By Favour Aliyu
Tell us about your educational background.
I studied at the International Islamic University of Technology (IUT) Dhaka, Bangladesh where I graduated in 2014 with a first-class degree in Technical Education Computer Science and Engineering. While I was there, I was elected as the first ever and Pioneer President of the University’s International Student Community. In 2015, I was the only recipient of the NITDA U.K. Foreign Scholarship from Katsina State where I went to the U.K. and got my Master’s degree in Computing Software Technology with Network Management from the Robert Gordon University Aberdeen, Scotland in 2017.
Why did you start the AYID Foundation?
The AYID Foundation is a registered non-profit development organisation founded in July 2020. It was to assist in finding a lasting solution to the educational, health, empowerment and accommodation needs of the less privileged in our society, especially orphaned children, abused women, disadvantaged youths, indigent men within communities and people living with disabilities.
What projects are you working on at the Foundation?
Since we commenced our project in November 2020, the Foundation has touched many rural communities of Mani and Bindawa local government areas through provision of basic social amenities such as provision of transformers, borehole repairs, building and renovations of houses, drainages and culvert, provision of drugs, teaching materials, feeding the needy during Ramadan among many other projects. Recently, during the rainy season, we gave free fertilizer to farmers to meet the demands of modern living and guaranteeing sustainable produced food for increased wealth and job creation.
How can more youths be empowered in Nigeria?
Youths need to see themselves as the drivers of socio-economic transformation in every sector. Recently, four young women were selected to participate in a modern farming techniques training program sponsored by Mastercard Foundation and they will soon be provided with empowerment tools to support them start farming in their local communities. Also, by 2022, we intend to train more youths and women on vocational, technical, entrepreneurship and employability skills.
What is your advice to Nigerian youths on employability?
I advise that young people should leverage on the opportunity of agriculture to start the business because there are opportunities and options to boost youth employment in agriculture and the rural economy, but this sector must become more appealing to young people through modernization, among other key strategies.
