Journalists have been urged to focus more on developmental strides being taken by African youths to lift the continent instead of painting them as misfits who only enjoy partying, drug abuse and fraudsters.
The Presiding Pastor of Christ Embassy, Ogun State and member of the Central Executive Council/Director of the Future African Leadership Awards Foundation (FALAF), Pastor Tuoyo Tom Temisan, stated this recently while presenting winners of the 2024 FALA Awards to select media executives at the Providence Hotel, GRA, Ikeja, Lagos.
According to him, youths from across Africa have beautiful stories and initiatives that they have developed in helping their countries cope with the challenges bedeviling them and improving the living standards of their people.
He said: “Rather than focusing on these achievers, the media, daily is awash with reports of killings, abductions, entertainment, drugs, fraud and other crimes or people in a hurry t jet out of their country and the continent, painting a grim picture of a continent without any redeeming ray of hope.
“I’m calling on the media to promote what young people are doing. The youths are pushing the frontiers of knowledge in their various countries. Take for example our star winner from Republic of Benin, who developed fluoride-free toothpaste. She also developed pesticide made from materials that are very human friendly. Rather than the media focusing on these initiatives, they would focus on youths who are arrested for Advanced Fee Fraud. The media is helping to promote the impression that African youths are lazy, lacks rigour, good only for partying, entertainment and drugs, crimes or jetting out of the country. Hardly are people told of youths like these who are doing so much to lift the continent,” Pastor Temisan added.
He said this year’s winners were unveiled at a International Headquarters of the church on the even of the new year by the Man of God, Pastor Chris Oyakhilome, DSc. DSc, D.D., and drawn from across 10 different African countries. According to him, the 10 winners; Ntung Ngela Landon, 23 years, from Cameroon, Favour Effiong, 19 years, Cross River State, Nigeria, a survivor of teenage sexual assault, who confronted sexual trafficking, gender based violence, Female Genital Mutilation, impacting 400,000 women across Nigeria, Uganda, Sirra Leone and Guinea, Julienne Ariori, 23, of Benin Republic, (the star winner), who developed a Moringa fresh toothpaste and pesticides and improved living standards for rural farm dwellers and Mawanda Abdallah, 23, from Benghazi, Libya.
Other winners are; Israel Majek Yel, 24, South-Sudan, Annakijiet Joan, 23 years, Malawi, who established 127 rural banks that has brought financial inclusion to over 600 rural women, Akram Sebai, 21 years from Morocco, Jessica Leon Balde, 25 years, a Medical Doctor from Guinea Bissau, Collins Mwangi Karungo, 23, from Kenya and Fady Atef Yousry, 21, from Egypt.
Over the last 12 years, FALA, he said, have provided a platform to showcase African youths who have engaged in outstanding initiatives which are silently transforming their nations and ultimately the continent.
Over the last 12 years, FALA has developed 120 Youth Ambassadors, who have gone ahead to win $10,000, while the star prize winner, each year, usually goes home with $25,000.
He said FALA’s founder and President of the Foundation Pastor Chris Oyakhilome is a firm believer in African youths and a firm believer that only Africans can help Africa and that Africa would be made by Africans.
The winner of last year’s award from Sierra Leone, has grown to have a big farm and her platform has grown. Her work in Sierra Leone has taken so many people from the streets, especially drug addicts.
“One of the past winners from Ghana also focused on youths. In Cameroon, the lady who won in 2021 is in the business of development of Artificial Intelligence. From her country she has received grants of over $50,000 from some organisation from Europe to fund her project in Cameroon. From Nigeria, we have seen some early winners in 2015, who is working with the Lagos State Government. The Lagos State Government gave him grant to train thousands of Mathematics and Science Teachers in Secondary Schools to provide more advanced training for these cadre of teachers. This year, the winner from Nigeria, a 19 year old Favour Effiong has helped in setting free 48 young girls from the shackles of sex/child traffickers. She also has developed an App to help young girls who are being sexually molested or raped to speak out, seek help and get justice. Effiong said she was molested at aged 16 years.
“In Malawi, one of our past winners is the past Presidential candidates of one of the political parties in the last presidential elections. In Nigeria here one of our past winners Vincent Inyama has been a guest repeatedly of Chatham House in the United Kingdom to produce policy that Chatham House would recommend for leadership in Africa,” he said.
Temisan sad FALA as a platform has opened doors for these young people, both in their countries and internationally, to provide the kind of leadership that would make profound impact on the wellbeing of the continent. How can they sit down and chart a direction for a future that they are not inviting the young people to be part of?
The Chief Executive Officer Chris Oyakhilome Foundation International (COFI) Pastor Emmanuel Arinze, said the FALA Foundation is doing so much to promote the cause of the African youths.
Pastor Arinze who said Pastor Chris is more than preaching, healing and teaching of the word of God, added that FALA is one of the several organisations through which the Man of God is touching lives across the world. He added that FALA is not opened to all African youths irrespective of their religious background and orientations.
“Any nominee for the FALA Awards must be a youth. There is a website on which they can sign up. Becoming a member of the Foundation is free and it is open to all African youths but there is an age range. They must be young people who will fashion out the greatness of Africa.
FALA’s Chief Executive, Dr Deola Phillips, said FALA has had transformative influence on all the winners as it has helped them to extend their reach, increase their visibility, as they enjoy financial support and resources as well as life long recognition as change agents.
Phillips who was represented by FALA”s Senior Programme Executive Dr Olajumoke Olu-Akinsanya said this year’s winner would make the 12 cohort of the Foundation which has produced 120 Yuth Ambassadors since it was established in 2012.
Speaking on behalf of her fellow winners, the star prize winner, Miss Julienne Ariori, commended FALA Foundation President Pastor Chris Oyakhilome, for coming up with a platform that is providing a springboard for African Youths to contribute their quota to the development of the continent.
She said she and her colleagues would be worthy FALA Ambassadors, and would make judicious use of their prize monies to advance the cause of their projects in their respective countries.
