Welcome to The Future

The Future School Seminar - 13 May, 2010

2010-05-15T01:16:00.000+01:00

In a comfortably airy hall, a hundred bright and energetic students from several secondary schools were eagerly anticipating. The atmosphere was colourful and electrifying; at the annual school seminar series organised by The Future Nigeria Project aimed at inspiring and motivating young people in secondary schools using role models who are past winners of the The Future Awards.

This edition was hosted by Laureates College in Aviation Estate, Mafoluku and featured students from Christabel College , Ewututu Senior Grammar School and Rosabel School . The stage was set with a welcome song by five female students from the host school.

Adebola Williams (Operations Director: RedSTRAT/The Future Project) gave a quick introduction to the students. He spoke on the importance of timeliness and of networking. The students immediately took action and started mixing up and making friends amongst themselves.

The Future Awards 2010 winner of the Business Owner of the Year category - Debola Lewis, was the speaker at the event. Linda Ikeji ewis gave a captivating narration of his personal success story. After getting a degree in Geography from the University of Ibadan , he was quick to realize that he needed to do the thing he truly enjoyed. He noted that he had to undergo a period of tutelage, an opportunity which he maximized by learning fast and working very hard. He averred that he had to learn to be submissive before he could be successful. In his words “you must put yourself under authority, to be in authority”.

His story obviously struck a chord with all the students present because they had lots of comments to contribute and questions to ask. The questions were interestingly profound. They ranged from clarifications on the details of the story to posers on vital business strategies.

The applause at the end of his talk was thunderous and showed the depth of appreciation the students felt towards the seminar. The students were not to be outdone though. They delivered a string of poetic and dramatic recitations. Chibuikem, a Basic 8 student delivered a rousing poem called ‘The Title of my Studies’. Kabirat recited John Keats’ ‘Ode to Autumn’ followed by a re-enactment of Scene IV of Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’ by Uchechi.

A thank you speech from a member of staff from Laureates College marked the end of an inspiring programme. But what kind of event ends without the National Anthem and the “I Represent Nigeria” creed? Not this one!

TFP’s Young Writers Network begins internships

2010-05-03T18:23:00.000+01:00

The Young Writers Network Creative Classes, presented by The Future Project (TFP), has moved to the next stage of its first session, with the students now interning at various media houses across the country.

“The past weeks have been amazing,” said Chude Jideonwo, Creative Director of TFP, which is also the organiser of The Future Awards. “The spread of students has been impressive – young people working in the creative industries, financial sector, oil and gas, those who are sticking with the arts, all coming together in an intellectually charged environment to improve their talent: it has been very refreshing. The lecturers are also a pool of the very best in the business, and, most remarkably, they are doing this pro bono - all committed to helping the next generation of writers.”

The project, with the theme ‘So you think you can write?’, lasts a period of three months – April to June. The first month is for lectures, the second month for internships and then the final month of lectures.

Facilitators for the session include Jeremy Weate (Publisher, Cassava Republic), Toni Kan (Author, Night of the Creaking Beds), Prof. Akachi Ezeigbo-Adimora (Former HOD, English Department, UNILAG), Nkiru Asika (Director, Storm 360), Tolu Ogunlesi (CNN Africa Journalist Awards Winner), Olu Jacob (Standards Editor, NEXT), Tunde Aladese (Script Editor, Tinsel on Mnet), and Muhtar Bakare (Publisher, Farafina). There will also be two special interactive sessions handled by award winning novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and the chairman of The Guardian’s Editorial Board, Dr. Reuben Abati.

Topics the students have dealt with in the past month include ‘How do you know you are a writer? ‘Making your editor happy’, and ‘Practical ways to improve your talent/skill’.

The internship period begins on Tuesday May 4 and ends Monday May 31. The companies where the students will intern are a wide range of writing interests including newspaper houses, business and lifestyle magazines, TV and movie production houses, PR/Advertising outfits, theatre companies, online magazines and publishing companies.

“We are glad to be able to break this new ground,” Jideonwo said. “To go beyond just the writing workshops, to get them to work in a range of media houses and other organisations fitting their interests – applying what they have learnt and seeing processes work. The students are very excited about this, and we are very grateful that we could get the leading organisations in the nation’s creative industries to partner with us to make that happen.”

The partner organizations for the internships are: NEXT Newspapers, True Love West Africa, TW, The Independent, The Quadrant Company, Brand Believers, 141 Worldwide, RedSTRAT, Farafina, Made, Takaii, Encomium, Hi Magazine, Business Eye, FAB, Soundcity Blast, Jus’ Kiddin, bellanaija.com, 360nobs.com, thenetng.com, Storm 360, Nigezie, Theatre@Terra, Emem Isong Productions and Amaka Igwe Productions.

The three-month Creative Classes are part of The Future Project’s year-round trainings for young people in different sectors, all in its mission to practically empower and equip young Nigerians, with an eye on building capacity for entrepreneurship.

Other trainings under the programme include The Future Enterprise Support Scheme (TF-ESS), which first session ended in March, as well as the upcoming Screen (TV & Movies) trainings and the Social Enterprise trainings.

After Abuja , Nigerian youth march in Lagos April 13

2010-03-30T23:44:00.001+01:00

After a massively successful rally at the National Assembly in Abuja on

March 16 that continues to be talked about weeks after, young Nigerians
under the aegis of the ENOUGHISENOUGH (EiE) Nigeria coalition have
announced a Lagos rally, which will hold at the Governor’s Office in
Alausa on Tuesday April 13, 2010.


The protesters will gather at the Archbishop Vining Memorial Anglican
Church car park that morning at 11am, and march to Alausa. “The governor’s
office has already been notified about this as well as the authorities of
the Nigerian police force,” said Adebola Williams, who is one of the
rally’s coordinators.

ENOUGHISENOUGH Nigeria, the coalition of change-seeking youth leaders and
young professionals, entrepreneurs, artists, celebrities, activists and
students from across the country, will march to the Lagos State Governor’s
Office where they will present 4 Key Demands to the Lagos State Governor,
Babatunde Fashola, for onward passage to the National Council of State and
the Governors’ Forum.

“The Lagos leg of the ENOUGHISENOUGH Nigeria protests is coming a month
after the historic protest rally of Tuesday the 16th of March 2010, that
saw hundreds of young people engage in a standoff with armed policemen
deployed by the authorities of the National Assembly in Abuja to prevent
them from gaining access to the leadership of the Assembly,” said ‘Gbenga
Sesan, ED of Paradigm Initiative Nigeria, who is also one of the
coordinators. “That rally made the headlines on print and electronic
national media and was covered by leading international news
organizations, including the CNN and AFP, and we are not about to stop.”

Joining the young people at the Abuja rally was a slew of prominent
Nigerians including Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde, Stella Damascus, Omawumi
Megbele, Peace Fiberesima, Charly Boy, the Rooftop MCs, amongst others.

“Some people have asked why are we marching in Lagos and we say why not?
The move for change by young people across the country doesn’t end in
Abuja ,” said Stella Damascus, one of the leaders of the movement.
“Governor Fashola might be doing well, but this is beyond him; this is
about a system and this is about making a statement. We are not just going
there to complain. We are going to send a strong message through him and
through the media that in 2011, we are mobilising millions of young people
to register, to vote and to protect their votes. Because that really is
the solution to most of our problems: If people have control over who is
in power, those in power will begin to respond to the people’s needs and
demands.”

Excerpts of the demand for the Lagos rally are:

(a) Electoral Reform: “We demand that the Uwais Panel Report on Electoral
Reform be adopted as is, as they present the clearest path towards
transparent and corruption-free elections.”

(b) Corruption: “There are littered across the country, corruption cases
involving key ministries – from power to petroleum – parastatals and those
held in cahoots with members of Corporate Nigeria. The government must
show its seriousness in prosecuting these alleged corrupt practices and
showing to Nigerians seriousness in solving the problem of graft.”

(c) Security: “We demand a complete overhaul of the country’s security
apparatuses and that all the public officials who were responsible for the
breakdown in Jos should be, as a matter of urgency, removed.”

(d) Electricity: “6,000 megawatts will not solve the electricity problems
of Nigeria , but it’s a good start. Nigerians desperately and urgently
need power for the industrial and production centres. We are extending our
ultimatum to the federal government – until the end of April – for it to
present this plan to the people. If not, we shall target the ministry of
power specifically for protest. This promise is not to be taken lightly.”

“ENOUGHISENOUGH Nigeria also wishes to send out a clear message to all
Nigerians, and especially those in the corridors of power, that its quest
to effect transformation in Nigeria will not be restricted to rallies and
public protests alone,” Audu Maikori, the CEO of Chocolate City, said
about the strategy to be used by the coalition. “We have a unique
opportunity to change Nigeria through the power of our numbers, resolve
and collective anger in 2011. We will register enmasse, turn out to vote
in our millions, post live updates (pictures, SMS, video, etc) from the
voting centres, wait until the winner is announced and confirm that the
results are accurate. This is the election in which young people will
shock the status quo. Any politician who tries to rig the 2011 elections
will be shocked. Enough is indeed enough.”

The organisations involved in this coalition include the Abira Foundation,
Paradigm Initiative Nigeria, the Omotola Youth Empowerment Programme, The
Future Project’s TakeAction arm, Chocolate City , EME Music,
LightUpNigeria, Rise Networks, Gbagyichild Entertaiment, B.L.I.N.G,
Avienti, Green Nigeria, amongst others. Information on its activities can
be found on www.enoughisenoughnigeria.com.

So you think you can write?????

2010-03-15T15:48:00.001+01:00

Well, The Future Project is introducing the long-awaited YOUNG WRITERS NETWORK CREATIVE CLASSES!

1) Do you think you can write?

2) Do you want to be a good writer?

3) Are you writing things at the moment for which you need direction and polishing?

4) Do you want to find out how to get your material published?

5) Do you want to know how and where to make an income from writing?

6) Do you want to intern with the hottest media and publishing houses in the country?

That’s exactly what we are about! Come and learn from Nigeria ’s most accomplished writers and writing teachers at the Young Writers Network Creative Classes starting in Lagos in April 2010.

The lecturers for this session include:

Bola Atta (Editor, True Love West Africa )

Jeremy Weate (Editor, Cassava Republic )

Muhtar Bakare, (Publisher, Farafina)

Tolu Ogunlesi (Winner, CNN/Multichoice Journalist Awards)

Tunde Aladese (Scriptwriter, Tinsel on Mnet)

Karen King-Aribisala (HOD, Department of English, University of Lagos )

and others.

The classes run from April to June, with Internships running for a month in between.

To apply to be part of this life-changing opportunity, send a 300-word essay titled: Is Writing Now Irrelevant? to kenneth@thefuturenigeria.com BEFORE Wednesday, 24 March 2010.

Note:

A) Only 20 spaces are available so apply early to stand a chance.

B) You must be aged 30 and below to be a part of this.

For more information, call 08022226712.

The Young Writers Network Creative Classes

www.thefuturenigeria.com

Omotola, Banky W, El dee, Young Professionals, Entrepreneurs and Youth Advocates lead Nigerians youths to the National Assembly next Tuesday]

2010-03-11T15:46:00.000+01:00

A coalition of prominent youth leaders and young people from across the country rose from a strategy meeting in Lagos and announced plans for a protest rally against happenings in the governance of the country. The rally will hold on Tuesday, the 16th of March 2010, and the young people will march to the National Assembly in Abuja .

This historic push is to be taken under the name ENOUGHISENOUGH Nigeria.
“ENOUGHISENOUGH [is] a coalition of individuals, organisations, and collectives, intended to be the most ambitious of youth initiatives aiming to effect peaceful transformation in Nigeria,” said Tolu Ogunlesi, winner of the CNN Journalist of the Year awards last year. “ENOUGHISENOUGH is a double-edged sword; it is a message both to us (that it is time to leave the comfort of our computer and mobile phone keyboards, and seek to exert authority in the real world) and to the powers-that-be (that enough is enough of taking Nigeria and Nigerians for granted).”

The rally will have young professionals, celebrities, activists, students and others. The protesters will gather at the Eagle Square at 11am and march to the National Assembly, accompanied by a massive pool of national, international and youth media.
One of the prominent youth leading this is the Nollywood superstar, Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde, whose youth empowerment project, OYEP, is also a part of this protest. “We've had cases of people who die as a result of generator fumes,” Jalade-Ekeinde said. “We cannot continue to sit on the fence and allow just a few people in government eat up our future.”

According to another member of the coalition, Toyosi Akerele, team leader of Rise Networks, which held nationwide seminars with almost 50, 000 youths last year: “Silence is not golden, we have to speak up! Our children will live in worse situations than we are in now if we don't do something. It is a crisis of values for me to take up a job I cannot handle, despite that, the rallies we are doing are not an anti-Yar'Adua campaign but an anti system campaign.”

“Look at what is happening in Jos, it is a failure of leadership – and we are angry,” said Chude Jideonwo, who is Creative Director of the popular The Future Awards/The Future Project. “The drama surrounding President Umaru Yar’Adua’s health has effectively derailed the country. But Nigeria is bigger than one man! The president should either resume, resign or be removed from office before the end of this month. And if he resigns, all those involved in these unconstitutionalities should be brought to book! Then there’s the issue of power supply, and then there is the issue of fuel. It is just shameful. Enough is enough.”

Organisations involved in this include the Rise Networks, the Paradigm Initiative Nigeria, Abira Foundation, Gbagyichild Entertainment, Chocolate City , The Future Project, The Movement for Islamic Culture and Awareness, amongst others. “There is no north or south demarcation here,” Alkassim Abdulkadir, until recently with the National Assembly, said. “Young people across Nigeria are one in their anger, and Muslim or Christian, South South or North Central, rich or poor, we are all marching in Abuja in one accord to take a stand, and let our voices be heard.”

The organisers mentioned that the rally is only the first in a chain of actions leading up until the 2011 elections. According to them, they will be working vigorously to actively participate in the polls as well as to pile on pressure for electoral reform. Already, older Nigerians including Prof. Pat Utomi, Hon. Abike Dabiri, Chief Dele Momodu and others have indicated their support for the rally and will be joining the protesters. Young celebrities involved in this include MI Abaga, Timi Dakolo, the Rooftop MCs, Eldee the don, Banky W, Omoni Oboli, Matse Uwatse, Denrele Edun, Segun Obe, amongst others.

“This is the important first step,” said Nze Sylva Ifedigbo, Abuja-based coordinator. “Young people need to make a statement that we are an important voice in this country. More than 70 percent of the population is below 35, and we have had enough of this rubbish. Many young people now realized that it is not enough to be angry on Facebook and Twitter and on the internet; it is time to walk the talk. So all the young people who are tired of everything that is wrong in our country are going to show that we are not taking it anymore!”

The ENOUGHISENOUGH group is also a strong part of the Save Nigeria Group’s efforts, and is especially in charge of its pop culture arm. Key members of the group, represented by Ohimai Godwin Amaize, a Microsoft Internet Safety Ambassador, are part of the organisers of the SNG protests.

“Most of us have only ever seen guns in the hands of armed robbers and armed policemen,” Ogunlesi reiterated. “Our weapon is anger, enlivened by a sense of history, and of destiny, and tempered by reason. And, very importantly, we are determined not to make the mistakes that those who went before us made, revolutionaries who ended up creating systems in dire need of revolution.”

Other members of the coalition and signatories for this can be found on the website www.enoughisenoughnigeria.com.

March 16 is the date that young Nigerians will march in Abuja to say ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!

2010-03-09T23:21:00.000+01:00

Young People Power!

March 16 is the date that young Nigerians will march in Abuja to say ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!

Time: 11am

Venue: National Assembly, Abuja (We gather at Eagle Square at 11am PROMPT)

Demands: 1) President Yar’Adua should resume, resign or be removed 2) The promise of 6000megawatts must be fulfilled 3) The 5-month fuel crisis needs to end now.

HOW CAN YOU BE A PART OF THIS HISTORIC PROTEST/RALLY?

· From wherever you are in Nigeria , come too Abuja and join the rally – if you book early on many airlines, you get cheaper tickets, and you can return on the same day!

· If you are in Abuja , attend the rally with an average of TEN of your friends/family.

· If you are in any of the neighbouring states - Plateau, Kaduna , Niger , Nasarawa, Kogi – attend the rally with an average of FIVE of your friends.

· Get at least FIVE of your friends and family who live or work or school in Abuja to attend the rally.

· Get at least FIVE of your friends and family who live or work of school in neighbouring states – Plateau, Kaduna, Niger, Nasarawa, Kogi – to come to Abuja and join the rally.

· If you cannot attend yourself and you can afford it, sponsor at least one other young person to attend on your behalf. To get more information about how you can do that, call 07028101959 or mail info@enoughisenoughnigeria.com.

· On your Facebook (groups and profiles), Twitter, and BBMs, update DAILY with the date and time of the rally, as well as the website www.enoughisenoughnigeria.com until the 16^th of March so that people do not forget.

· Join the Facebook group Enough is Enough Nigeria and invite your friends and family to join. Our target is 10000 members by the end of March. We need more people involved!

· Put up information about the rally daily on your website and blogs to sensitise young people so they don’t forget the date, venue and time.

· There are plenty of logistics that we have to deal with – buses, water, legal, media & publicity, crowd control, mobilization, distribution of publicity materials etc – if you have experience or resources in any of this, please call 07028101959 or email info@enoughisenoughnigeria.com to offer your help.

· SUPPORT the rally. There is so much to do in so short a time and we NEED the support of as many young and older people who are fed up with Nigeria ’s situation. If you are ready to support, please call 08022226712 or 07028101959 NOW!

Email: info@enoughisenoughnigeria.com,

URL: www.enoughisenoughnigeria.com, www.whereisyaradua.com

The Future Newsletter (February 2010)

2010-03-08T19:03:00.000+01:00

What’s up!

www.thefuturenigeria.com is the place to go!

The Future Awards 2010 is wrapped up, but on our website, the party has just started! Get all the latest news, updates, information that should concern a young Nigerian and all of that to change your life on www.thefuturenigeria.com.

We also have the hottest entertainment gist, polls, witty bloggers, pictures, conversations and everything else you want. And you can leave comments!

We also have weekly competitions to make it worth your while! Just go to the website, go to the ‘Fun Stuff’ link, answer the SIMPLE questions, and then you win a t-shirt or sticker every week, tickets and invitations to the hottest events around the country, and more! It’s all happening www.thefuturenigeria.com!

News. Inspiration. Networking. That’s www.thefuturenigeria.com!

Enough is Enough Nigeria!
Did you know that, in Nigeria, young people are in the majority? Did you know that young people below 35 make up more than 70 per cent of the population? You know what that means? It means we have the power to actually make things happen! So, how come we are doing nothing about the many problems that have hit our nation in the past few months?
Is it enough to make noise on Facebook, Twitter, websites, BBMs, blogs and others where no one is listening? How come it’s the Wole Soyinkas, the Femi Falanas and the Tunde Bakares that are fighting for us? Why do we allow ourselves to be branded as the do-nothing generation?
Read more on www.thefuturenigeria.com

Tell us how The Future Awards has changed your life!
Every day we get stories of young people who have been motivated or inspired by The Future Project/The Future Awards. Those stories encourage us, and we want to hear more! So if The Future Awards or any of our projects or winners have renewed your faith in Nigeria, inspired you to finish or start a project or business or idea, helped you practically in any way etc, we want to get your story, and if you want we put it on the website! But mostly we want to know those whose lives have changed! Send us a mail right away at thefuturenigeria@yahoo.com or info@thefuturenigeria.com or call us on 08022226712. It doesn’t have to be well written or long – just tell it the way you feel it!
What’s next?
In the next couple of months, the winners will be taken on a tour of secondary schools in Lagos and across the country to contribute to practically supporting the education system. The First Lady of Lagos State, Mrs. Abimbola Fashola, is partnering with the initiative through her pet project which focuses on career seminars for students.
Read more on www.thefuturenigeria.com
Catch the winners like… everywhere!
Our winners have been hot property since we unveiled them, and over the next few weeks you can catch them on TV, radio, and in the papers and magazines. We have created new stars and re-charged old ones! This is a new line-up of the brightest and the best!
Get a load on their inspiring stories; connect with their tales of success, engage with ideas that will power a New Nigeria.
We will also try to have the interviews on the website www.thefuturenigeria.com.

Get branded “I represent Naija” tshirts and blazers!
The coolest The Future tee-shirts, polos and stickers have sold widely across Nigeria – and we aren’t about to stop now! They are branded ‘I represent Naija’ and ‘I am the future’ and we still have them streaming in on demand from Clemas and Ouch! You can also get the customized blazers that are beeeeaaauuuutiful. All these can be delivered to you at home or work for a small extra cost. Just call our Communications Coordinator on 08022226712 NOW or send a mail to info@thefuturenigeria.com!
The Future Awards denies The Future Nigeria Group
The Future Project Nigeria , organisers of The Future Awards, finds it necessary to make a public statement clarifying that it is no way associated with a group called The Future Nigeria group (FNG), which has recently expressed support for aides of the president whose actions have essentially subverted the constitution.
Amongst other things, this organisation, which claims to be speaking for young people, has said that ailing President Umaru Yar’Adua did not commit any offence or breach the constitution by not appearing in public five days after his return from Saudi Arabia . The group also says that there is no crisis in the country and commended the wife to the president, Turai Yar’Adua, for her conduct in the past few months.
“Whilst we agree with their constitutional rights in making these statements, we make bold to disagree sharply with their comments, as we strongly believe that there is a cabal around the Presidency that has been working against the interests of Nigerians,” said the project’s creative director, Chude Jideonwo. “We find it necessary to make this bold dissociation after we received very concerned mails from young people, our partners and other stakeholders who wondered if our values have changed.”
Read more on www.thefuturenigeria.com
We want to partner with you!!!!!

If you are a youth organization, or you target young people and you would like to work with The Future Project/The Future Awards in ANY way, please contact us immediately.

We are beginning our post-awards national tour and already working towards Season 6 and would be delighted to see how we can support you and how you can work with us.

Call us on 08022226712 or send a mail to kenneth@thefuturenigeria.com.

We can’t wait to hear from you!

Join our database – give us feedback!
In our quest to build a network of young Nigerians who have a burning desire to bring about change to our great nation, we would love you to continually send us comments/advice on how to push this cause a step further. We would definitely get back to you. Join our database, give us your feedback!

What went down!

The review!

Three weeks after the awards, on the 27th of February, we gathered the brightest young people from across spectrums and had them share with us their observations, suggestions, critiques, modifications and others from The Future weekend. With kudos for the out of the box content through the highest profile guests, it was a weekend of nods and well dones.

Read more on www.thefuturenigeria.com

The conference that stood out
Pat Utomi, Abike Dabiri, Ben Bruce, Dele Olojede, Toyin Subair, Tonye Cole, Obi Asika, Detoun Ogwo, Emeka Mba (representing Prof. Dora Akunyili), Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde, Fela Durotoye, MI Abaga, Gbenga Sesan, Hassan Rilwan, Tolu Ogunlesi, Mosunmola Umoru, Omawumi Megbele and others under one roof speaking to young people? It was at The Future Pre-Awards Conference!

Read more on www.thefuturenigeria.com

Nigeria’s biggest, no doubt!

It was a brilliant night of glitz and inspiration as some of Nigeria’s most prominent citizens gathered to celebrate youth who are making the nation proud in sections including science, technology, business, the media and others at the 2010 edition of the nation’s premier youth event, The Future Awards.

Everyone that mattered in all sectors of Nigeria’s socio-political system were at the event to witness this great event – filled with an energetic keynote address, wonderful performances and the spectacles were nothing like what you’d seen at any event in the country.

You’ve heard it everywhere again and again so we won’t push it. If for some reason you missed it, visit our website for the complete lo’down and pictures from the awards. Get the list of the inspiring winners and their profiles as well!

You would think you were there live!
If you weren’t at the venue of the awards, we assured you that we would still give you a front row seat at the event, and we did! Working with MTN for our Multimedia Centre, we were able to use social networking to give those who weren’t at the event, live updates from the venue.
Our team, including Team Leader Shade Ladipo and volunteers like Omolara Okusanya, Akinlolu Osinbajo and Ada Amogu, ensured that those who were not amongst the hundreds of guests at the venue were able to interact at the event live. Like one of the followers said, “You guys make it feel like I am on stage!”
Read more on www.thefuturenigeria.com
The Future Volunteers Party

Right from the inception of The Future Awards, we have been advocates of volunteerism and many people say we have put volunteers and the volunteer spirit back in the spotlight and we are proud to have perhaps the largest volunteer force in the country.
It would be difficult to talk about the successes of the awards without mentioning work put in by volunteers, proving those who say we can not have genuine volunteerism in Nigeria wrong. As with the usual, we organised a party to celebrate our volunteers after The Future Awards. Details and pictures on www.thefuturenigeria.com/volunteers-party

Still about the ‘I Represent Naija Creed’

To have seen the Managing Director of the World Bank, Dr. (Mrs.) Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, hold up the creed at The Future Awards 2010 while she gave her speech and read them out one after the other, imploring guests to stand by the creed, it showed the power of what is in reality an everyday manual for the young Nigerian. Guests at the event also excitedly received their own copies.

So we reproduce it below again.

THE ‘I REPRESENT NAIJA’ CREED:

 I will not steal government money!
 I will not collect a bribe!
 I will not cover up fraud!
 I am not corrupt!
 I love my country!

Read more on www.thefuturenigeria.com
Thank you very much for connecting with this vision to inspire and empower a new generation of Nigerian leaders. You can get any information on any of the above, including plenty of pictures, on www.thefuturenigeria.com.
For any enquiry, information or anything else, send us a mail on info@thefuturenigeria.com or thefuturenigeria@yahoo.com and we’ll get right back at ya!

Compliments of:
The Future Project, Nigeria
Aspire. Strive. Achieve
www.thefuturenigeria.com

Akin Omotoso, Leading Nigerian Actor, Writer and Director comes on board The Nigeria Series

2010-03-05T12:23:00.000+01:00

Akin Omotoso is one of a new breed of young talented actors and directors who are carving a niche into the small, selective film industry. He won the Fleur Du Cap Most Promising Student in 1995 and he won the Standard Bank Artist of the year award 2007. Akin made his acting debut on stage at the University of Cape Town’s Drama School. He has appeared in productions such as Isidingo on SABC 3, Big Oakes and most famously on Generations where he became a household name in

South Africa

playing the character KHAYA MOTENE. He has also starred alongside Nicolas Cage in ‘LORD OF WAR’ and played Paul Kagame in the award winning film ‘SHAKE HANDS WITH THE DEVIL’. He is currently to be seen on SABC 2 in “JACOB’S CROSS” where he plays FEMI.

Nigerian Born Akin Omotosho has become the latest talent to confirm his participation in the forthcoming Nigeria Series.

“I’m so excited to join Obi’s team at Storm 360 and Serengeti Network on this project and I want to thank my good friend Hakeem Kae-Kazim who brought this project to my attention, I am so excited to be part of this project and to see how I can contribute to make it happen in the best possible way.

“Akin is a multi-faceted talent, being an excellent writer and director as well as an actor; we are looking forward to working with him and for him to bring his many skills to the table as part of our production.” Obi Asika Executive Producer

Faces @ The Future Awards 2010

2010-02-13T18:15:00.012+01:00

The complete lo’ down on The Future Awards 2010!!!

2010-02-13T11:42:00.000+01:00

It was a brilliant night of glitz and inspiration as some of Nigeria ’s most prominent citizens gathered to celebrate youth who are making the nation proud in sections including science, technology, business, the media and others at the 2010 edition nation’s premier youth event, The Future Awards.

The event held on Sunday evening, at the prestigious Shell Hall of the Muson Centre in Lagos .

With a rousing keynote address by Managing Director of the World Bank, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, who called the event “grand”, the guests were asked to refocus their efforts on nation building with a strong eye on the youth of the country who, according to Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala, “have, at today’s event, shown immense potential that gives me hope.”

Guests at the event, held in partnership with HiTV and the Federal Ministry of Information, included a high profile delegation from Lagos State that had the First Lady, Abimbola Fashola; the Deputy Governor, Sarah Bisi Sosan the Secretary to the State Government, Princess Adenrele Adeniran-Ogunsanya, and the Special Advicer to the Governor on Youth, Dr. Dolapo Badru, who represented the Governor.

Other guests were Prof. Pat Utomi, Dr. Reuben Abati, Mr. Toyin Subair, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, the former first lady of Osun State Yeye Olufunke Agagu, former High Commissioner to Britain Christopher Kola, the representatives of the Governors of Ondo and Ekiti, the MD of SAHCOL, Chike Ogeah; the MD of Nigerian Breweries, Peter Stevenson from the British High Commission, Celine Laoder, Yinka Akande, Obi Asika, Ali Baba, Gbenga Adeyinka, Tee A, Mo Abudu, amontys other The night was anchored by a high profile team of young people that included musician Naeto C and former MBGN Munachi Abi, with surprise take over mid-event by Idols West Africa finalist Omawumi and Big Brother Africa winner Kevin Chuwang.

Performances were a major highlight of the event, with spectacular themes that the audience hung on to. Even more remarkable was that most performances were by a live band. One was a rehash of songs that defined the nation in a nod to Nigeria ’s fiftieth anniversary. Vocalists Waje, Timi Dakolo, Nene and Essence. The other was themed The Future of Rap and had young hip hop artistes Lil H, Willy Bang, Mo’Cheddah, Scales and Whizkid revving the crowd up. There was a dance fest that had the nation’s hottest dancers; StreetHood and Dance na the main Thing. Kefee electrified the crowd with her hit song Kokoroko, and a collabo between Djinee and Bez had the crowd screaming.

The awards also saw interesting takes on pop culture moments that included a recap by Dr. Reuben Abati and musician Banky W of their controversial articles over the state of the Nigerian music industry, Toni Payne, wife of 9ice in a humorous take on recent news about their marriage, amongst others.

The winners were then announced across categories. The winner for actor of the year was stage actress Lala Akindoju, for Best Use of Advocacy was Tolu Sangosanya, a young woman who runs a foundation that teached children of the dustbin estate, the Best Use of Technology prize went to ‘Bade Adesemowo, one of Nigeria’s open source gurus, Style Entrepreneur of the Year went to magazine publisher and model manager Linda Ikeji.

The big winner of the night was a young lady called Ify Aniebo, a malaria research scientist who has won a Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation grant. She won the award for Best Use of Science and also beat other nominees like award winning journalist Tolu Ogunlesi, musician Asa, music producer Cobhams Asuquo, youth advocate Toyosi Akerele, movie producer and actress Stephanie Okereke, dance professional Qudus Onikeku and Big Brother 5 host, IK Osakioduwa who were all present at the event and were called on stage to be honoured. Her plaque was handed over by last year’s Young Person of the Year, D’banj.

All the winners are aged 18 to 31. “Every year we continue to make the point that we are not one of those people who say Nigeria is a great country as a cliché,” Chude Jideonwo, who is the event’s creative director, said. “We are ready to show anyone that there is a new generation that has integrity, that is not corrupt and that is ready to build this nation. We are proud, immensely proud to present a group of scientists, artists, entrepreneurs and others who are ready to contribution towards the development of their country.”

After the awards, the winners will be taken on a tour of secondary schools in Lagos and across the country to contribute to the education. The First Lady of Lagos State, Mrs. Abimbola Fashola, has promised to partner with the initiative with her pet project which focuses on career seminars for students.

THE WINNERS

Actor of the Year

Kemi Lala Akindoju

Best Use of Advocacy

Tolu Sangosanya (Dustbin Children Foundation)

Best Use of Science

Ify Aniebo

Best Use of Technology

‘Bade Adesemowo (Bincom Solutions)

Business Owner of the Year

‘Debola Lewis (Yvent Kouture)

Creative Artist of the Year

Adekunle Samuel Owolabi

Excellence in Public Service

Fatima Zara Modibbo (Human Institute of Virology)

Journalist of the Year

Aruona Agbroko (NEXT)

Magazine of the Year

Soundcity Blast

Model of the Year

Warebi Martha

Musician of the Year

MI Abaga

Music Producer of the Year

Jesse Jagz

On-Air Personality of the Year (Radio)

Maste Uwatse (Wazobia FM)

On-Air Personality of the Year (TV)

Andre Blaze (Nigezie)

Professional of the Year

Ifunanya Maduka ( Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls)

Screen Producer of the Year

Kenneth Gyang (“Finding Aisha”)

Sportsperson of the Year

Janet Dung (Athletics)

Style Entrepreneur of the Year

Linda Ikeji (Blackdove)

Team of the Year

Africa Youth Unite for Change (Afyuch)

Young Person of the Year

Ify Aniebo

We need more grassroots movements like The Future Awards in Nigeria – Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

2010-02-13T11:38:00.001+01:00

Text of Keynote Address

by Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

Celebrating the Young Nigerian Spirit

At The 5th Annual The Future Awards, Nigeria

Lagos, February 7, 2010

It is a great pleasure to be here to witness this really uplifting and hope filled event – the 5th anniversary of the “The Future Awards” – Nigeria ’s biggest youth event.

At the outset let me thank Chude Jideonwo and all his team for an excellent idea whose time has come.

Everyone who knows me knows that I believe strongly in the power of the youth. As one Japanese writer Takayuki wrote

“There’s something amazing about the passion of youth and its power to sustain. If there’s a more powerful energy source, I don’t know about it.”

I feel the same way. Over the decades, the youth have defined, directed and re-shaped life, from the baby boom generation, through to your generation – Generation Y or the Next generation as you are commonly referred to.

"The great bulk of today’s 1.3 billion youth—nearly 90 percent—is in developing countries," Eight in 10 of those youth live in Africa and Asia . SSA is home to over 200 million young people between ages 12 and 24. The number of youth in the region will peak in about 20 years," according to the 2009 World Population Data Sheet. This number is expected to grow a bit more in the next twenty years and then level out as fertility decreases.

During the next few decades, these young people will most likely continue the current trend of moving from rural areas to cities in search of education and training opportunities, gainful employment, and adequate health care.

In Nigeria , generation Y, those 12 to 24 years old - is made up of over 30 million youths. 70% of our population of 105 million is under 30 years old. And today we are celebrating the successes of a few of you in various works of life. You represent the spirit of where collectively you want Nigeria to go. You represent the future and the can do spirit of Nigeria .

Even though over the years the Nigerian political leadership has failed you, you have been able to find a way to work your way through. I know and you know that you can do more and better things for yourselves and for Nigeria with the right leadership.

A leadership that is transformational and uses your talents for the nation’s benefit and not a transactional leadership based on self interest ends.

Today I want to challenge you to use your resources to consistently demand more of the leadership so that the Nigeria you grow old in will be a different a prosperous and confident Nigeria . A Nigeria you can all be proud to call home here and aboard; A Nigeria that can take its rightful place in world and regional fora; A Nigeria with respected and respectable leadership!

The most essential factor is persistence - the determination never to allow your energy or enthusiasm to be dampened by the discouragement that must inevitably come” said A famous American Poet James Whitcomb Riley

I will like to call you the hope generation. You are a generation of bright young people who have grown up with access to information, to technology and have the largest networks than any other generation before you in history. While many are concerned about the large number of youths in the developing countries, I see this as a unique opportunity if well managed.

What do I mean by this?

For the first time in 2009 Africa ’s population surpassed 1 billion, with over 60 percent of the population being young. This means there is a huge potential to build the basis for a solid market and consumer economy. Many studies now talk about the demographic dividend of the developing world. But we must all work to reap this dividend. The dividend is not automatic as we have learned from the experiences of Latin America and East Asia .

In East Asia , a rapid demographic transition between 1965 and 1990 occurred at a time when a strong educational system and trade liberalization enabled national economies to absorb this boom generation into the work force. Some argue that at least 25% of the growth during the East Asia miracle was due to this demographic dividend.

While in Latin America for example they had a similar dividend but did not build on it. The message is the demographic dividend is not automatic. You need the right leadership and a sense of purpose to reap the benefits. With you energy and determination I hope you can help bring that about in Nigeria . You must work together to reap this demographic dividend for Nigeria and Africa .

An Organization like yours, the Future Awards project is fully aware of this and that is why you are doing some good work to address it. We need more grassroots efforts like yours to build up a healthy and strong young generation. In the mean time, we also need to have macro-level policies in place to address the critical issues related to youth.

So far, we the older ones have failed you but with your help this can be changed. The government can and needs to play a big role in determining which way things go by investing in youth. The government has to focus on putting in place policies that empower the youth.

The World Bank WDR 2007 on youth looked at what governments and youth can do to ensure they have access to opportunity, build capability and engage in society. They broke this down into the five transitional phases of youth; education and learning, work, health, family and citizenship. If well designed they will develop, safeguard and properly exploit the full potential of the Nigeria ’s youth

Let me discuss where as a country we stand on each of these five transitions and what everyone of you and the government can do to help steer the youth of Nigeria in the right direction.

First on education.
On education, as I have said elsewhere, Nigeria is performing well below standard. No one in this room today and especially those of my generation can deny that the education system in the country has taken a nose dive.

Nigeria used to be the educational center of excellence for the sub region. People came from all over the continent to attend our boarding schools, colleges and universities, Lagos , Enugu , Ibadan , Calabar, Kaduna , and Zaira and so on and on were known as centers of excellence and revered.

Today the situation is dramatically different. Something is wrong In Nigeria the literacy rate is 72%. 70 percent of kids complete primary school, 30% enter secondary school and even fewer make it to university with the proportion of girls dropping dramatically to 7%.[1] This is not good enough.

The Nigerian elite have opted out of our education system. They therefore have little experience about the poor quality of the infrastructure in the schools. Students do not have the proper benches on which to sit, classes are too full and in some cases the teachers do not even have enough chalk to teach. Some classrooms cannot hold students when it rains because of poor maintenance. In the secondary schools the situation is sometimes much worse. Many of you will not willingly spend a night in a public boarding school in Nigeria today.

Then we have a problem with the curriculum and the quality of the teachers and the school materials. Teachers no longer get the right training or the respect they deserve. Decisions on school text books are made not with the well being of the students at the center but for corrupt reasons.

Outside the schools, there is also a bigger problem in the society. My parents are both University professors as you all know. Today however if you say -- Actually how many of you will like to be secondary school or university professors?

Well the truth is that today not many people want to teach. Basically the country and the leadership have not provided the right environment for better outcomes and when any attempt has been made to correct this, it has been met with cynicism or revolt. This is very discouraging to the actors in the education sector including teachers and students.

It is up to the states and federal government to fix the system, physical environment and quality. The provision of education services is the most basic of public services. It is not even as complicated to administer as health. Surely the Nigerian government can do better at this.

So how can we correct the situation in the education sector?
Basically the States and the federal government need to focus on two things; improve the quality and effectiveness of education expenditures to impact outcomes and second improve quantity of resources to increase acces

Nigeria cannot fulfill its potential in Africa let alone the world if we do not address the human capital development challenges facing us. Today we are the 2nd largest economy in Sub-Saharan Africa and contribute to 10 percent of the SSA GDP and 66 percent of West Africa ’s GDP. But if we do not continue to grow our skills educate and train our youth we will lose this position to other upcoming economies.

But it is not only up to the government, every citizen interested in the country’s future has a role to play.

First, the government is not the only provider of education in Nigeria today. In fact, over 5 percent of primary and 1/5 of the secondary school education is provided for by the private sector.[2] We must also hold the private providers accountable. You need to monitor all the schools to see if they meet the standards and if the standards are right.

If you look at the curriculum of some private schools they are taken straight from other countries. There is nothing about Nigerian history, geography or culture.

Second we must demand transparency in expenditures at the school level. How many of you know how much the budget of your local school is? How the money is spent. How transfers are monitored?

As Winston Churchill once said education is too important to be left to politicians.

But as young people you also have a role to play. One important thing young people can help with is corruption and cheating. Do not cheat. Schooling is about learning real knowledge, the kind of skills that are needed for jobs and opportunities in the 21st century. Cheating is self-defeating. You are wasting your own time and the resources of your family and the country if you cheat or let your parents buy off the exams for you.

Second, you can also play an important part in monitoring the performance of the government. If you demand to know how much, where, and for what resources are deployed, you will be in much better position to help improve the quality, targeting, and use of the resources. This is how I see your role today. You must be vocal and upfront about. It is your future after all and you have a right to know.

The second transitional area that is important for youth is the start of a productive working life – jobs and employment.

The start toward a working life is considered by many social scientists as the most important mark of independence for the youth. Unfortunately, unemployment and under-employment is rampant in Nigeria today. This is the biggest failure of leadership. Despite the fact that Nigeria has earned billions of revenue from oil, the leadership has not been able to translate the resources effectively into investment in job-generating sectors and services.

The best way to create jobs for the youth is for the government to invest in the right policies and infrastructure needed to attract investment. However today in Nigeria today you still have over 26 instances of power outages in a given month almost an interruption a day. The lack of electricity as everyone knows increases our unit cost of production sometimes up to 40 percent above our competitors. This has led to either the closure of factories such as tire industries or textiles.

On my flight here I met with an entrepreneur Mr. Tayo Onadein, owner of a garment manufacturing plants in the U.S, China and Nigeria . He imported equipment here and set up a factory to employ 1000 people. Guess how many are working now, 20, because they just cannot afford the electricity to get all the machines working he says.

In agriculture where Nigeria has huge potential, and has been growing at 7-8 percent there is still a lot of job creating possible. Only 44 percent of our arable land is cultivated, only 3 percent is under irrigation and only 11 percent of our farmers use improved seeds compared to almost 40 percent in South Asia and more than 50 percent in East Asia .

Only about 40 percent of our roads are considered to be in good shape. With these conditions you cannot attract the right kind of investment you need to create jobs.

When we were in the government, we started to correct the past economic mismanagement, and we created an environment where investment can begin and jobs created. We got debt relief; we got a credit rating for the country. But we need to follow through and be consistent with our macro and micro policies, to properly manage the volatility of the oil revenue, and diversify the economy to generate jobs and multi-sectoral growth.

While it is difficult, many young people have shown they can be proactive, and create opportunities for themselves and others. You can become business and social entrepreneurs to be your own boss and create jobs for others. Your generation is or should be a generation that depends less on the government for jobs and more on private enterprise.

In the developed world many countries are struggling with how to attract and retain these new young graduates who are less likely to stay in one job for more than five years and are more interested in starting up their own enterprises. We see this phenomenon in Nigeria too but not enough. There are more and more entrepreneurs who are breaking off from the public sector to start their own businesses and create jobs for others.

To be an entrepreneur, young people must understand the importance of improving their capabilities so that you can actively participate in productive activities when opportunities rise. The growing youth population means there will be a large demand for goods but also that labor in Africa will be cheaper than in East Asia and increasingly South Asia . To take advantage of this we must help improve both the job skills of the youth but also make available better access to finance.

When I was the minister of Finance I used to say that Nigerians should stop looking to the state to create jobs for them but instead that each college graduate should ask themselves how they can create a job for themselves and five other people. I wanted to start an entrepreneurship fund or venture capital fund partly supported by government to invest in entrepreneurial youth

Of course the government has to create the conditions for you to succeed by creating the environment for business to flourish. You cannot succeed if it takes months to get all the licenses and approvals and if in addition you have to use all your start -up capital to pay bribes in order to have access to services that are supposed to be free.

We must all be bold and come up with new ideas that can support our youth under these strained circumstances. The World Bank group is working on various approaches to support youth entrepreneurship, training, and access to micro-finance especially for girls and young women in fragile and conflict affected situations.

The third important transition stage for the youth is lifestyle management.

Mahatma Ghandi said “It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver.”

While we ask and demand more and better from the government you must also make sure you are as youth healthy enough to contribute to the development of the country.

Youth is when people’s life habits begin to take shape including smoking, consuming alcohol, engaging in sex, and having control over their diet and physical activities. Good lifestyle management benefits one’s entire life. Here again, the government has not delivered on our public health system, but I am proud to say that our youth has done well in managing lifestyle comparing to other countries. For example 2o percent of our youth are tobacco users compared to over 40 percent in the region. We have a relatively small percentage of smokers and the HIV/AIDS prevalence rate remains relatively low (1-3%) compared to the 20 percent regional average.

You must keep this up. But there are some worrying signs. For example, more and more young people start to think that smoking is glamorous. We need to be careful and avoid mistakes. Risky health behavior in youth can and will deplete the economy of productive human capital for many years. All of us need to remember that we cannot develop a vibrant powerful economy and society if we do not have a healthy young population due to reckless lives, taking unwarranted risks, experimenting with drugs, trafficking and other things.

You must ask this of your selves, of your class mates, of your brothers and sisters and your peers. As a collective, you must say no to these ills that hold us back. You as a group must be the most vocal voice against unhealthy lifestyles. It makes economic sense and it is common sense. A healthy country needs a healthy population. In addition a healthy population also means the government can allocate more resources to building the infrastructure needed to generate jobs.

Information is the most important element in this case. Again organizations such as yours are best placed to help educate the rest of your peers. A recent study of of hospitals in three cities in South Africa found that 61 percent of the patients admitted to the trauma units were alcohol positive, including 74 percent of violent cases, 54 percent of traffic collisions, and 30 percent of trauma from other accidents.

Substance abuse is a major contributor to violent crimes and thefts. We all know that these have been increasing in Nigeria . We need to do more to help the youth stay away from this and for those who unfortunately are already addicted we must demand that the government provide services to rehabilitate these youth so that they can once again become productive members of society.

As youths you can work with the government to design and disseminate health information material which speaks to the youth in a language they can understand and relate to. Next year I hope more of your winners will take up this challenge.

The Fourth transition youth have to deal with is that of beginning a family.

Statistics show that by the time girls in developing countries reach 25, nearly 60 percent of them have become mothers. Boys make this transition later. But both face the same issues of adequately providing for their children. According to the World Development Report 2007, the ability and willingness of young parents to invest in their children is the single most important factor determining the outcomes for future generations.

Young people’s transition to parenthood can have a lasting impact on the economy and the demographic trends of the country.

Nigeria has one of the highest maternal mortality ratios in the world. With 1,100 women dying during pregnancy or childbirth for every 100,000 live births. While the government has adopted policies aimed at reducing maternal mortality by 75% by 2015, those policies have not yet been implemented effectively and are seriously underfunded. As a country we need to step up action.

More than 40% of Nigerian women still do not visit a trained health care provider during pregnancy. And while the proportion of women whose delivery is attended by a trained provider has increased—to over 30 percent—Nigeria still has one of the lowest rates of births assisted by trained health providers in West Africa. The government needs to do its part in this and you can help by becoming advocates to reduce maternal and infant mortality in this country. You have to advocate because it directly affects you. Even if 10 percent of the population- the elite can afford to go elsewhere to have babies, what about the other 90 percent? What becomes of them? Their future is in a sense also in your hands.

Finally the fifth transition is that of exercising citizenship.

This is easy to talk about but hard to do in Nigeria .

But, your voice must be heard in Nigeria today! You must participate in the political space and leadership going on in the country. Youth is the period when people start asking questions about their governments and institutions around them. They start wanting to participate in the society and politics, and they want to have voice and express their opinions.

This brings me back to the point about holding governments accountable. Without opportunities for productive civic engagement, young people’s frustration may boil over into violent behavior. Things go wrong when people do not exercise their citizenship. That is why I find your organization very important and useful. It provides a platform for civic and meaningful discussion.

To exercise your citizenship, you must work to support policies that encourage participation and provide access and opportunities. You must continue doing what you are doing today and every day—celebrating excellence, asking the government to be more accountable for its policies. Involving yourselves in shaping policies and helping to support those not quite so fortunate is a wonderful way to begin. Too often Nigeria ’s followership is docile and accepting. We grumble and mutter but do nothing much about it. When citizens disapprove of things in other countries they are not violent. They protest peacefully like in the Philippines . Our youth must not be violent but youth should not be docile either. Ask questions find peaceful means of protest when you don’t agree.

Be persistent in your engagement with the leadership and vote for the right leaders, those who will transform the economic and political space not transact with it. You must be steadfast in your pursuit for a better Nigeria . Denounce the scourge of corruption. Hold your leaders to a higher standard. Change does not come about as quickly as we all will like but with sustained effort and work I am sure you the youth of Nigeria can demand better and obtain change from your leadership.

After all, we are counting on you winners and participants of The Future Award and your peers, you have demonstrated that you can succeed, and you can lead despite the odds. The country depends on you to demand a higher level of excellence from your leaders.

You can be the transformational generation of Nigeria . ! I know you can do it.

Thank -you
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[1] 2004 WDI data

[2] Ibid.

Until young people get angry, elections will continue to be rigged – Abike Dabiri

2010-02-13T11:30:00.000+01:00

Dele Olojede, Toyin Subair, Tonye Cole, Pat Utomi, Ben Bruce, others, also speak!

It was a full day of serious inspiration at The Future Pre-Awards Conference as some of Nigeria ’s biggest movers and shakers from politics, Corporate Nigeria and the media came together to interact with young people at the pre-awards conference for Nigeria ’s biggest youth event.

The format of this conference was radically different. The 3000-strong audience was able to interact frankly with the speakers from across three generations about issues that concern them. The hall was full to overflowing at the Welcome Centre Hotels, International Airport Road , Ikeja from 10am to 6pm when the conference held.

Speaking at the first and second sessions of the conference were Toyin Subair (CEO, HiTV), Obi Asika (Chairman, Storm 360), Tonye Cole (ED, Sahara Energy), Hon. Abike Dabiri, Detoun Ogwo (ED, AfterGraduate Development Centre), Dele Olojede (Publisher, NEXT Newspapers), Prof Pat Utomi, Ben Bruce (Chairman, Silverbird group), and Emeka Mba (DG, National Film and Video Censors Board) who represented the minister for information, Prof. Dora Akunyili, who was unavoidably absent following the events of the past few days regarding President Umaru Yar’Adua.

“We should do things based on love and not money,” Mr. Subair said in response to a question. A point Mr. Olojede emphasized when he said “I wouldn’t make a good minister; so I declined an invitation to be one. I prefer to stay in the area of my strength.” Fela Durotoye, known for his motivational messages also added his voice: “It is essential that young people do what they know how to do,” he said. “Imagine if MI (the musician) ended up as a doctor!”

Other speakers emphasized on what success really means. For Hon. Dabiri, “Success is about how many lives you touch.” Tonye Cole picked issues with Nigerians’ definition of the idea. “Who set up Coca Cola and Pfizer?” He asked. “Few people know; but in Nigeria , there is an emphasis on who owns what, which shouldn’t be.”

Just as Prof Utomi emphasized passion and perseverance, Mr. Bruce emphasized this with his personal story. “I went to the bank to get a loan for Silverbird Galleria,” he disclosed. “And they tried to won the project… but eventually, I was in the right place at the right time, and it took off.”

The final session had young role models, including the rapper MI, musician Omawunmi Megbele, female farmer and The Future Awards Business Owner of the Year 2009 Mosunmola Umoru, actress and producer Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde, and magazine publisher Hassan Rilwan, amongst others.

Emphasising the theme for the conference, which is “Stop wanting, stop watching, stop waiting. Do something”, he said: “When I decided to make things happen for myself; I didn’t wait for good roads, electricity or anything. I got up and did something.” Ms. Umoru gave a guideline for that, using her life as an example, “It is very important for you to sit down and ask yourself what your strengths are.”

There was a moment of drama when Hon. Dabiri was about to leave the venue. One was when Ben Bruce challenged Abike Dabiri to give her stance on our absent president. Then a passionate young man asked about the character of politicians and how we can be able to elect leaders that act on the people’s will alone. Hon Abike Dabiri stopped mid-step to take the question. “Do you vote?” She asked. It is not enough to keep complaining. People sit in their houses and say elections will be rigged, but if you don’t do something, then it will surely be rigged and those leaders we complain about will come back! So you need to come out and take action. I believe in passive resistance.” Outside the hall, she re-iterated her stand on President Yar’Adua’s absence. “We are saying that he should do the right thing and handover to his deputy.”

The day was also Prof. Pat Utomi’s birthday, and Mr. Bruce led the hall to wish him a happy birthday, whilst the organisers of the event presented a life-sized card to him.

Aniebo wins Future Awards’ Young Person of the Year

2010-02-13T11:23:00.000+01:00

THURSDAY, 11 FEBRUARY 2010 00:00 MOSES KADIRI

• Okonjo-Iweala urges national zeal among youths
TO a first-timer at the Shell Hall of MUSON of Centre, Onikan, Lagos last Sunday event it was something like a big music concert. It also seemed like a busy fair given the buzz of activity. Guests besieged the whole MUSON Centre premises. A mood of celebration was on the air. The event was the fifth season of The Future Awards which its organizers touted as the biggest platform for feting the brightest youths of the country. They pride their yearly award presentation exercise as an outing for distinguishing and honoring deserving youths who stand-out in their chosen career during the given season.

Guests started arriving at about 5pm for the green carpet show. The number grew in during cocktail, and as at when it was 7.15pm, the hall was already filled to the last seat as some guests even had to stand to have a view of what was happening on stage.

In attendance were the crème de la crème in such industries as music, fashion, politics, film, mass media, financial sector and the academic. There were also many students. Among the guests were the wife of Lagos State Governor, Mrs. Bimbola Fashola, the managing director of World Bank, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, chief executive officer and publisher of Ovation magazine, Mr. Dele Momodu, Chairman of The Guardian Newspaper’s Editorial Board, Dr. Reuben Abati, the winner of Orange Prize for Fiction Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, the star singer, D’banj, among others.

In her very motivating but incisive keynote address, Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala urged the youth to always put their foot forward for very just courses. Wondering why the young ones appear withdrawn amid a generally drifting state of affairs and growing tide of corruption, the former minister of finance noted: “Things are happening in the country and our youth are not doing enough to protest. I am not trying to excite anybody to go into violence. In a country where things don’t work, the youth stage “peaceful” protest to address the situation. Nigerians are known to be aggressive in other country, but when they come to their country what do they do? Nothing”.

She added: “When you hear there is a governor that is doing right and they want to remove such person, what do you do?, you stage a peaceful protest.”

Okonjo-Iweala therefore charged the youth not be transnational youth but transformational youth.
“If you live here without doing something to uplift Nigeria, then you are not a true Nigerian youth,” she urged.
She implored them not to engage in anything that will ruin their personal images and that of the country. Citing The Future Awards slogan as worthy guide for Nigerian youths she told them to cast as their mantra the resolve: “I will never steal government money, I will never collect a bribe, I will never cover up fraud. I am not corrupt. I will vote in elections. I truly believe Nigeria can work. I will do my bit to make change happen. I love my country. I am the future. I represent Nigeria.”

The event was spiced up by performance from the energetic artiste Kefee who sang from her popular song Kokoroko.
Visually challenge music producer, Cobhams Asuquo, a previous winner of The Future Awards, also performed. The keyboard specialist’s fingers ran magically on the piano as he performed, turning out tunes that sent deep feelings through the crowd.

Explaining the reasons for the award, one of the founders, Mr. Chude Jideonwo, a lawyer by training said: “We waited for a long time no one was ready to take up the task. Many people have lost hope in the Nigerian project and we wanted to restore that with the project... We want to prove to the youth that they can develop themselves and succeed despite what is happening in the country.”

Speaking on the difficulties encountered, Jideonwo, a British Council Telling Stories Competition award winner said “when we approach banks for sponsorship of the project, they would not accept. But when other people go there for another thing, they will gladly sponsor such projects. I want to thank those that have been behind us for the past years. Weather there is sponsorship or not, we will continue to celebrate young Nigerians that have done the country proud.”

During the presentation of the awards, Tolu Sangosanya went home with the award of Best Use of Advocacy while the Best Use of Science honour went to Ify Aniebo. Distinguished for Best Use of Technology was Bade Adesemowo as Debola Lewis went home with the Business owner of the Year award.

Other winners include Screen Producer of the Year, Kenneth Gyang; Team of the Year, African Youths Unite for Change; Style Entrepreneur of the Year, Linda Ikeji.

Star prize, the Young Person of the Year went to Miss Aniebo for braking boundaries as a research scientist outside the country. Aniebo was the youngest and only black person in the Welcome-Oxford-WHO unit in Thailand and in the Malaria Department at the Sanger institute in Cambridge. She is presently researching on a vaccine for malaria while she is studying for a PhD at Oxford University, United Kingdom.

Faces @ The Future Pre-Awards Conference

2010-02-13T04:28:00.008+01:00

The finalists for The Future Awards 2010 (Winners are in bold)

2010-02-09T10:27:00.003+01:00

Finalists for The Future Awards 2010

Actor of the Year

Gideon Okeke

Mercy Johnson

Kemi Lala Akindoju

Best Use of Advocacy

Emmanuel Odiase (Smokefree Foundation)

Tolu Sangosanya (Dustbin Children Foundation)

Isoke Aikpitanyi (Casa de Isoke)

Best Use of Science

Ify Aniebo (Research in malaria)

Otejiri Oghoghorie (0.1 Seconds Changeover)

Tosin Ogunrinde (Invention in robotics)

Best Use of Technology

Bode Pedro (Veda Technology)

Temi Kolawole (Antigravity)

Bade Adesemowo (Bincom)

Business Owner of the Year

Oghenekaro Agono (Tremor Perfect)

Erefa Fynecontry (Doheney Services)

Debola Lewis (Yvent Couture)

Hassan Rilwan (Focal Point Publishing)

Henry Orajiaka (Motomedia)

Creative Artist of the Year

Onyeka Nwelue

Adekunle Samuel Owolabi

Richardson Oviebo

Excellence in Public Service

Jerry Uchechukwu Eze (UNFPA)

Dr. Abraham Idokoko ( General Hospital , Lagos )

Fatima Zara Modibbo ( Institute of Human Virology , Nigeria )

Journalist of the Year

Toyosi Ogunseye (The Punch)

Ruona Agbroko (NEXT)

Segun Adeoye (TELL)

Magazine of the Year

Ace

Soundcity Blast

The Applause

Model of the Year

Ibukun Jegede

Olubunmi Ademokoya

Warebi Martha

Musician of the Year

Dare Art-Alade

Wande Coal

Banky W

MI

Omawumi

Music Producer of the Year

Jesse Jagz

JMartins

K Solo

On-Air Personality of the Year (Radio)

Matse Uwatse (Wazobia FM)Gbemi Olateru-Olagbegi (Beat FM)

Gbemileke Oyinsan (Inspiration FM)

On-Air Personality of the Year (TV)

Adaure Achumba (Silverbird TV)

Denrele Edun (Soundcity)

Andre Blaze (Nigezie)

Professional of the Year

Simi Dosekun (Kachifo Limited)

Aneto Okonkwo (Management Consultant)

Ifunnaya Maduka ( Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls)

Screen Producer of the Year

Tola Odunsi (Storm Productions)

Imoh Umoren (Ultima Studios)

Kenneth Gyang (“Finding Aisha”)

Sportsperson of the Year

Osaze Odemwingie (Football)

Ikechukwu Uche (Football)

Fatima Abinu (Lawn Tennis)

Janet Dung (Athletics)

Style Entrepreneur of the Year

Uche Nnaji (Ouch!)

Linda Ikeji (Blackdove Communications)

Adetola Olateju (Xquizit)

Team of the Year

African Youths Unite for Change

Light Up Nigeria

Gbagyichild Entertainment

Young Person of the Year

Ik Osakioduwa (On Air Personality)

Toyosi Akerele (Youth Advocate)

Tolu Ogunlesi (Journalist)

Asa (Bukola Elemide) (Singer/Performer)

Ify Aniebo (Science researcher)

Qudus Onikeku (Dance professional)

Stephanie Okereke (Actor/Movie Producer)

Cobhams Asuquo (Music Producer)

The Future Newsletter January 2010

2010-02-01T17:18:00.003+01:00

What’s up!

The Future “Do Something” Pre-Awards Conference is here!

Plans are in top gear for the pre-awards conference, which happens a day before the awards – on the 6th of February. Where else would you get under one roof the Managing Director/Chairman of Shell Nigeria, Mutiu Sunmonu Chairman of Access Bank, Gbenga Oyebode (MFR); Member of the House of Representatives, Abike Dabiri, Ben Bruce, Poju Oyemade, Pay Utomi, Mo Abudu amongst very many others? This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. All for 500 naira only! Venue is Welcome Centre and Hotels, by 7&8 International Airport road, Ikeja. You can register on the website (www.thefuturenigeria.com) or at the venue by 8am.

We have prizes for you on our website!!!

We want you to visit our website, and get new updates, find out what’s hot for young people in Nigeria , read our blogs (our bloggers include TV presenter Ebuka Obi-Uchendu, Abuja City Crawler Ijeoma Okeagu and the sensational Nki’ru. Njoku), take part in our hot, hot polls, and do the other fun stuff! So we have designed a competition to make it worth your while! Just go to the website, go to the ‘Fun Stuff’ link, answer the SIMPLE questions, and then you win a t-shirt or sticker every week, tickets and invitations to the hottest events around the country, and more! www.thefuturenigeria.com!

Website winners!

Last week, we asked visitors to the website to name 10 of our judges and the following people got the answer correct, Job David Ayuba, Raphael Ezike, Seun Johnson, afolabi legunsen, Oluseun Arosanyin, , Oni Oyesola and the winner is……….. Babatunde O. Sayo.

Congratulations Babatunde, please call Eyitayo on 08022226712 to get details on how to pick up your prize.

Tell us how The Future Awards has changed your life!

Every day we get stories of young people who have been motivated or inspired by The Future Project/The Future Awards. Those stories encourage us, and we want to hear more! So if The Future Awards or any of our projects or winners have renewed your faith in Nigeria , inspired you to finish or start a p[project or business or idea, helped you practically in any way etc, we want to get your story, and if you want we put it on the website! But mostly we want to know those whose lives have changed! Send us a mail right away at thefuturenigeria@yahoo.com or info@thefuturenigeria.com or call our Communications Coordinator on 08022226712. It doesn’t have to be well written or long – just tell it the way you feel it!

50 IVs up for grabs!

Following the repeated enquiries from members of the public, the organisers of The Future Awards have announced that 50 of its invitations will go on sale from Monday, 25 January 2009.

“Of course, our event is strictly by invitation and the guests are not required to pay for the invitations. However, based on phone calls and emails received, we recognise that there might be certain people who really, really want to attend, and who might not have been on our guest list. This gives them an opportunity to be part of this.”

Only 50 of the invitations will be on sale and they go for N10, 000. To get one of them, call Eyitayo on 080-2222-6712.

This opportunity closes on Wednesday, 3 February. Call now!

We need your help!

We need you to help us spread the word! Help us spread the word on Facebook and Twitter for people to join the movement on www.thefuturenigeria.com. So help us plug the conference info on your Facebook and Twitter updates for at least a week. Don’t forget to also add #irepresentnaija. You could have a general message like: “The Future Pre-Awards conference is on the 6th of February! Pat Utomi, Abike Dabiri, Ben Bruce and others speaking! Visit www.thefuturenigeria.com to get all the latest info,” and please get your friends to join the group The Future Project! Just add 5 friends to the group and we’ll be fine! Spread the word also through your blogs, websites, and forums.

Get branded “I represent Naija” tshirts and blazers!

Have you seen the coolest young people ROCKING them??! Our ‘I represent Naija’ tees and stickers have sold widely across Nigeria . There are branded ‘I represent Naija’, ‘I represent Nigeria ’ and ‘I am the future’. We also have the new t-shirts from Ouch! You can also get the customized blazers that are beeeeaaauuuutiful. All these can be delivered to you at home or work for a small extra cost. Just call our Communications Coordinator on 08022226712 NOW or send a mail to info@thefuturenigeria.com!

Catch us on radio and TV!

You would agree that we are officially the event with the most mainstream media partners, and we have enveloped locked down!

Our promos can be seen on these partners as well as on our other major partners: STV, HiSoccer, HiNolly, Nigezie, Channels TV, TVC, Moments with Mo (NTA Network), Views & Tunes and Excite TV. The radio promos are on Rhythm Fm, Inspiration FM, Cool FM, Wazobia FM, Beat FM, Kiss FM and Hot FM. Other media partners include NEXT, Encomium, Genevieve, BusinessDay, Ovation, TW, Bellanaija.com, Ladybrille.com, Notjuskok.com, Exquisite, The Applause, and Acada!

Become a project partner!

If you belong to any fellowship, club, association, youth church or youth religious group, campus group or any other gathering of young people and you want us to come talk about The Future Awards or you want to partner with us in any way, please send a mail tagged ‘Partner’ to thefuturenigeria@yahoo.com or info@thefuturenigeria.com or just call our Communications Coordinator on 08022226712.

Join our database – give us feedback!

In our quest to build a network of young Nigerians who have a burning desire to bring about change to our great nation, we would love you to continually send us comments/advice on how to push this cause a step further. We would definitely get back to you. Join our database, give us your feedback!

What went down!

Our site is Top 200!

Our website, which has always been one of the top Nigerian websites for young people, has become one of the top 200 sites in the country! It’s just amazing! What’s even more impressive is that – it is one Nigerian website with more than 85% of the hits coming from within Nigeria; so tell us those people who said Nigerians in Nigeria are not passion interested in the future of this country? With amazing presence on Twitter and Facebook, this is without doubt the number one youth platform in the country – no other platform comes even close!

The ‘I Represent Naija Creed’!

Since we unveiled the ‘I represent Naija creed’; encapsulating some of the key values of the new Nigerian in simple terms, the public acceptance has been wonderful.

THE I REPRESENT NAIJA CREED:

* I will not steal government money!

* I will not collect a bribe!

* I will not cover up fraud!

* I am not corrupt!

* I love my country!

* I truly believe Nigeria can work!

* I will do my bit to make change happen!

* I will vote in election!

* I am the future!

* I represent Nigeria !

You can find it on the website and download it from the RedSTRAT profile as a screen saver or anything else, but even better, all of those at the conference and the awards get a physical copy free! You’ll love it!

Aspire Centre

In its 3rd year running, the Aspire Viewing Centre, an initiative prompted by our board member and vice president of the World Bank, Mrs. Oby Ezekwesili, is a project where we get students from secondary schools to come and witness the Awards at the venue but from a different viewing room. This year, the Aspire Centre is stepping up its game as we would be getting 3 schools from each local government in Lagos .

In addition to celebrities coming in from time to talk to the students, and then joining them on the red carpet, there will be the formation of the student’s house of assembly; where the students would have the opportunity of discussing the causes and possible solutions to the percentage of students’ failure in the 2009 WAEC examination. This way, The Future Awards continued to complement key areas of our society, especially education.

Judging draws to an end!

It is a week to the Awards and we are down to the final stage of judging where a list of the select 3 nominees per category having been decided upon by the Independent Audit Committee and by the board of judges deciding the winner. But of course, no one will know until Sunday, the 7th of February.

Unveiling the hosts and the headliner!

Yes!!!! The faces of those who would anchor this Year’s The Future Awards have been unveiled and they are multiple award winning artiste, Naeto C, who will be in the country just for awards, and Munachi Abi, rapper and former Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria . The show is also headlined by … wait for it…. Asa!!!! The event is strictly by invitation and holds on Sunday, 7 February at the Muson Centre. The Keynote Speaker is still Managing Director of the World Bank, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. This will be BANGING!

Get your Green on (GUGO)!

If you thought the get your green on campaign ended with the Fashion show at the nominees reception, then you are wrong, the GUGO project is here to stay and this time, as we celebrate a rush of green at the Awards, those who get an invite to attend the event have an opportunity to have their clothes and accessories done at any of our style partners for a 20% discount. Our GUGO partners are Ouch!, Clothsense, Iconola, Mai Clothing, House of Nwocha, TAE, Tesslo Concepts, Hakbal Exclusives, Xquizit Clothing, Blacknight, West and Couture, Ella Brown Couture, xclamations, Clemas, Virtuoso, Habana, Connoisseur, Livina Accessories, House of Tara, Kashogy Consult and Faces Makeover.

Thank you very much for connecting with this vision to inspire and empower a new generation of Nigerian leaders. You can get any information on any of the above, including plenty of pictures, on www.thefuturenigeria.com.

For any enquiry, information or anything else, send us a mail on info@thefuturenigeria.com or thefuturenigeria@yahoo.com and we’ll get right back at ya!

Compliments of:

The Future Project , Nigeria

Aspire. Strive. Achieve

www.thefuturenigeria.com

Who becomes Nigeria's young person of the year TFA Season 5?

2010-01-28T04:20:00.001+01:00

Dora Akunyili joins the list of speakers!

2010-01-25T16:12:00.001+01:00

Forget all the drama and the politics, Dora Akunyili has an amazing an truly inspiring success story that everyone can and should learn from! We are excited to get her confirmation for The Future Pre-Awards Conference, holding Saturday February 6 at the Welcome Centre Hotels, International Aiprot, Road Ikeja.

The Future Awards pre-awards conference will be giving you a rare opportunity to meet with some of the highest achieving Nigerian role models.

There will not be lecturing you; instead, you will be asking them ANY question on your mind!

The other speakers are:

Mutiu Sunmonu, MD, Shell Nigeria

Dele Olojede, Publisher, NEXT Newspapers

Pat Utomi, Vice Chairman, Bank PHB

Atedo Peterside , MD , IBTC Chartered

Ben Bruce, Chairman, Silverbird Group

Gbenga Oyebode, Chairman, Access Bank

Abike Dabiri, Member, House of Representatives

Ituah Ighodalo, Principal Partner, Banwo & Ighodalo

Reuben Abati, Chairman, The Guardian Editorial Board

Mo Abudu, Presenter, Moments with Mo

Nicholas Okoye, MD, Anabel Mobile

Tonye Cole, MD, Sahara Energy

Detoun Ogwo, ED, After Graduate Development Centre

Poju Oyemade, Covenant Christian Centre

Fela Durotoye, CEO, Visible Impact

Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde, Actor/Producer

MI Abaga, Singer/Performer

Omawumi Megbele, Singer/Actress

Mosunmola Umoru, Farmer

Tolu Ogunlesi, CNN Africa Journalist of the Year

Cobhams Asuquo, Singer/Music Producer

Hassan Rilwan, Publisher, Sardauna Magazine

Dapo Oyewole, Executive Director, Centre for African Policy & Peace Strategy

Gbenga Sesan, ED, Paradigm Initiative Nigeria

The Future Awards Pre-Awards Conference

Stop watching. Stop waiting. Stop wanting. Do something!

Saturday, the 6th of February.

Welcome Centre, by 7&8 Busstop, International Airport Road Ikeja.

You can register at the venue of the event at 8am that day for N500.

However to get confirmed seats, you can register on the website and then pay at the venue!

www.thefuturenigeria.com

Stop waiting. Stop wanting. Do something!

It's the 5th Season and We Represent Naija

2010-01-20T12:03:00.002+01:00

The Future Awards releases shortlist after voting!

2010-01-19T18:45:00.001+01:00

After more than 6 weeks of voting as well as the first stage of judging, the Central Working Committee for The Future Awards 2010, known as Nigeria ’s biggest youth event, has released its shortlist.

The Nominees List, which was released in December 2009, had 8 nominees per category, but, as usual, the shortlist has the 5 per category, who have made it to the next stage – and are closer to winning the coveted awards.

“As always, the shortlist comes after we have collated the results of the online and sms voting, as managed by Vas2nets, and combine that with the results of the first stage of judging,” said Emilia Asim-Ita, the event’s PR Director. “This was done by the Board of Judges, made up 30 young journalists from across media houses like The Guardian, Thisday, The Punch, NEXT, TELL and others. After the release of this shortlist now, it moves on to the Independent Audit Committee, which will decide on the finalists. However, there is no shortlist for the Young Person of the Year category – all of the nominees for the biggest award are finalists.”

The three finalists for each award will be unveiled alongside the winners of the awards at the grand event which holds on Sunday, February 7, 2010. The strictly by invitation event has as Keynote Speaker, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, who is Managing Director of the World Bank.

More information on the process and the awards is on the website, www.thefuturenigeria.com.

Shortlist for The Future Awards 2010

Actor of the Year

Omoni Oboli

Gideon Okeke

Mercy Johnson

Kemi Lala Akindoju

Ali Nuhu

Best Use of Advocacy

Ndubude Matthew Ekene ( Nigeria Youth Fight Against Malaria)

Emmanuel Odiase (Smokefree Foundation)

Tosin Sangosanya (Dustbin Children Foundation)

Isoke Aikpitanyi (Casa de Isoke)

Light Up Nigeria

Best Use of Science

Akintunde Babatunde (Invention in wastewater treatment)

Ify Aniebo (Research in malaria)

Otejiri Oghoghorie (0.1 Seconds Automatic Changeover)

Tosin Ogunrinde (Invention in robotics)

Okelola Mayokun (Research in climate change)

Best Use of Technology

Bode Pedro (Veda Technology)

Ike Orizu (mytruspot.com)

Temi Kolawole (Antigravity)

Uche Eze (bellanaija.com)

Bade Adesemowo (Bincom)

Business Owner of the Year

Oghenekaro Agono (Tremor Perfect)

Erefa Fynecontry (Doheney Services)

Debola Lewis (Yvent Couture)

Hassan Rilwan (Focal Point Publishing)

Henry Orajiaka (Motomedia)

Creative Artist of the Year

Onyeka Nwelue

Andrew Esiebo

Jumoke Verissimo

Adekunle Samuel Owolabi

Richardson Oviebo

Excellence in Public Service

Jerry Uchechukwu Eze (UNFPA)

Dr. Abraham Idokoko ( General Hospital , Lagos )

Fatima Zara Modibbo ( Institute of Human Virology , Nigeria )

Ngozi Iheukwumere (University Teaching Hospital, Ilorin )

Oluwatoyin Jegede (Engineering Department, University of Lagos )

Journalist of the Year

Toyosi Ogunseye (The Punch)

Ruona Agbroko (NEXT)

Chinedu Iroche (NEXT)

Segun Adeoye (TELL)

Funke Adetutu (BusinessDay)

Magazine of the Year

Ace

Soundcity Blast

The Applause

Revealed

Acada

Model of the Year

Ibukun Jegede

Olubunmi Ademokoya

Tayo Ishola

Warebi Martha

Owobowale Ogunlaja

Musician of the Year

Dare Art-Alade

Wande Coal

Banky W

Omawunmi

Music Producer of the Year

Jesse Jagz

JMartins

K Solo

Terry G

Dekunzy

On-Air Personality of the Year (Radio)

Tosyn Bucknor (Top Radio)

Matse Uwatse (Wazobia FM)

Gbemi Olateru-Olagbegi (Beat FM)

Gbemileke Oyinsan (Inspiration FM)

Spaceman (Cool FM)

On-Air Personality of the Year (TV)

Adaure Achumba (Silverbird TV)

Denrele Edun (Soundcity)

Gloria Ebong (Channels TV)

Cynthia Okpala (MTV Base)

Andre Blaze (Nigezie)

Professional of the Year

Dr. Adedayo Osholowu (IOC-certified doctor)

Simi Dosekun (Kachifo Limited)

Dipo Okuribido (Banwo & Ighodalo)

Aneto Okonkwo (Management Consultant)

Ifunnaya Maduka ( Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls)

Screen Producer of the Year

Tola Odunsi (Storm Productions)

Imoh Umoren (Ultima Studios)

Yinka Obebe (Nigezie)

Gbenga Salu (Renders & Illusion)

Kenneth Gyang (“Finding Aisha”)

Sportsperson of the Year

Osaze Odemwingie (Football)

Ikechukwu Uche (Football)

Fatima Abinu (Lawn Tennis)

Obafemi Martins (Football)

Janet Dung (Athletics)

Style Entrepreneur of the Year

Muyiwa Osindero (Clothesense)

Uche Nnaji (Ouch!)

Linda Ikeji (Blackdove Communications)

Ugonna Umeruo (House of Nwaocha)

Adetola Olateju (Xquizit)

Team of the Year

African Youths Unite for Change

Light Up Nigeria

Salsa Naija

The Umusu Wives (for Dagashi Hair Company)

Gbagyichild Entertainment

Young Person of the Year

Ik Osakioduwa (On Air Personality)

Toyosi Akerele (Youth Advocate)

Tolu Ogunlesi (Journalist)

Asa (Bukola Elemide) (Singer/Performer)

Ify Aniebo (Science researcher)

Qudus Onikeku (Dance professional)

Stephanie Okereke (Actor/Movie Producer)

Cobhams Asuquo (Music Producer)

All nominees are Nigerian citizens aged 18-31.

THE STORM IS BREWING FOR 2010!

2010-01-19T18:03:00.001+01:00

On Monday, 18 January 2010, Storm 360, easily West Africa ’s leading entertainment company, got a wide cross-section of media for an exclusive first of its kind sit down with talent and executives of the company.

“We’ve been running the show for more than a decade now, since we first came to being in 1990 as Storm Productions launching the first Afrro-Hiphop group Junior and Pretty,” CEO of the company, Obi Asika, said.

Storm 360 operates within a multi-platform, multi-purpose media space which makes us uniquely able to deliver genuine 360 degree content solutions to its many discerning clients.

“Entertainment is our passion and our business,” Olisa Adibua, radio and TV presenter and one of Storm 360’s directors, said. “The only force that rivals our passion for entertainment is our unflinching belief in the potency and potential of the African urban pop culture, especially in our home country Nigeria .”

Storm has been in charge of most of the defining moments in Nigerian music and television, with productions credits including Amstel Malta Box Office (AMBO); Play TV; Big Brother Nigeria; The Scoop; 100% Naija; ILN Teacher’s TV; The Apprentice Africa and Dragon’s Den. In addition, Storm Vision has produced music documentaries (This Day Music Festival 1 & 2), adverts (Heart of Africa) and other audio-visual content.

Now, as Storm 360, which launched officially in September 2008, Storm has marshalled its strengths, deepened its resources, broadened its scope and is now able to offer clients a one-stop source for customized, creative content solutions through audio-visual, interactive, experiential or music-based platforms.

The company’s management includes Obi Asika, Olisa Adibua, Nkiru Asika, Tola Odunsi and Tonye Faloughi.

In the 14 months since Storm 360 launched, the company has continued to dominate the Nigerian entertainment landscape with big budget television shows, innovative musical acts and unique events. These include Calabar Rocks! Festival Diaries and Concert Series, Naija Sings for Mnet, and One 9ja Million Dollar Game Show for Etisalat, shooting live editions of the show across Nigeria in Lagos, Abuja, Kaduna, Ibadan, Benin, Enugu, Maiduguri and Sokoto. The show also made history by giving away the biggest prize in African gameshow history.

The music arm of storm remains as strong as ever, the one consistent music label in the country over the past decade – with artistes that have been successful and been sustainable. Storm’s premium music talent include Naeto C, recognised for his talent, music and sense of style; GT, perhaps Nigeria’s most talented vocalist; Sasha, recognised as the premiere Female talent in African Hip Hop; Tosin Martins, the crooner with the smooth voice and the mellow sounds; Sauce Kid, a superstar in the making; YQ, who has in 2009 built his rep with several street singles; and Pype, the Nigerian dancehall king.

In December 2008, Storm 360 was the international booking agent and talent manager for the 150+ artists that performed at the Calabar Christmas Festival. Our combination of strong local and international networks, thorough understanding of rider and contract management, logistics and production made us the natural choice for this role. In December 2009, Storm 360 reprised its role as international booking and talent manager, bringing in such world class talents as gospel artists Ron Kenoly, Kirk Franklin, Donnie McClurkin, and r&b and hip hops stars Keri Hilson and Wyclef Jean.

In 2010, its projects will include 100% Naija, which will record in Lagos , London and New York for Channel O, Naija Sings second edition for Mnet, the Samsung Love Experience, and Nigeria : The Series, a ground-breaking historical drama series currently in development by Storm 360 and Serengeti Networks. A public presentation of the project will hold on February 9^th under the distinguished Chairmanship of His Excellency, General Yakubu Gowon GCFR, with special guests including H.E. Dr Alex Ekwueme GCON and others. The brand is also launching the first talent and booking agency in Nigeria and as such will collapse this business into this company.

More remarkably, 2010 will mark Storm 360’s debut into film. “We will bring our considerable production experience and creative capacity to the world of film, both partnering with other productions and developing our own original projects,” Asika said at the conference. “This year, there’s no part of the country that won’t feel the storm.”

For more information:

www.youtube.com/stormnigeria

www.storm360degrees.com

Pat Utomi, Abike Dabiri, Ben Bruce, others speak at The Future Pre-Awards Conference! REGISTER NOW!

2010-01-14T02:05:00.004+01:00

Registration has begun for the second edition of the annual The Future Pre-Awards “Do Something” Conference. It holds on Saturday, 6 February 2010, a day before the awards night.

“We will be giving young people the rare opportunity to meet some of the highest achieving young Nigerians you can find,” Chude Jideonwo, the event’s creative director said. “The conference was an idea that started last year as an extension of our plans to use The Future Awards to develop more practical programmes that can give young people access to knowledge skills and experience that can move them forward. As usual, the focus of our efforts is on role modelling, and this follows that trend.”

The Future conference is different from other conferences because the young people are not sitting down and listening to lectures. “We don’t want that – there is enough of that and we don’t think it’s particularly effective, especially given how broken down our structures are in this country,” Jideonwo said. “At this point, we believe that Nigeria needs to listen to young people to know their issues and how to engage them. Therefore, the format is that these young people are free to ask these role models any questions they have. It’s no holds barred!”

The conference, which has the payoff, “Stop watching. Stop waiting. Stop wanting. Do something!”, holds at the main hall of the popular Welcome Centre, International Airport Road , Ikeja at 10am. The gate fee for the conference is, as usual, highly subsidised at N500, and participants can register at the venue of the event by 8am, or they can register on the website www.thefuturenigeria.com before then to get confirmed seats.

“We are very excited about the speakers that we have. These are Nigerians at the highest levels. The chairman and MD of Shell, Mutiu Sunmonu; the chairman of the Silverbird Group, Ben Bruce; Hon. Abike Dabiri and others,” Jideonwo said. “The conference is broken into three parts: the first generation has Mr. Sunmonu, Mr. Gbenga Oyebode who is chairman of Access Bank and others, the second generation has Pastor Ituah Ighodalo, Mo Abudu, Fela Durotoye, Tonye Cole of Sahara Energy and others, and then the third generation with Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde, Gbenga Sesan, singer MI, our Business Owner of the Year Mosunmola Umoru, and others.”

More information on the conference and the awards are on www.thefuturenigeria.com. Interested participants can also call Eyitayo on 08022226712.

The Full List of Speakers

Mutiu Sunmonu, MD, Shell Nigeria

Dele Olojede, Publisher Next Newspaper

Pat Utomi, Centre for Values in Leadership

Atedo Peterside, MD, IBTC Chartered

Ben Bruce, Chairman, Silverbird Group

Gbenga Oyebode, Chairman, Access Bank

Abike Dabiri, Member, House of Representatives

Ituah Ighodalo, Principal Partner, Banwo & Ighodalo

Reuben Abati, Chairman, The Guardian Editorial Board
Biodun Shobanja, Chaiman, Insight Communications

Mo Abudu, Presenter, Moments with Mo

Nicholas Okoye, MD, Anabel Mobile

Tonye Cole, MD, Sahara Energy

Detoun Ogwo, ED, After Graduate Development Centre

Poju Oyemade, Covenant Christian Centre

Fela Durotoye, CEO, Visible Impact

Kolawole Ogunbajo, CEO, Avis Nigeria

Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde, Actor/Producer

MI Abaga, Singer/Performer

Mosunmola Umoru, Farmer/TFA Business Owner of the Year 2009

Tolu Ogunlesi, CNN Africa Journalist of the Year

Cobhams Asuquo, Singer/Music Producer

Hassan Rilwan, Publisher, Sardauna Magazine

Omawumi Megbele, Singer/Actress

Dapo Oyewole, Executive Director, Centre for African Policy & Peace Strategy

Gbenga Sesan, ED, Paradigm Initiative Nigeria

The Future Newsletter December 2009

2010-01-04T19:08:00.002+01:00

What’s up!

The Future “Do Something” Pre-Awards Conference is here!
As we introduced last year, plans are seriously on ground in preparation of the next pre-awards conference and this happens a day before the event – on the 6th of February. Where else would you get under one roof the Managing Director/Chairman of Shell Nigeria, Mutiu Sunmonu Chairman of Access Bank, Gbenga Oyebode (MFR); Member of the House of Representatives, Abike Dabiri amongst very many others? This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. All for 500 naira only! Registration starts on January 11, 2010. Only 1000 seats available!!!

We have prizes for you on our website!!!
We want you to visit our website, and get new updates, find out what’s hot for young people in Nigeria, read our blogs (our bloggers include TV presenter Ebuka Obi-Uchendu, Abuja City Crawler Ijeoma Okeagu and the sensational Nki’ru. Njoku), take part in our hot, hot polls, and do the other fun stuff! So we have designed a competition to make it worth your while! Just go to the website, go to the ‘Fun Stuff’ link, answer the SIMPLE questions, and then you win a t-shirt or sticker every week, tickets and invitations to the hottest events around the country, and more! www.thefuturenigeria.com!

Tell us how The Future Awards has changed your life!
Every day we get stories of young people who have been motivated or inspired by The Future Project/The Future Awards. Those stories encourage us, and we want to hear more! So if The Future Awards or any of our projects or winners have renewed your faith in Nigeria, inspired you to finish or start a project or business or idea, helped you practically in any way etc, we want to get your story, and if you want, we would put it on the website! But mostly we want to know those whose lives have changed! Send us a mail right away at thefuturenigeria@yahoo.com or info@thefuturenigeria.com or call our Communications Coordinator on 08022226712. It doesn’t have to be well written or long – just tell it the way you feel it!

Voting has been extended by one week – and one week only!
Voting for The Future Awards has been extended by one week! The major reasons for this extension, the organisers reveal, is first, because short profiles of the various nominees have just been uploaded on the website www.thefuturenigeria.com. Also, after the two week complaint period, certain minimal challenges have been made on the Nominees List.

Therefore, people who wanted to vote for nominees in specific categories but were unable to do so because they did not know anything about the nominees or their achievements can now make informed choices and vote to reward achievement in the various categories. And if you already knew who to vote for, then you have a greater opportunity to make sure that your candidate gets more votes! Remember you can vote as many times as you want!

To vote: sms TFA (space) Name of nominee (space) Category

To vote in Nigeria, sms to 33120
To vote in the UK, sms to 81696
To vote in the US, sms to 97605

The voting ends at 12 midnight on Friday the 7th of January 2010. There will be NO more extensions after this one.

Grab this opportunity…. NOW!!!!!:-)

We need your help!
We need you to help us spread the word! Help us spread the word on Facebook and Twitter for people to join the movement on www.thefuturenigeria.com. So help us plug the nominations info on your Facebook and Twitter updates for at least a week. Don’t forget to also add #irepresentnaija. You could have a general message like: “I am Eyitayo Aiyejumoh, and ‘I represent Naija’, visit www.thefuturenigeria.com to get all the latest info,” and please get your friends to join the group The Future Project! Just add 5 friends to the group and we’ll be fine! Spread the word also through your blogs, websites, and forums.

Get branded “I represent Naija” tshirts and blazers!
Have you seen the coolest young people ROCKING them??! Our ‘I represent Naija’ tees and stickers have sold widely across Nigeria. The first batch t-shirts are SOLD OUT! And now a new batch of the t-shirts from Clemas are out! They are branded ‘I represent Naija’, ‘I represent Nigeria’ and ‘I am the future’. We also have the new t-shirts from Ouch! You can also get the customized blazers that are beeeeaaauuuutiful. All these can be delivered to you at home or work for a small extra cost. Just call our Communications Coordinator on 08022226712 NOW or send a mail to info@thefuturenigeria.com!

Catch us on radio and TV!
In the past month, more media partners joined the train! Now we have Kiss FM, BusinessDay, Ovation, LTV, TV Continental and Radio Continental. We are officially the event with the most mainstream media partners, and we have enveloped the airwaves!
Our promos can be seen on these partners as well as on our other major partners: STV, HiSoccer, HiNolly, Nigezie, Channels TV, Moments with Mo (NTA Network), Views & Tunes and Excite TV. The radio promos are on Rhythm Fm, Inspiration FM, Cool FM, Wazobia FM, Beat FM, Kiss FM and Hot FM. Other media partners include NEXT, Encomium, Genevieve, TW, Bellanaija.com, Ladybrille.com, Notjuskok.com, Exquisite, The Applause, nigezie.tv and Acada!

Become a project partner!
If you belong to any fellowship, club, association, youth church or youth religious group, campus group or any other gathering of young people and you want us to come talk about The Future Awards or you want to partner with us in any way, please send a mail tagged ‘Partner’ to thefuturenigeria@yahoo.com or info@thefuturenigeria.com or just call our Communications Coordinator on 08022226712.

Join our database – give us feedback!
In our quest to build a network of young Nigerians who have a burning desire to bring about change to our great nation, we would love you to continually send us comments/advice on how to push this cause a step further. We would definitely get back to you. Join our database, give us your feedback!

What went down!

Our site is Top 200!

Our website, which has always been one of the top Nigerian websites for young people, has become one of the top 200 sites in the country! It’s just amazing! What’s even more impressive is that – it is one Nigerian website with more than 60% of the hits coming from within Nigeria; so tell us those people who said Nigerians in Nigeria are not passion interested in the future of this country? With amazing presence on Twitter and Facebook, this is without doubt the number one youth platform in the country – no other platform comes even close!

The Future of Fashion
A project that has been in the pipeline for some time now. In our bid to project our rich culture by bringing back that national heritage which has for so long been sidelined, we would be bringing together from time to time , established/upcoming fashion designers to come showcase their stuff. As we celebrated 160 Nominees – marking the nominees reception for the 2010 Awards – at the Nominees reception tagged, ‘Get Your Green On’, this project was formally introduced.

The Town Hall Train comes to a grand stop!
We promised that we were coming, you waited, we came and you weren’t disappointed. We visited every state and every country that we promised to visit. It afforded us the opportunity to meet with young Nigerians home and abroad, discussing issues of national interest and how best to forge ahead. The last set of Town Halls were in the UK, Johannesburg, Ile-Ife and Benin. The acceptance of The Future Awards in these places was tremendous: everyone is excited! Check the RedSTRAT profile on Facebook for pictures or check the website www.thefuturenigeria.com.

TFESS internships have started

We are indeed pleased to inform you that the first set of The Future Enterprise Support Scheme (TFESS) training has been completed and the trainees placed for internships at firm where they will be able to put in what they have learnt to best use and also see how they can tap from the wealth of experience of these organisations.

The ‘I Represent Naija Creed’!

Call it a call to patriotism or nationalism, but in December we unveiled the ‘I represent Naija creed’, which encapsulates some of the key values of the new Nigerian in simple terms. We read it at the end of every event we are a part of and at all our town hall meetings across the country and outside and the energy is unbelievable!

THE I REPRESENT NAIJA CREED:

*     I will not steal government money!
*     I will not collect a bribe!
*      I will not cover up fraud!
*      I am not corrupt!
*      I love my country!
*      I truly believe Nigeria can work!
*      I will do my bit to make change happen!
*      I will vote in election!
*      I am the future!
*      I represent Nigeria!

You can find it on the website and download it from the RedSTRAT profile as a screen saver or anything else, but even better, all of those at the conference and the awards get a physical copy free! You’ll love it!

The HiTV official signing

One of our main sponsors HiTV, under HiMedia, one of Nigeria’s proudly Nigerian brands that has become a major force in such a short time called The Future Awards for an official signing at their offices that the media fell over itself to cover.:-). We are proud of the giant strides that HiTV, with it chief executive, the inspired Toyin Subair have made in the past few years and we are excited to work with them. Get your HiTV now!!!

The Nominees List is out – and then the reception!

Yes!! It’s finally out. 160 young Nigerians who have been brightest and best in the past one year, from music and the movies to business and technology. You can view the list our website – www.thefuturenigeria.com. They were celebrated at the Nominees Reception, which held 18 December at Terra Kulture, which was a night of stars, fashion and great entertainment, You SHOULD see that list – it will renew your faith in Nigeria! The Nominees Reception was held with support from Yvent Kouture, Tremor Perfect, 12 Baskets, Diamonds and Pearls, Liberty Media, Cocktails in and Out and TechnoTainment. You can also see pictures from the spectacular fashion show – House of Nwaocha, Toni Clothing, Kashogy Consults, S&D Clothing, and others – on our website www.thefuturenigeria.com

Supporting enterprise!

As a way of supporting young people in industry, The Future Project bought 50 tickets for ‘Facing the Giants’ – A two days seminar/training with speakers like Fela and Tara Fela Durotoye, Toyosi Akerele and a host of other great initiators of change. “God bless you for doing this. You cannot imagine what those two days did for me,” one of the participants said and it warms our hearts. More to come under our The Future Enterprise Support Scheme (TF-ESS) programme!

Celebrating volunteers

On World Volunteers day, 5 December 2009, we gathered our almost a hundred volunteers who are giving their time and talent to work for the future, and we celebrated them; and thanked them for their commitment. Unfortunately, on the same day we stopped accepting volunteers. But you can be part of the event in other ways. Check the website www.thefuturenigeria.com!

Judging has begun!
Below, again, is the process through which The Future Awards winners are decided:
1)      Nominations are launched in October and are collected online over a period of two months. Anybody can nominate anyone they think deserved the awards.   2)      The Central Working Committee reviews ALL the nominations, conducts independent research and selects 8 nominees per category; which is the long list. 3)      There is a 2-week period when this long list is published online and in the media so that people can formally make complaints about age, false claims, and public policy concerns amongst others. 4)      During this period, nominations forms are sent to ALL nominees to get details of their work and achievements. We also the offices of certain nominees, especially in the entrepreneurship categories, to inspect and confirm claims. 5)     The Board of Judges, made up of 25 young journalists – drawn from The Guardian, Thisday, Daily Trust, The Punch etc – assesses the profiles and then and prunes down from the long list of 8 to a short list of 5 nominees per category. (Note that when any member of the board of judges is made a nominee, he/she immediately steps down from being a judge).    6)      This short list goes to the Independent Audit Committee made up of 30 distinguished Nigerians, some of whom are mentioned above, and chaired by Dr. Reuben Abati, who is the chairman of the editorial board of The Guardian. They look at the profiles, thoroughly vet it from their professional distance, and select 3 nominees per category; those are the finalists. 7)      This list goes back to the board of judges one week before the event – because we want young people to be the ones to make the final decision – who then decide the winners for each category.
The board of judges has done their first stage, and once the voting has concluded on January 8, the results will be added and the journey hots up!
Thank you very much for connecting with this vision to inspire and empower a new generation of Nigerian leaders. You can get any information on any of the above, including plenty of pictures, on www.thefuturenigeria.com.

For any enquiry, information or anything else, send us a mail on info@thefuturenigeria.com or thefuturenigeria@yahoo.com and we’ll get right back at ya!

Compliments of:
The Future Project, Nigeria
Aspire. Strive. Achieve
www.thefuturenigeria.com

Voting for The Future Awards has been extended!

2009-12-31T01:09:00.000+01:00

Voting for The Future Awards has been extended by one week! The major reasons for this extension, the organisers reveal, is because short profiles of the various nominees have just been uploaded on the website www.thefuturenigeria.com.
Also, after the two week complaint period, certain minimal challenges have been made on the Nominees List.

Therefore, people who wanted to vote for nominees in specific categories but were unable to do so because they did not know anything about the nominees or their achievements can now make informed choices and vote to reward achievement in the various categories.

And if you already knew who to vote for, then you have a greater opportunity to make sure that your candidate gets more votes! Remember you can vote as many times as you want!
To vote: sms TFA (space) Name of nominee (space) Category
To vote in Nigeria , sms to 33120
To vote in the UK , sms to 81696
To vote in the US , sms to 97605
The voting ends at 12 midnight on Friday the 7th of January 2010. There will be NO more extensions after this one.
Grab this opportunity…. NOW!!!!!:-)
PS: You can get all the info on www.thefuturenigeria.com

The Future Enterprise Scheme begins internships for young people!

2009-12-31T00:54:00.000+01:00

In 2009, The Future Project/The Future Awards kicked off a new arm called The Future Enterprise Support Scheme (TF-ESS). This was launched after three years in the works.

TF-ESS is a practical series where we will offer selected young people intensive trainings that will cover entrepreneurship and creativity every six months. Included in the period is a two-month internship programme with selected winners and associates of The Future Awards, which the organisers call “the most crucial part of the process.”

The trainings are scheduled to hold weekly for six months, and kicked off October 17 2009. Speakers are drawn from a pool of former winners of the awards, as well as other partners and experts. The programme will be yearly and will have different themes each year. It is held in partnership with the After Graduate Development Centre (AGDC).

Speakers over the past two months have included Bukola Adubi (CEO, Miccom Golf Resorts), Anwuli Ojogwu (Fate Foundation), Phillip Uwumarogie (Head, Corporate E-Solutions Devt), Mosunmola Umoru (The Future Awards Business Owner of the Year 2009), Bamidele Odufuye (The Future Awards Best Use of Technology 2009), amongst others.
The programme is separated into three sections: the first two months are for trainings and classes, then internships take place in December and January. The programme wraps up with the second half of classes in February and March. All trainings are expected to attend at least 75% of the classes, with compulsory internships before they can be graduated and given certificates in April.
The internships kicked off this December on schedule, and the students are presently interning with the programme’s partners, which include Strom 360, Soundcity Blast, Zapphaire Events, Yvent Kouture, Adstrat Communications, Visible Impact, House of Tara International, Clothsense, Blackdove Communications, Icebox Limited and Nigezie.
The Future Enterprise Support Scheme is one of The Future Awards’ many spin-offs. Other platforms are the “Do Something Conference”, which holds on February 6, a day before the next awards, the Post-Award Schools Seminars, The Future Mentorship School, The Future Interventions, The Young Writers Network, amongst others.

For further information, the Faculty Officer can be reached on 080-2222-6712 or you can mail info@thefuturenigeria.com. All other infor on The Future Project/The Future Awards is on www.thefuturenigeria.com.

TFA Nominees Reception....A night of Style and Substance!

2009-12-28T19:42:00.002+01:00

TFA Season 5 Voting Promo

2009-12-21T19:07:00.000+01:00

Collection of Nominee Certificates

2009-12-18T19:50:00.000+01:00

Certain nominees - as expected - were unable to make the Nominees Reception for Charity where we celebrated all 160 Nominees at a media and VIP event in Lagos.

Some also came late, and because the event started early, their names had already been announced.

You can however come and collect your nomination certificates from our offices in Surulere, Lagos, anytime from Monday, 21st of December. To get them please cal Eyitayo on 0802226712.

The office of The Future Project is 14 Shofidiya Street, Off Ilesanmi street, off Adegoke street, by Masha B/Stop, Surulere, Lagos.

Please note though that our offices are closed on the 25th and 26th of December as well as the 1st of January.

Congratulations again!

We are the Generation of TRANSFORMATION

2009-12-11T13:17:00.005+01:00

Hi Guys,

It’s quite a bit of an excited frenzy as we count down to the largest ever volunteer campaign in our nation; the Mushin MakeOver!

Everything’s in high gear!

I’ve been speaking to God, staying in His presence to hear him and I’m fasting and praying; asking that His will for His people will be fulfilled through us.

Together, we have the privilege to make HISTORY by giving our time and paint and energy towards a “noble cause”.

We are the Generation of TRANSFORMATION and we will rebuild the so called “waste places” and we will restore Nigeria to its glory; becoming the world’s most desirable nation to live in by December 31st, 2025.

So, I’m asking you today, to do whatever you can to support us; BUY PAINT, BRING PAINT, DONATE YOUR TIME, get people involved; www.mushinmakeover.com, make a difference.

Already, the surface preparation work has begun by our painters, so I’m asking you to do whatever it is that you can to partner with us on this project.

We need paint, ladders, anything that you feel that you can provide to join this movement.

I’m aware as some have asked if they could contribute financially to the Mushin Makeover.

We have opened a subsidiary account with which you can do so:

Visible Impact (Area Makeover)

Zenith Bank

Account No: 601 430 3053

I’m honoured and humbled by all the text messages, email, comments on FaceBook and the outpouring of love I’ve received.

God bless you all!

But please remember, THIS IS NOT FELA DUROTOYE’S PROJECT!

It’s God’s project; entrusted to US.

I look forward to meeting you this Saturday as together, we rebuild our nation; one brush stroke at a time.

DELIVER THE FUTURE.

FD

SteveHarris

Head, Consulting Group

visibleimpact

...delivering TRANSFORMATION - people.corporates.nations

Direct: 08088988989

You’ve been waiting, you’ve been asking, and now it’s time to VOTE for The Future Awards 2010!!!

2009-12-08T13:28:00.006+01:00

Vote for the young Nigerians who you think have been brightest and best in the past one year from music and the movies to business and technology.

To vote,text TFA (space) NAME OF NOMINEE (space) CATEGORY, to any of the numbers below. For example, text TFA OLIKO KENNETH BEST USE OF TECHNOLOGY, to 33120:

To vote in Nigeria, sms to 33120
To vote in the UK , sms to 81696
To vote in the US , sms to 97605
Or you can vote on www.thefuturenigeria.com.

Don’t forget that to vote in Nigeria , you sms to 33120

Remember, the more you vote, the better the chances of your nominee!

The Future Awards Season 5 wraps up tour with London, Johannesburg, Benin and Ile-Ife

2009-12-08T11:21:00.006+01:00

“There is no excuse for bad behaviour,” said Affiong Williams of the Nigerian Youth network in Johannesburg, “Yes, things might have been bad for Nigerians that migrated here, but what is wrong is wrong and we must condemn it and begin to project positive values wherever we go.” Ms. Williams was passionately contributing to the discussion by young Nigerians living, schooling and working in South Africa, who were part of The Future Awards Johannesburg Town Hall meeting on the 28th of November.

The international arm of the awards’ town hall meetings had the aim of interacting with and inspiring young Nigerians living in countries with substantial Nigerian populations. Not only do the events have inspiring conversations and try and get widespread nominations for the awards, the event also seeks to spread the message for this year’s campaign themed “Representing Nigeria”.

The event, held at the Dio Bacco in Norwood and had in attendance, the MD of Lowe Lintas in Nigeria, Big Brother host IK Osakioduwa (who is a two time winner of the awards) and was held in conjunction with SA company Naijaborn.com.

The Future Awards, in conjunction with HITV, which is sponsoring all the town hall meetings, also stormed the United Kingdom. The London Town Hall Meeting held at the University of East London, and was held with support from Oloja.com, Make Impact led by former nominee Dayo Isreal, Godwin Odusanwho of the Nigerian Students Association and Joseph Britus of the International Students Association.

Held on Wednesday, the 18th of November, it was an evening of brilliant discussions, music and comedy, and had in attendance the Ogun State Commissioner for Sports, who is an alumni of the school, amongst others.

The Future Awards team also visited other organisations and events whilst in the UK, especially in London and Manchester, including the 1st Nigeria-Ghana Networking Summit in the UK, where they made presentations, and then they honoured invitations to speak with congregations at the World Evangelism Bible Church, RCCG Victory house; RCCG Freedom of Christ Church, RCCG Freedom House and YADA ministries. They were also hosted by the wife to the Nigerian ambassador to the UK, Mrs. Rose Nwanna.

“It was a fantastic time,” according to Adebola Williams, Operations Director for the awards, who was in the UK. “Usually most of what we hear about young people in the UK is, fairly or unfairly, negative and to get such a fantastic reception, such passion, such engagement and such positivity, was such a blessing. It was also great to encounter such huge name recognition for The Future Awards and The Future Project. Change really is coming!”

The Future Awards also visited Osun State, where it had a town hall meeting at the Obafemi Awolowo University. It held at the Health Sciences Lecture Theatre. Speaking at that event where the Marketing Director for the awards, Emilia Asim-Ita and one of its Resource Group members, Kemi Akindoju. The event also discovered Ile-Ife music talent, one of whom will be joining other talents identified in other town hall meetings to feature on a Nigeria@50 commemorative CD called “I represent Nigeria”.

The town hall meetings for The Future Awards Season 5 officially wrapped up on Sunday, the 29th of November, with the Benin Town Hall meeting, which held in conjunction with the Benin-based Christian Fellowship International. The major speaker was The Future Awards Business Owner of the Year Winner, Mosunmola Umoru.

At the end of the day, The Future Awards visited every single state that it promised – going to ten states of Nigeria (Rivers, Cross River, Edo, Adamawa, Kaduna, Benue, Enugu, Osun, Abuja and Lagos) and three countries, and met and interacted practically and successfully with thousands of young Nigerians.

“We’re grateful to God,” Mr. Williams said. “And immensely grateful to our partners like HiTV who made this possible. We can’t wait to release the Nominees List of the brightest and best young Nigerians in the past year – because that is what it is all about, inspiring and supporting young Nigerians and that makes all this hard work worth it.”

MUSHIN..... Making Unique Stars and Heroes In Nigeria

2009-12-02T10:15:00.005+01:00

MUSHIN MAKE-OVER

PROJECT DOCUMENTATION
This seeks to answer the following core questions:
• What are we doing?

CONCEPT OVERVIEW:
The Area Makeover is a 1-DAY community development face-lift program which will bring about the physical beautification of selected areas of cities by the efforts of up to 5,000 volunteers from within and outside the community.
This specifically involves painting of buildings and roadside curbs along the most noticeable and eye-catching parts of the selected streets in an area over a duration of 8 hours NON-STOP.

ABOUT MUSHIN MAKEOVER:
With the Mushin Makeover project, our mission is to mobilize the donation of painting materials and buckets of paint (in many beautiful and bright colors) as well as raise 5,000 volunteers across Lagos state, all over Nigeria and even beyond, who will dedicate their time and energy towards the goal of beautifying as many streets as possible in the Mushin local government area IN JUST 1-DAY.

The driving objective of this project is to get people to believe that they can make a positive change to their environment, particularly in M.U.S.H.I.N, which, as far as we are concerned, is the place for “Making Unique Stars and Heroes In Nigeria” (MUSHIN) and ultimately raising a Generation that is Empowered, Motivated and Stirred To Operate with Natural Excellence. (GEMSTONE). A generation with the capacity to build Nigeria into the most desirable nation to live in by December 31, 2025.

• How are we going to do it?
IMPLEMENTATION PROCEDURE: (Our Strategic Intent). The methodology for the execution process involves the following:
Our Strategic Intent
In a bid to successfully facilitate this community initiative, we have identified 10 Ms,
1. Manpower: To effectively facilitate a successful event, we have identified the following teams as key manpower on this project:
i. CORE PLANNING AND DESIGN
ii. SECURITY AND TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT
iii. STORAGE AND DISTRIBUTION
iv. MOBILIZATION AND REGISTRATION OF VOLUNTEERS
v. LOGISTICS AND CORDINATION (SOUND, MOVEMENT, PARKING, SET-UPS)
vi. PARTNERSHIP AND SPONSORSHIP DRIVE
vii. COLLECTION AND INVENTORY MANAGEMENT
viii. MEDIA COMMUNICATION AND PUBLICITY
ix. DUE DILIGENCE, AUDIT AND CONTROL
x. TECHNICAL SUPPORT AND ADVISORY

We will seek team membership from the volunteer force. To further mobilize more people, we will also liaise with groups, youth organizations, churches and mosques around and within the environment where the makeover project is taking place.
2. Media: We will seek various media partnership to publicize this project ahead and be available to cover every aspect of it, as well as broadcast it after the event. This will showcase the enormous powers of our volunteer force in changing our society. Proposed stakeholders under media publicity are:
i. Silver bird TV
ii. BBC
iii. CNN
iv. Eko FM
v. New Naija club blog site
vi. RISE network
vii. ACES,
viii. Guardian
ix. This Day
x. Vanguard
xi. Punch
xii. DSTV
xiii. And other voices for change in Lagos

3. Medical: Every medical corper serving within Mushin Local government will be invited to render medical and first aid services. Other Para-medical agencies to be invited for first aid and medical services at the venue of the area makeover include: Red cross, Lagoon & Hygeia, Mediplan services, etc

4. Money: donors will be sought from private to corporate personnel, including organizations to augment the huge costs involved in the project, and most importantly in the provision of the branded event items designed to be given out to all volunteers.
5. Movement: a joint force of LASTMA, Mushin youth organizations and young men living within Mushin, including volunteers will assist to control traffic around Mushin environment. We will seek the cooperation of BRT to provide transport for people from different locations. We will schedule terminals for mass gathering and bus pickups by 7.30 am from anywhere in Lagos to Mushin, while adequate car parking will also be arranged.
6. Management: At every street, we will appoint a street captain who will act as a liaison for the project. The street captains have the responsibilities of determining how many people they require for their teams and also mobilizing youth in their street for this project.
7. Maintenance: we will place huge waste bins at every corner of Mushin to provide for adequate disposal of public wastes around Mushin, long after the program. Through the assistance of LAWMA, every debris gathered in the course of this painting and beautification project will be properly packed for onward disposal.
8. Meal: we will seek partnership with food vendors like Tantalizers, Sweet Sensation, Chicken Republic, Finicky, TFC, Chicken Republic and suppliers of canned drinks like the Nigeria Bottling Company, Seven-Up Bottling Company, DANSA fruit juice, to provide snacks and drinks respectively for every volunteer on the project.
9. Music & Entertainment: there will be musical sounds played by different DJs stationed on every street being painted. As a mark of celebration of this unique event, a Mushin Makeover Mini Change-Summit and CARNIVAL will hold at a central location within Mushin, right after the whole painting exercise. This is proposed to feature notable musicians in Lagos like Tu-Face Idibia, Pasuma, Wande Coal, and other Hip Hop stars. We would also invite some star Movie actors & actresses to grace the occasion.
10. Message: the fundamental message we hope to send to the world with this project is simply: “We Can Make a Difference”; “We are the Government and we can make a change”.
11. Materials: Donation will also be sought from producers of paints like Berger paints, Duluz, DN Meyer plc, etc for the supply of different colours of paints needed.
12. Methodology: this involves our strategy.
a. We will conduct a pre-event area assessment to ascertain areas to be painted as well as liaise with relevant stakeholders at those zones
b. We will secure the endorsement of the local government in question, state governor and the ministry of the environment.
c. We will design a model of the post make over outlook for key media publicity and to enhance public buy in,
d. We will set up a platform (online & offline) where volunteers can sign-up to participate at different levels (painters, traffic control, etc)
e. We will secure partnerships on Publicity and media (Eko FM, Silverbird, LTV, NTA). We will produce banners and also make project customised car stickers and wrist bands for only participating volunteers after the event.
f. We will communicate the various colour options for the makeover project to the concerned house owners or tenants. E.g. yellow, orange, pink, magenta (strictly light energetic colours) with white for all windows and door frames. We will engage different service providers from paints to Waste bins, mobile toilets, Milo, drinks, water, etc.
g. We will engage street captains made up of people living within the locality to further mobilize their youth and act as local liaisons
h. We will communicate to every necessary quarter about the project and seek corporation of every concerned stakeholder to ensure a hitch-free program starting from our pre-event activities up to the post-event phases.
i. We will plan and manage the proceeding for the make-over project
j. We will report project success and set up sustainability follow up plans
• Why are we doing it?
 To mobilize the community volunteers resources in a bid towards building out society.

• When are we going to do it?
 On the 12th of December, 2009, a volunteer force of about 5, 000 people living from within and outside Lagos and even abroad, will converge in Mushin to implement the Mushin Area Makeover.

• Who is going to do it?
Visible Impact, as Project Coordinator, in conjunction with other project teams and stakeholders including:
 Mushin local government
 Ministry of Environment Lagos
 Office of the governor
 Office of the first lady of Lagos
 Religious bodies within Mushin environ (churches and Mosques)
 LASTMA
 LAWMA (with trucks to evacuate all wastes packed up)
 Painters Association in Mushin (who will bring their professional experience to bear in the area of estimation of the number of paints needed, providing guidance and direction to other volunteers on how to go about actual painting and also doing real painting on that day.
 Police - to ensure safety of lives.
 Ambulance services and first Aid organizations
 All NYSC corpers serving under Mushin local government

• Where are we going to be doing it?
Pilot maiden edition of the project has been scheduled to kick off within MUSHIN AREA of Lagos.

The underlisted streets have been selected for the project:
1. AGEGE MOTOR ROAD (From Cappa to Mosalasi)
2. OLATEJU ROAD (From Vono to Ogunmokun Rd)
3. OLANIBI/OJEKUNLE (From Daliko Market to Ladipo Junction)
4. LADIPO ROAD (Agege Motor Rd to Oshodi Apapa Expressway bridge)
5. ISOLO ROAD (From Agege Motor Rd to Daliko Market)
6. PALM AVENUE/FAFOLU (From Isolo Rd to Ageg Motor Road Junction)
7. OGUNMOKUN ROAD (From Ojunrin to Agege Motor Road)

Thank you!

One more week for nominations for The Future Awards!

2009-12-01T15:41:00.002+01:00

The Future Awards, Nigeria’s biggest youth event, which celebrates young Nigerians doing brilliant work in different fields from music to the media, technology to entrepreneurship has extended nominations by one week!

Nominations were to end on Monday the 30th of November, but have been extended to Friday the 4th of December! According to the organisers, this is especially to get more diverse nominations for the Excellence in Public Service, Best Use of Science and Professional of the Year categories, especially from outside Lagos .

To ensure this, the organisers have been on a road show of Town Hall Meetings across the country – visiting Abuja , Kaduna , Adamawa, Benue, Cross River , Rivers, Enugu , Ogun, Osun, Edo States , as well as Ghana , South Africa and the United Kingdom . The town hall meetings ended on Sunday, the 29th of November.

Again, the categories this year are

1. Actor of the Year

2. Best Use of Advocacy

3. Best Use of Science

4. Best Use of Technology

5. Business Owner of the Year

6. Comedian of the Year

7. Creative Artist of the Year

8. Excellence in Public Service

9. Journalist of the Year

10. Magazine of the Year

11. Model of the Year

12. Musician of the Year

13. Music Producer of the Year

14. On-air Personality of the Year (Radio)

15. On-air Personality of the Year (TV)

16. Professional of the Year

17. Screen Producer of the Year

18. Sportsperson of the Year

19. Team of the Year

20. Young Person of the Year

The criteria are simple: the person must be a Nigerian citizen and must be aged 18 – 31. You can also nominate yourself!

If you want to nominate, go to the website www.thefuturenigeria.com, click the ‘Nominate’ link and fill in the nominee’s information.

Please note that there will be no more extensions after this. The nominees list will be released on the 7th of December 2009, and voting begins immediately!

IT’S ALL ABOUT THE FUTURE!

2009-11-18T23:43:00.001+01:00

(Newsletter, November 2009)

Something’s about to happen!

We have prizes for you on our website!!!

We want you to visit our website, and get new updates, find out what’s hot for young people in Nigeria , read our blogs (our bloggers include TV presenter Ebuka Obi Uchendu, Abuja City Crawler Ijeoma Okeagu and the sensational Nki’ru. Njoku), take part in our hot, hot polls, and do the other fun stuff! So we have designed a competition to make it worth your while! Just go to the website, go to the ‘Fun Stuff’ link, answer the SIMPLE questions, and then you win a t-shirt or sticker every week, tickets and invitations to the hottest events around the country, and
more! www.thefuturenigeria.com!

Has The Future Awards affected your life in any way?

Every day we get stories of young people who have been motivated or inspired by The Future Project/The Future Awards. Those stories encourage us, and we want to hear more! So if The Future Awards or any of our projects or winners has renewed your faith in Nigeria, inspired you to start or finish a project or business or idea, helped you practically in any way etc, we want to get your story, and if you want we put it on the website! But mostly we want to know those whose lives have changed! Send us a mail right away at thefuturenigeria@yahoo.com or info@thefuturenigeria.com or call our Communications Coordinator on 08022226712. It doesn’t have to be well written or long – just tell it the
way you feel it!

Coming to a city near you!

The national tour for the awards started in October, and we have visited about 5 cities (details are below,), but still to come in November are the town hall meetings in London in the United Kingdom (at the University of East London) on the 18th, Johannesburg (in partnership with naijaborn.com) on the 28th, South Africa, and three more states left in Nigeria to visit: so you’ll see us in Ile-Ife, Benin and Calabar. Check The Future Awards group for more info!

We are looking for talented singers outside Lagos !

We are still looking for talented singers in the states we are yet to visit, so if you are in any of these states and you want to be part of our commemorative CD for Nigeria at 50 titled ‘I represent Naija’, then send us a mail at info@thefuturenigeria.com! The 6 selected artistes will feature alongside 6 of Nigeria ’s top talents. The CDs will be distributed across the country, and the video will be banging

We need your help!

We need you to help us spread the word! So help us plug the nominations info on your Facebook and Twitter updates for at least a week. Don’t forget to also add #irepresentnaija. You could have a general message like: “I am Eyitayo Aiyejumoh, and ‘I represent Naija’, visit www.thefuturenigeria.com to make your nominations today”. And please get your friends to join the group The Future Project! Just add 5 friends to the group and we’ll be fine! Spread the word also through your blogs, websites, and forums. Let’s power this movement for change!

You can still join the enterprise trainings!

If you want to join The Future Enterprise Support Scheme (TF-ESS) and get practical useful tips that can help your creativity and business, as well as intern in wave-making outfits and companies in your field, we still have openings, but they close at the end of November so register NOW!!! Lecturers include Tara Fela-Durotoye (CEO, House of Tara), Bukola Adubi (Executive Director, Miccom Gold Resorts), Bamidele Odufuye (Best Use of Technology 2009) Uche Nnaji (CEO, Ouch!), the Fate Foundation, the After School Development Consult (AGDC), amongst others. Registration costs N5000 ONLY for the 6 month programme! Please call our Communications Coordinator on 08022226712 if you are want to be part of this priceless opportunity. Note that you cannot apply after November.

Of science and service!

The Future Awards is still looking for nominations for the category of Best Use of science. This year, for the first time ever in its five-year history we introduced the category for Best Use of Science and Excellence in Public Service categories. So if you know any young people who are doing very well in government service – teachers, politicians etc – and young people in physics, chemistry and biology fields who are doing fantastic work, nominate them before the 30th of November on www.thefuturenigeria.com! Nominations end on the 30th of November.

You can still volunteer!

Volunteers are still welcome to join us. You can also be a campus representatives or state coordinator. After December, there will be no more entry for volunteers. Note again that, from January, we will not accept any more volunteers. So volunteer BEFORE November 30! Remember that if you volunteer, you can be part of the TF-ESS programme for free. Send a mail to volunteer@thefuturenigeria.com or call our Communications Coordinator on 08022226712.

Get branded “I represent Naija” tshirts and blazers!

Have you seen the coolest young people ROCKING them??! Our ‘I represent Naija’ tees and stickers have sold widely across Nigeria . The first batch t-shirts are SOLD OUT! And now a new batch of the t-shirts from our partner Clemas are out! They are branded with messages like ‘I represent Naija’, ‘I represent Nigeria ’ and ‘I am the future’. You can also get the customized blazers that are beeeeaaauuuutiful! All these can be delivered to you at home or work for a small extra cost. Just call our Communications Coordinator on 08022226712 NOW or send a mail to info@thefuturenigeria.com!

The Cobhams promo hits the airwaves!

We’ve been hitting you hard with the delightful #irepresentnaija promos that feature Jenifa star, Funke Akindele who was Actor of the Year 2009 and the Business Owner of the Year 2009 winner, Mosunmola Umoru. On the 1st of November, we launched a new one! Cobhams Asuquo, LIVE, telling you how he conquered the natural and manmade challenges in his way. It’s beautiful. You can see it on our blog thefuturenigeria.blogspot.com.

Catch us on radio and TV!

Also, the promos and more can be seen on television on STV, HiSoccer, HiNolly, Nigezie, Channels TV, Moments with Mo (NTA Network), Views & Tunes and Excite TV. The radio promos are on Rhythm Fm, Inspiration FM, Cool FM, Wazobia FM, Beat FM, and Hot FM. Other media partners include NEXT, Encomium, Genevieve, TW, Bellanaija.com, Ladybrille.com, Notjuskok.com, Exquisite, Acada and The Applause!

Become a project partner!

If you belong to any fellowship, club, association, youth church or youth religious group, campus group or any other gathering of young people and you want us to come talk about The Future Awards or you want to partner with us in any way, please send a mail tagged ‘Partner’ to thefuturenigeria@yahoo.com or info@thefuturenigeria.com or just call our Communications Coordinator on 08022226712. We want to work with you.

Plugging one for Yvent Kouture

One of our proud partners, Yvent Couture (its founder, Debola Lewis was finalist for Business Owner of the Year last year) is staging an entrepreneurship event tagged ‘Facing the Giants’, an intensive training seminar organised to equip young Nigerians with key skills that will ensure success in the practice of the business of events management - with the major focus on events decoration. It is a 2 day interactive, skill acquisition and practical seminar. It is scheduled to hold on Sat Nov. 21; 8am - 4pm and Sunday Nov. 22nd; 1pm - 5pm. To register, go to Facebook and search for ‘Facing the Giants’. It’ll be massive, trust us!

What went down in the past month!

The glitzy launch

The Future Awards Season 5 was launched on Sep 30, 2009 at Terra Kulture, Lagos . It was a fine mix of the best entertainment (Banky W, Rooftop MCs, the works) and brilliance (The ‘who says there is nothing to celebrate’ speech by Chude Jideonwo, which you should check out on the website, and the talk by US motivational speaker, Eugene Taylor). Guests were briefed on the accomplishments of the last season, the new categories, the new website, the judging process and all other details were declared open. It was a star-studded, fun night!

Meeting Mr. Vice President

The organisers and selected winners of The Future Awards met with all the key government officials in charge of youth matters in the country when they invited to the presidential villa, Aso Rock, in October, to meet with Vice President Goodluck Jonathan! Also present at the meeting were the Minister for Youth Development, Senator Akinlabi Olasunkanmi and the Senior Special Adviser to the Vice President on Youth, Mrs. Morenike Soyinka-Onijala. Dr. Reuben Abati, who is chairman of The Guardian Editorial Board as well as chairman of The Future Awards Independent Audit Committee, led the delegation that went for the visit. The Vice President, who was very impressed, pledged his full support for the project.

Breezing through Abuja , Kaduna , Yola and Enugu

The Abuja town hall meeting happened that same evening at JB’s Place, Maitama Amusement Park . In attendance were some of the brightest, prominent young people in Abuja . Some of Abuja ’s hottest singers and comedians also performed and then 4 past winners of the awards shared their experiences. There were intense discussions about Nigeria , and then the award categories, the nomination process, and this year’s judges, amongst others, were unveiled. The campaign theme for this year’s season “I represent Naija” was also presented, with its TV/radio promos, and the merchandise. From there, the team moved the national tour to Yola in Adamawa State , Kaduna and Port Harcourt . Apart from our own events, we also visited other youth events, clubs, organisations and others in these states as part of the town hall idea.

Taking it outside Nigeria

The Future Awards last year visited the United Kingdom for its town meeting, this year it is stretching to three countries, and the first one happened in Accra , Ghana . It was held in conjunction with the Nigerian High Commissioner, with the High Commissioner, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, sending a representative. The event held at the Shangrila Hotel, with an overflowing hall of young Nigerians living, working and schooling in Ghana , as well as a mix of Ghanaian youth. Also present was Screen Producer of the Year winner, Onye Ubanatu. Ghana rocked!

Empowering the youth - practically!

After three years in the works, the first session of The Future Enterprise Support Scheme (TFESS), a training and mentorship series, kicked off on 17 October, 2009. TFESS’s objective is to give young people intensive trainings that will cover entrepreneurship and creativity every six months. Also included will be two-month internship/mentorship program with selected winners and associates of The Future Awards. The trainings kicked off on Oct 17th 2009 and trainers include Mosunmola Umoru (Business Owner of the year 2009), the FATE Foundation, Bamidele Odufuye, Tara Fela-Durotoye (Young Person of the Year 2008), Uche Nnaji (Style Entrepreneur of the Year 2009), Detoun Ogwo (MD, AGDC), amongst others. This year, the training is focused primarily on our volunteers, for whom it’s free, but 20% of the space is available for non- volunteers for a fee. Call our Communications Coordinator on 08022226712 if you want to be part of this priceless opportunity!

We thank you very much for reading this and for connecting with this vision to inspire and empower a new generation of Nigerian leaders. You can get any information on any of the above, including plenty of pictures, on www.thefuturenigeria.com.

For any enquiry, information or anything else, send us a mail on info@thefuturenigeria.com or thefuturenigeria@yahoo.com and we’ll get right back at ya!

Compliments of:

The Future Project , Nigeria

Aspire. Strive. Achieve

www.thefuturenigeria.com

Cobhams Asuquo endorses TFA

2009-11-17T17:49:00.005+01:00

The Future Awards is looking for young scientists!

2009-11-02T12:42:00.001+01:00

For the first time in its five-year history, The Future Awards, called Nigeria’s biggest youth event, has introduced a Best Use of Science Category in addition to its Best Use of Technology category that has over the years produced technology innovators, advocates and entrepreneurs like United Nations IT Ambassador ‘Gbenga Sesan.

Announcing the category, its Creative Director, Chude Jideonwo, said “For many years, what we have done is try to mirror the breakthroughs that young people have made in different fields and to sustain them. However, this year we decided we have gotten to a level where we can take this further and stimulate activity in the field of science as well as draw attention, and ultimately support, to that small random army of young Nigerians across the country who are working in spite of the debilitating lack of structure in science - with innovation or invention.”

Nominations for the awards kicked off on the 1st of October and will continue till the 30th of November. Nominees must be Nigerian citizens and must be aged 18 – 31. If you want to nominate anyone, all you need to do is go to the website www.thefuturenigeria.com, click the ‘Nominate’ link and fill in information about the nominees’ work and why you think he/she should win.

According to the website, explaining the broad criteria for this category, “Word out there is that there are not a long people interested in science, and with our academic environment seemingly wired against development in science, it is difficult to find young people with solid achievement in this area. But we don’t agree: under the broad categories of physics, chemistry and biology, we know there are a critical number of young Nigerians who are advancing impressive, practical innovations that can compare with the best around the world. This might also involve innovation or entrepreneurship in science.”

Other categories for the Awards this year include Best Use of Advocacy, Actor of the Year, Best Use of Technology, Business Owner of the Year, Comedian of the Year, Creative Artist of the Year, Journalist of the Year, Magazine of the Year, Model of the Year, Musician of the Year, Music Producer of the Year, On-air Personality of the Year (Radio), On-air Personality of the Year (TV), Professional of the Year, Screen Producer of the Year, Sportsperson of the Year, Team of the Year, the biggest for Young Person of the Year, and a new category fort Excellence in Public Service.

“We are also beaming the search light on public service,” Jideonwo said in explaining the Excellence in Public Service category. “Again, for the same purpose as the Best Use of Science. Our awards seek to encourage young people to think of ideas outside of government, outside of convention and to add value that way. However, we acknowledge that it is counter-productive to ignore government, and it will be helpful if we have people in public service who have integrity, believe in productivity and apply new modern thinking to problem solving. Those are the kind of young people we want under the Excellence in Public Service category. Please go to www.thefuturenigeria.com.”

TARUWA 3rd of Nov. Black Pearl, 6.30pm-9.00pm

2009-10-28T09:30:00.000+01:00

This month's TARUWA special is themed ' tHe FuTuRe'. It promises to be a lovely event you wouldn't want to miss. Future greats will be very much in the house; musicians, writers, poets, spoken word artists, moguls et all.

All write ups and spoken word presentations should be centered around the future of Nigeria as compared to what it is today.
Anyone interested in performing should send their names as soon as they can to 08036621897, and performance confirmation shall be given to chosen artists.
Please remember we are KAATing (Kicking Against African Time), plus limited seats are available for y'all.
See you soon!

2009-10-26T16:00:00.004+01:00

The Future Awards meets Vice President Goodluck Jonathan… hits Abuja and Kaduna with Town Hall Meetings

2009-10-16T16:40:00.001+01:00

The organisers and selected winners of The Future Awards recently met with all the key government officials in charge of youth matters in the country when they paid a courtesy visit to the Nigerian Vice President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan. Also present at the meeting were the Minister for Youth Development, Senator Akinlabi Olasunkanmi and the Senior Special Adviser to the Vice President on Youth, Mrs. Morenike Soyinka-Onijala.
The delegation was led by Dr. Reuben Abati, chairman of The Guardian Editorial Board as well as chairman of The Future Awards Independent Audit Committee. Dr. Abati, after expressing the regrets of the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Prof. Pat Utomi, who was initially billed to be at the meeting, introduced the project and its organisers. He mentioned that the organisers started this project when they were all under the age of 20 – the youngest of them was even 17 – and they have grown from strength to strength. You would be proud of them.”
The 5th edition of The Future Awards is presented by HiTV and RedSTRAT, with support from the Federal Ministry of Youth and the International Finance Corporation. It is the flagship platform under The Future Project, Nigeria, which is an umbrella of projects and programmes that seeks to inspire hope in young Nigerians, direct them to work for change and to add practical value to society.
After an introduction of the idea by its Creative Director, Chude Jideonwo; the PR Director for the Awards, Emilia Asim-Ita, briefed Dr. Jonathan on the plans for this year. She spoke about the town hall meetings in 8 states, as well as the UK and Ghana in October and November, the awards’ relationships with international organisations and other countries, and its other outreach projects like The Future Enterprise Support Scheme (TF-ESS), The Future Mentorship Programme, The “Do Something” Conferences and The Future TakeAction, amongst others.

The Vice President, who has shown something of a soft spot for The Future Awards having sent a representative for its 2008 edition, as well as helping the awards open a relationship with the Ministry of Youth, noted his admiration for the work that it is doing to present a new face for Nigeria. “This is the true way to re-brand the country,” he said. “Because you cannot say you are re-branding and not have the youth in the forefront. We need to show the world that all those negative news that goes around is not representative of Nigerians. I promise you the support of my office through the Ministry of Youth."
After the visit, the town hall meetings began in earnest that evening – where young people in Abuja were told about the award categories, the nomination process, and this year’s judges, amongst others. Amidst performances by some of Abuja’s hottest singers and comedians, including Lindsey, Yoye, El Nathan and The Governor, the campaign theme for this year’s season “I represent Naija” was also presented, with its TV/radio promos, and the merchandise.
Last year’s Business Owner of the Year (Mosunmola Umoru), Style Entrepreneur of the Year (Uche Nnaji), Magazine of the Year (Ace, whose publisher is Bukunyi Olateru-Olagbegi) and Screen producer of the year (Onye Ubanatu) winners also spoke about all the work they have been doing with the awards over the past year, especially the School Seminars, amongst others. “The opportunity to share my story with other young people and to see their earnest reaction made my heart glow,” Ms. Umoru told the guests. The event held at JB’s Place, Maitama Amusement Park.
“This is first phase of the town hall meeting in Abuja; for young people that control processes and wield a measure of influence in their sectors,” said Chude Jideonwo. “What we are working towards is a ripple effect. When we interact with these youth leaders, they become ambassadors and spread the word to the young people they employ or work with. The second phase is in conjunction with the Federal Ministry of Youth – and will involve a mass of more young people, especially students.”
Guests included broadcasters Tyeng Gang, Chioma Chuka, Alu Azege, Bennie Arc; advocacy professionals Linus Okorie, Ohimai Amaize, Alkassim Abdulkadir; convener of the Sardauna Awards, Hassan Rilwan, PR consultant, Ijeoma Okeagu, amongst others. It was held in conjunction with Chocolate City and naijaborn.com.
The organisers and winners also went on a blitz of media interviews in the nation’s capital, and then went on to the town hall meetings in Zaria, Kaduna, courtesy of HiTV. The organisers also visited youth events - altogether speaking to about 1000 young people.
The town hall meetings now move to Yola in Adamawa State and Enugu in Enugu State. Nominations are still ongoing at www.thefuturenigeria.com – with categories including Best Use of Science, Best Use of Technology and Excellence in Public Service. The awards hold on the 7th of February 2010.

The Future Awards is looking for talented young singers from across the country!

2009-10-05T10:29:00.001+01:00

Apart from talking about Nigeria when we go on our town hall meetings across 8 states, and getting quality nominations from different parts of the country, we also want to uncover and promote new talent that should take Naija by storm!

SO, as we go from state to state, we will looking for 6 talented artists from each geo-political zone of the country who will be part of a Nigeria @ 50 commemorative CD titled “I Represent Naija”.
The CD will feature 6 popular artistes and then the 6 selected upcoming artistes from all over the country. They also get a chance to perform at the awards in February.
Competitions for this august event will be held at our town hall meetings in Abuja , Kaduna , Adamawa, Enugu , Osun, Portharcourt, Calabar, Asaba and Benin .
If you are an upcoming artiste or you know an upcoming artiste whose talent is just FANTASTIC, send the name, location and phone number to info@thefuturenigeria.com and title the mail “I Represent Naija competition”
When we get to your state, you will show us what you’ve got. Send your details NOW, as the town hall meetings are starting in a matter of days!

More Pictures from TFA Season5 Launch

2009-10-02T14:33:00.000+01:00

Who says there is nothing to celebrate? #irepresentnaija

2009-10-02T11:18:00.001+01:00

Every once in a while, some people step up to us – we call them professional cynics – and say: how can The Future Awards be celebrating Nigeria? What is there to celebrate? We should be protesting, we should be mourning; there’s nothing to be happy about! And we tell them: you obviously haven’t been paying attention.
How can you say there is nothing to celebrate when you look around Nigeria?
True, many times, our nation can confound us. Our politics is essentially warped, which is putting it mildly, and our economy is, to put it simply, a disgrace. We do not have a coherent sense of identity, and outside the country, we are not invited to meetings where nations that matter sit. If the point wasn’t clear enough, not only did President Obama ignore the country months ago, his secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, came over here and drove the point home.
Talking about young people, as we speak, schools across Lagos are on strike. Lagos state primary and secondary school teachers have accused the government of insensitivity. In Edo State, the governor, a former labour leader himself ,is yet to resolve a strike with lecturers, and across the nation university students have been at home for more than 13 weeks.

And, for heaven’s sake, why do we still have no light?
So, yes, things have fallen apart. Yes, there is plenty to mourn.
But listen, out of all this rot, last year we found young people like Mosunmola Umoru, a young farmer who, when we checked her books, has gone through some frustrating challenges, enough to make anybody give up, but has continued to build a viable agricultural business that made her a Goldman Sachs scholar – she won for Business Owner of the Year. We found an Emmanuel Etim, who, from a small office in Surulere sponsoring the education of one or two young people, has now begun to consult for the United Nations and the Africa Union – he won for Best Use of Advocacy. And then, from a small shop on the Lagos Island, Uche Nnaji is opening up two new fashion OUCHlets – he won for Style Entrepreneur of the Year. These are only a few examples. All of these done without stealing a kobo, without government contracts, without a family fortune to dip into. And you say we should not celebrate them?

We cannot be fixated on government. Many societies have been regenerated outside of government, and in spite of destructive politics. Nigerians have to focus on the pockets of change going on everywhere else; to acknowledge them, to sustain them and to form a network of positive, change-oriented activity.

Because the more you acknowledge and celebrate those small, steady steps, the more you are able to sustain them. And the more you sustain them, the more you are able to build an army of young Nigerians who create enough value to have the confidence to do what is right. A confidence that can only come from socio-economic security.
But you see, instead of understanding and keying into this positive, unstoppable movement – many choose to belittle it, even to attack it.
The young Nigeria is unfairly, and sometimes deliberately, misunderstood. When he says he is Naija for instance, some people say it is frivolous. They would rather call the generation unserious – even mis-directed. Even though, like musician Banky W eloquently said early in the year, we are a generation that had to learn even when there was no one to teach us. Like roses among thorns, we grew even when there was no one to support us.
When Banky W sings about the indomitable spirit of the Nigerian, they say he is only screaming ‘Ebute Metta’. When the Rooftop MCs sing of achievement and humility, they only hear ‘e la gi mo’ (break his head). When DJ Zeez says 4kasibe, they don’t see that, like TV presenter Funmi Iyanda says, the young man is asking that you apply your energy into a pursuit until you break through, and when 9ice begins to ‘spit’ – they don’t understand the swagger and the confidence he speaks of; The sefl-affirmation that tells the young Nigerians that he (or she) can do just about anything he sets his heart on.
It is the same way they see Wande Coal and only hear his song ‘Lepa too bad’. But Wande also spoke about the Nigeria of his dreams.
In the very second track on his first album, he spoke of a time when you were proud to be Nigerian. Of a time when there was education, when there was employment, when there was healthcare. But now, ‘everything don dabaru’.
How can we get back to that time? A time when there was hope, when there was faith, when we had confidence in our nation? When you could go outside the country and not be gripped with trepidation whenever you get to immigration even though you did nothing wrong? When we didn’t have to queue at the embassies until we are about to faint. How can we proud of Nigeria once again?
Well, we are here to tell you that that time is almost here.
Every other week, the likes of D’banj and Psquare and Basketmouth are creating jobs for Nigerians across the world, performing at sold out concerts and generating income that comes back home. Across the continent, actresses like Omotola and Rita Dominic and others are being celebrated as African heroes. The likes of Temidayo Israel and Emmanuel Etim are criss-crossing the world, engaging institutions and world leaders. Our last Model of the Year, Olubunmi Ademokoya, just got signed in New York, and our models are the in thing in Jo’burg. Asa performs from Japan to Cambodia, Qudus Onikeku dances from Paris to Ethiopia. They can see world leaders and stand up to them – because there is no shallowness and corruption to make them ashamed. They enter embassies and speak with the confidence that Nigerians once used to have. These young people are conquering the world and re-branding the country.
Ladies and gentlemen, THEY are presenting a new face of Nigeria.
They are presenting that newness, that freshness, that brightness that we young people now call Naija. And we represent that Naija.
So if you say there is nothing to celebrate, we say to you that you don’t know what’s up. And that is what The Future Awards has set out to do – to show you what’s up.
You either go with the flow, or we will leave you behind. Nobody can stop my generation. Ladies and gentlemen, dem no reach!

Thank you. And God bless Naija.

*This speech was given by Chude Jideonwo at the launch of The Future Awards Season 5 on the eve of Nigeria’s 49th Independent Anniversary, in Lagos. www.thefuturenigeria.com

PICTURES FROM THE OFFICIAL LAUNCH OF THE FUTURE AWARDS SEASON 5 LAUNCH

2009-10-01T20:32:00.002+01:00

The Future Award Launches Season 5

2009-10-01T19:57:00.000+01:00

Finally, the season 4 of The Future Awards came to an end on September 30 and the new season was launched. The event slated to start at 5pm at Terra Kulture, Victoria Island started with a red carpet/cocktail interview. The media was all around to interview guests. Celebrities like Tosyn Bucknor of Top FM Radio, Funke Bucknor-Obruthe of Zapphaire Events, Iyanya of MTN Project Fame, Kola Osinowo, Julius Agwu, Lami Opere among others were all on the Red Carpet.
The event proper kicked off with the DJ taking guests back in the days with old Naija beats. Ibiyemi,the new sensational singer on the block started the programme with a beautiful rendition of the National Anthem.
The MCs' of the event, Shade Ladipo and Andre Blaze of Nigezie welcomed guests and took time out to appreciate the sponsors and supporters of The Future Awards.
An experimenting and scattering performance was given by the RoofTop MCs. It was indeed a wonderful experience.
The Marketing and PR Director of RedSTRAT Communications (organisers of The Future Awards) came up to deliver a speech on the journey of TFA '09 so far. She talked about the road shows which was done in different states in Nigeria and also Ghana and UK. She said the Season 4 of TFA was the best they have had so far and they expect it to be even bigger this coming Season 5.
A post humour award was awarded to Gani Fawehinmi and a minute of silence was given in respect of His Soul.
Eugene W. Taylor, one of the speakers at The Platform a program put together by The Covenant Christian Centre came on stage to give an inspirational talk. He came all the way from Mississippi and this happens to be his first time in Nigeria. He gave a short but deep speech stating that he never went to college and yet he had 3.4million dollars and happened to be the youngest African American to enter the stock market at 27.
The Creative Director, Chude Jideonwo gave a speech on the theme of TFA 2010 'I represent Naija'. In his speech, he said 'Young Nigerians are misunderstood; there are actually many reasons to celebrate the Youth'. He stated the damages that have been made to Nigeria and gave measures that should be made to make The Future of Nigeria a better one.
Iyanya, MTN Project Fame Winner also took the stage and gave a wonderful performance of his hit song-Truly Love you.
Mosunmola Umoru(TFA 09 Business Owner of the year) and Uche Nnaji(TFA 09 Style Entrepeneur of the year) both spoke on the TFA experience, the impact it had made on their lives n business and the amount of exposure it brought their way. For Mosunmola, the award was a thing of glory for she and her staff, it helped them see that their efforts were not in vain. For Uche Nnaji (Ouch!), it was also a well deserved glory and he even plans on opening his third Ouchlet in some few days.
The LightUp Nigeria Crew was also on ground and a representative spoke on the purpose of The LightUp Nigeria campaign. She said the group was formed by Young Nigerians tired of the PHCN situation, tired of spending money on fuel and diesel. In their words, All we need is light, give us some light, LightUp Nigeria! Lighters were raised as the guests agreed to this campaign.
The final sign out note on the event was done by Mr. Capable himself, alongside WhizKid the new n coolest kid in the industry. He got the whole hall on fire with his performance; he really ended the event with a banging performance.
The event came to an end at this point, The Future Awards Season 5 was declared open and guests were asked to start nominating by visiting http://www.thefuturenigeria.com/!
#thefutureawards #irepresentnaija'

Be branded for The Future!

2009-09-28T11:28:00.001+01:00

We're repping naija this year - BIG TIME! The launch of The Future Awards Season 5 is happening at Terra Kulture, Tiamiyu Savage Street, Victoria Island, Lagos, this wednesday at 5pm.

If you're one of our invited guests, you will be able to buy branded "i represent naija" and "i am the future" stickers and t-shirts. So come loaded to buy as many as you can.

And it's going to be available after the event - check the website www.thefuturenigeria.com.

Show the world that you have the true naija spirit! Let's rock town for change!

The Future Awards 2010
Aspire. Strive. Achieve.

CALLING FOR VOLUNTEERS! CAMPUS REPRESENTATIVES! STATE CO-ORDINATORS!

2009-09-07T19:34:00.003+01:00

We are launching Season 5 of The Future Awards (TFA) on the 1^st of October – which is just 24 days away! And immediately after that, we begin road shows in Benin, Enugu, Kaduna, Adamawa, Abuja, Calabar, Port Harcourt, Ile-Ife, and in Accra and London – talking to young Nigerians about our message of change and hope.

Last year, we set a higher standard for youth engagement when the TFA road shows hit Enugu, Benin, Kaduna, Lagos, Abuja, Calabar and London. This year, as usual, the road shows will involve a town hall meeting, and a blitz of all the networks of young people in those states.

To work with us to make these even more effective we need VOLUNTEERS. Apart from being a member of our Volunteer Force, you can also apply to be a STATE CO-ORDINATOR, liaising with us to fine-tune activities in your states, and also a CAMPUS REPRESENTATIVE, working with us to fine-tune activities in your state and being the face of the project there!

Volunteers for The Future Awards Season 5 will access a bouquet of benefits including admittance into our Training Programme and The Future Mentorship Scheme, amongst others.

We don’t only want representatives in the states we will be visiting; we want representatives in all 36 states of the country! So are you passionate about change? Send us a mail at thefuturenigeria@yahoo.com, titled: VOLUNTEER, and tell us why you want to volunteer with us.

Please remember that, as with every year, selection of volunteers will be competitive. Deadline is the 29^th of September, so let’s hear from you!

The Future Awards

www.thefuturenigeria.com

www.thefuturenigeria.blogspot.com

Aspire. Strive. Achieve

"The Future..." belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams...

OUR MISSION

2009-09-07T19:33:00.002+01:00

1) To capture the mass media and use it as a tool to positively re-direct the minds of young people; especially Nigerians and Africans in general

2) To stimulate and support entrepreneurship across sectors/create businesses and jobs to further empower the youth population

3) To foster interaction and synergy between young people across board

4) To employ sustained positive images of young people to correct stereotypes and to give a proper vision of Africa ’s future

5) When people work hard to make change in society, especially young people; they should be rewarded and encouraged to do more

Transforming Nigeria

2009-09-02T19:46:00.000+01:00

This article was gotten from the August issue of YADA Magazine. Enjoy and post your comments

Everybody seems to know about what Nigeria is going through. People can recount all the mistakes that our leaders have made till date. I know because I have been there too. I have gotten to a point where the nation as a whole is frustrating and insulting those in authority was as easy as ABC. But I ask myself, if everybody just stays back and keeps insulting the generation that has gone before, Nigeria will not make any improvement as young people will begin to make the same mistakes their forefathers made. This is where YADA comes in.

If you have been following this journal-Zine from the beginning, you must have noticed that everything about this particular ‘magazine’ is different. Inasmuch as we want our readers to have fun and to enjoy reading the journal, we also want our readers to learn something new anytime as the main objective is for our readers to know.

The importance of knowledge cannot be overemphasized. Knowledge is synonymous to the growth of any society. It was the desire for knowledge that made Ancient Greece what is today. Most of our academic and philosophical training is based on what was done in Ancient Greece. We also know that one major characteristic of a developed society is that it is an informed society; one who is willing to learn from the mistakes of the past and strive not to make those mistakes in future by seeking new ways by which the problems can be solved.

In his letter to Lord Burghley, English Philosopher, statesman and lawyer, Francis Bacon said ‘I have taken all knowledge to be my province’. He also said in the book ‘Meditationes Sacrae (Religious Meditations)’ that ‘Knowledge itself is power’. What does this have to do with Nigeria? How does this solve our problems?

There is no point blaming the older generation for our problems. The deed has been done. What we can say is maybe they were not ready? The time was different. Now we have a chance to be different. We have a chance to change the way things have been done and to make Nigeria a place where we can raise world changers. The only way we can change this is if the Nigerian Youth undergoes change from the inside out.

What does this mean? Presently, with the way things are going, it seems that history will repeat itself with this generation. The reason is because this generation has misplaced priorities and also they have the wrong mindset. The average Nigerian Youth is mainly concerned with music or fashion or hitting it big (through pure or impure ways). Why these things are not bad (apart from hitting it big in an impure way), it should not be the core of our youth culture. The Nigerian Youth are the ones who are going to cause a change in Nigeria and our major concern should be in nation building. First, we should go back to our history and find out the root cause of Nigeria’s problems. With the knowledge of that, we begin to find ways by which we don’t make the same mistakes those that have gone before us have made. Also, we should seek out solutions to the problems that ravage us in Nigeria, problems like unemployment, corruption, poverty and illiteracy. Our generation is lucky because we have something our parents did not; the internet. The internet is one of the largest information resource centre created. Everything you need and everything you seek is there. Most times when we get on the internet we spend time checking out music and celebrity gossip. Once again, I am not against this but the truth is in getting our celebrity gossip and in logging on to social networking sites, we should try to seek for information. Let’s read the news and know what’s going on in our society; society being the world as the world is gradually becoming a global village.

Information and knowledge is the key to development. With these tools, we can empower ourselves for a new Nigeria. If of a truth we want to ‘Rebrand Nigeria’ let us start of by changing the mindset of the youth. Let us take our education (informal and formal) a little bit more seriously. Let us find a way of helping our youth that are engaged in 419 scam activities as they are tomorrow’s leaders. We can transform Nigeria together. It starts with you; a little information, a little knowledge. It may look like too little to cause a change but with a generation who knows, with a generation that has been changed from the inside out trust me Nigeria will not only be a nation with good people; it will be a nation with remarkably talented individuals whose excellence will shine across borders.

Remember KNOWLEDGE IS POWER. Keep reading YADA!

Hola!!!

2009-09-01T01:28:00.001+01:00

Welcome to the official blog of The Future Awards. Here you will get the latest updates on the awards and the various activities of Future Nigeria. Stay locked and remember your future starts now.

An Overview of The Future (from The Future Website)
According to The Guardian, all the young people that matter in Nigeria can be found at the venue of “The Future...” Awards – this perfectly captures the essence of the event.

Amongst its recent accomplishments, The Future Project/The Future Awards was one of the projects from 25 countries around the world, selected for the US Government’s International Visitors Leadership Programme in March/April 2009. It was also selected by the British Council under its World Changemakers Project.

Managed by a youth communications/youth resource agency called RedSTRAT, it celebrates young people between the ages of 18 and 31 with the awards – which are rigorously judged through a 4-stage 4-month process that involves a Board of Judges and an Independent Audit Committee

In an addressable population of about 57 million, approx. 31 million Nigerians are between the ages of 12 and 34. At the moment, Nigeria ’s unemployment rate hovers at 4.9%; from 15% in 1999/2000, the unemployment ratio which was 15% has only continued to drop. It goes without saying how frustrated this has made millions of youths. The Future Nigeria Project aims to correct this.

Organized by three young Nigerians below the age of 25, more than 75% of the events – from anchoring, to sound, to decorations, stage etc - are completely handled, run and managed by young people under 30.

All of last year’s winners were below 31 include a young female farmer, Paralympics-certified medical doctor, under-20 magazine publishers, first African Olympic medalist, amongst others. Categories range from Business Owner of the Year, through Best Use of Advocacy to Best Use of Technology.

The next season (Season 5) kicks off on the 1^st of October 2009 with an official launch – and will have several build-up events until the Awards on the 7^th of February 2010.

This year, we are working with the Federal Ministry of Youth, the British Council, the Fate Foundation, the After Graduate Development Centre (AGDC) and the Federal Ministry of Information.