A faith-based organisation, Youth Engagement and Solutions (YES), has unveiled plans to train 10 million Nigerian youths in various skills to boost human capital development and wealth creation.
YES President, Apostle Francis Adegbenro, announced this on Monday in Akure at a one-day summit focused on inspiring and equipping young people nationwide.
The event was themed “Skill as a Tool for Wealth Creation.
According to Adegbenro, the programme is aimed at building the mind-set and tools needed for economic empowerment and personal transformation of the youth.
He emphasised that sustainable empowerment must begin with a mental shift, explaining that while many had access to resources, true wealth creation starts with a transformed mind.
“I have met people with resources who still remain poor. Until the mind is renewed, nothing placed in it will yield value.
“This is not an ambition targeting at 10 million Nigerian youths. We didn’t come together to be entertained, we came to be equipped.
“The initiative is for youths engagement and solutions, and we are just getting started.
“This initiative was birthed from a burden. A burden to see a generation of young Nigerians rise with more than just potential, but with capacity, character and competence to influence the future,” Adegbenro said.
The YES president likened the mentorship process to the biblical partnership of Moses and Aaron, noting that “a vision may come to one man, but it cannot be interpreted by one man alone.”
He urged the youth to ask critical, sometimes “dangerous,” questions about their direction in life, stressing that success is not accidental but a product of intentional learning, unlearning, and relearning.
Also speaking at the event, Ondo State Commissioner-designate, Mrs Seun Osamaye, commended the initiative, which she described as timely and visionary.
Osamaye used the opportunity to encourage young minds to seize the moment and embrace skills as viable paths to wealth creation.
“Some inherit wealth; others create it. Skills are the bridge between today’s struggle and tomorrow’s prosperity.
“This summit is planting seeds for generational impact,” she said.
Also speaking, the United Nations Representative, Amb. Macwilly Mgbara, described the president of YES as a “dogmatic and pragmatic leader with a clear vision.”
Mgbara applauded the YES initiative for its timely relevance.
He encouraged youths to take full advantage of the mentorship and opportunities being offered, underscoring the global need for empowered and skilled young people.
NAN reports that the panel session led by experts such as Sabatian James further ignited the atmosphere with insights that challenged participants to think like change-maker and pursue personal development as a path to societal transformation.
A major highlight of the summit was the official inauguration of the Ondo State YES Team, marking a new phase of structured youths engagement in the state.
