Building Leaders From Street Up - Nigeria's Future Makers

In Lagos, poverty and hopelessness drives the youth, popularly called the Area Boys to a life of crime. Without personal leadership skills, they are further pushed into the depths of poverty, consigned to a fruitless and visionless future.

 Lagos: Saturday, 6 December 2008 saw a group of forty influential people get together quietly at the Jade Palace Restaurant in Victoria Island for a “Fundraiser with a Difference”. The event was hosted by Chief Naresh Asnani, Bobagunwa of Ijora Land and Managing Director of EMEL Group of Companies.

Nick Jankel presented the seminar to put forth the project idea to these charismatic leaders in a unique seminar on “Charisma and Creativity” and based focus on how each of those gathered could support the Future Makers program. Nick Jankel is a BBC Television and Radio presenter who recently is starring in his own show on BBC as a leadership coach. Having worked incessantly to create a rapid change with rural African children and being closely associated with 10 Downing Street, Nick is a globally renowned change expert and creativity consultant. He is the Chairman of Beyond Zero, an innovative consultancy that works across the world to enable and support strategic collaboration, leadership and pro-social ventures.

The Seminar discussed coming to a solution to eradicate the poverty and improve the life of the Area Boys on a permanent basis. They need to be trained in how to think and act so they can fulfil their potential to contribute positively to their community and their country while improving their own lives. The Project “Future Makers” will use an innovative, accessible and low-cost approach to train the street youths and manual workers with basic leadership skills, and provide them with vital peer-to-peer support to help them progress towards prosperity.

Nick quoted Chris Ngwodo and said “I totally agree with him when he says ‘We must come to grips with the fact that area boys exist as a result of society’s collective failure. Agberos didn’t suddenly appear on the streets, they emerged from the collapse and decay of social institutions such as the family and school’”.

Chalking out the long term impact of the Project, Nick said the emphasis was to look at the project not from a charity point of view but rather from an entrepreneurial point. In the program, every “future Maker” will be given support to find themselves gainful employment, whether in a factory or business, as a street entrepreneur, as a social entrepreneur, or in further education/training. By helping them find value in the options available to them, we would be able to ensure they stay in employment and off the street.  As the program spreads, using members to train new members, it will act as a powerful antidote to crime, graft and opportunism that are the hallmarks of today’s Lagos.

Speaking on the program, Nick explained why the select group of entrepreneurs were invited to raise funds for the Program.  He said, “Everyone has what it takes” and that charismatic people find life easier. Their ideas and opinions are listened to more than those who aren’t charismatic. They are forgiven more when they make mistakes. They can solve problems more easily and have more fun doing it.

His Highness, Oba of Ijora Land, Chief Fatai Aremu Oyeyinka Aromire is in support of the Project and looks forward to start a change in Lagos and is immensely happy to be a part of the Change. He agreed that we need to get Area Boys to think like leaders, create their own future, become ethical and responsible. He said that we must help them help make the future of Nigeria.  

The non-Executive Director, Chief Naresh Asnani will be hosting and seeding the funding and expanding to bring in more investors through his connections. Supported by the Oba and Jeremy for cultural insights, network and pilot site, Nick will hold the position of International CEO. Through his company Beyond Zero with Amy Cooper, Africa ++, Nick will innovate the programme and design scalable tools, develop a sustainable business model, and canvass for international funding. A local CEO, yet to be appointed, will bring in local knowledge and street connections, manage, pilot and co-create tools and oversee all the action on ground.

What is different about this program? When asked, Nick responded that the program is driven by hope, opportunity and commerce and not ‘a problem to solve’. The intention is to keep it cool, engaging, media-based, music-inspired. All this will keep them engaged and inspire new recruits as ‘Future Makers’. Nick emphasised that the program was by the young people for the young people and once a program has a local participatory design and ownership, it has better changes of being a success.

Nick’s message to all the charismatic people in Lagos is, “Please join us on this unique journey to develop a pioneering and radically innovative social venture. We will all learn a lot, be pulled into the best version of ourselves, and grow personally and professionally as we solve challenges along the way”.

Any charismatic takers?

 - Sandy