the youth navigate more easily in area of business, and skills.
He added that the programme facilitated the connection of the youth to internationally recognized Scholars form United Kingdom and the United States as well as in Nigeria.
According to him, the programme includes extensive knowledge about Business entrepreneurship and innovation.
Shittu pointed out that the programme is a way of giving back to the communities and how to impact and promote the talented youth toake positive change
He noted that Nigeria has great potential, however he said that the country needed to prioritize some policies that are crucial to the nation.
He underscored the importance of the focusing on building the youth and human capital development of the country for sustainable development.
He said the foundation will continue to support and promote the aspirations and talents of the Nigerian youth, saying this is the first cohort of the programme and more of the programme is expected to continue for other youth.
Also speaking, Dr. Muhammad Balogun, the Resident Advisor for the Nigeria Field Epidemiology and Labouratory Training Programme, , observed that mentors should play positive roles for the upcoming youth in Nigeria.
He explained that in mentorship programme can be a game-changer for Nigerian youths as they offer guidance, support, and valuable insights from experienced professionals.
According to him, this helps young people navigate their careers and personal lives including networking, career development opportunities, confidence boosting and skill development.
In their appreciative remarks, Miss Emmanuella Fomto, one of the beneficiary of the Dele Shittu Mentorship Programme said the enlightenment and knowledge that was acquired has improved their business acumen.
She pointed out that the programme also provided them with funds to ensure that they were able to put into practice some of the project that they were able to produce.
On her part, Miss Raheema Ahmed, another Mentee explained that the foundation selected the participants based on the some criteria that they have met.
She said the training included being educated on how to be professionals in their field of endeavours adding that mentorship is way beyond copying the mentor, but an expectation of doing more.
