IGNITE EARLY ABILITIES (IEA)

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INTRODUCTION


Sometime around December 2024, I came across a quote by the great American orator, Frederick Douglass. He said: "It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken adults." Those words stayed with me and for days, I kept asking myself one simple question: "What if we begin to shape the minds of our young people before society shapes them negatively?" The more I reflected, the more I became convinced that one of the greatest investments any society can make is not only in buildings or infrastructure alone, but in the minds of its young people. That was how the idea of Ignite Early Abilities (IEA) was born and the platform of the Oyo State Youth Parliament is a great opportunity to bring this vision that I had since 2024 into reality, beginning with the wonderful young minds of Akinyele I State Constituency.





THE PROBLEM


One of the greatest challenges affecting youth development in Akinyele I does not begin in adulthood, it begins much earlier. For many of our young people, the future they imagine for themselves is already limited before they even leave school.


  • Some believe that life ends after secondary school.
  • Some believe that becoming involved in internet fraud is the quickest path to success.
  • Others believe that riding a motorcycle or tricycle is the only option available to them after graduation.
  • Some young girls grow up believing that early pregnancy and settling for an average life is simply the normal path.

These beliefs are not because our young people lack intelligence, they exist because many of them have never been exposed to greater possibilities. When a young person has never met a successful entrepreneur, a project manager, an engineer, a medical doctor, a software developer, or a business executive, it becomes difficult for that young person to imagine becoming one. What they repeatedly see eventually becomes what they believe.

This is the silent challenge I believe it is important for us to confront.

Akinyele is blessed with brilliant, hardworking, and talented young people and what many of our young ones need is not only ability, they also need a constant remind that they can live above the average lives and most importantly, they need a system or initiative that constantly remind them that they are destined for greatness, not average living.




THE SOLUTION: IGNITE EARLY ABILITIES (IEA)


Ignite Early Abilities (IEA) is a mindset development and capacity-building initiative designed to engage secondary school students across Akinyele I State Constituency.


My mission for IEA is simple:

To visit one secondary school at a time and spend just 20 to 30 minutes speaking directly to students about purpose, personal development, leadership, education, opportunities, discipline, career growth, and believing in themselves.


Sometimes, all it takes to change a life is one conversation, a conversation that buttresses a powerful message:


"You can become more than your environment says you can."


IEA seeks to become that voice and intentional effort to re-engineer young minds before negative influences do.


The initiative will be implemented in collaboration with the Oyo State Agency for Youth Development, the Oyo State Ministry of Education, and the Oyo State Ministry of Youth and Sports to ensure that students in Akinyele 1 receive consistent messages that inspire them to dream bigger, develop themselves, and prepare them to become active contributors to the sustainable development we desire for the youth of Akinyele Local Government and Oyo State at large.





THE IMPACT IEA WILL CREATE


Across Akinyele constituency 1, there are approximately 17 public secondary schools and approximately 36 to 44 primary schools, with thousands of students enrolled. Since IEA will focus on schools within Akinyele I State Constituency, the initiative has the potential to directly engage thousands of students over time.


  • Imagine the impact if just one student from every school decides to reject drug abuse because of one IEA session
  • Imagine the impact if one young girl chooses education over early pregnancy because someone helped her believe in herself.
  • Imagine the impact if one student discovers a career path that completely changes the direction of his or her life.

Now imagine hundreds of such stories and I believe that this is how communities change and that is how development begins on a more easier ground.


Beyond changing individual lives, IEA also has the potential to contribute to reduced social vices, improved educational aspirations, stronger leadership values, greater self-confidence among students, and a generation of young people who are better prepared to contribute to the economic and social development of Akinyele Local Government, Oyo State, and Nigeria.





THE VISION AHEAD


Ignite Early Abilities is a long-term movement and as the initiative grows, partnerships with private organizations, non-governmental organizations, development agencies, educational institutions, and other stakeholders will be established to expand its reach and introduce additional programmes that will further support the development of students across Akinyele I.


The goal is simple: To ensure that no child grows up believing that greatness belongs only to people from somewhere else.


  • Greatness can come from Ikereku.
  • Greatness can come from Ogbongan.
  • Greatness can come from Aroro Makinde.
  • Greatness can come from Onidundun.
  • Greatness can come from Moniya.
  • Greatness can come from Isabiyi.
  • Greatness can come from Akinyele.

 


A PERSONAL MESSAGE


I was once a young boy who grew up in Moniya and like many others, I have experienced firsthand what it means to grow in an environment where access to information, mentorship, and opportunities is limited.


Today, I stand where I am because certain people believed in me, invested in me, and gave me opportunities that helped shape my life.


IEA is one of my own ways of giving back and I believe that if we can help one student believe in his or her future, we have started something meaningful. If we can help hundreds believe, we would have started a movement.


Which means that in the long run, IEA will go beyond being an initiative; it will be a commitment to the future of Akinyele I, it will be a commitment to building strong children today so that we do not spend tomorrow trying to repair broken adults.


The journey has just begun.










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