Over the last four years, Nigeria Youth SDGs Network has worked with young people across Nigeria towards advocating for meaningful youth engagement in the developmental agenda of their communities. The Speak Up, Stand Out which is led by Nigeria Youth SDGs and supported by the Centre for Youth Advocacy and Development, Afrika Youth Movement and VOICE will empower 520 young people across Abuja, Enugu and Lagos with the tools to demand meaningful youth engagement with respect to education, decent work, peace and security and civic participation.
Please see below the twenty activists who will work with five hundred advocates across three states in Nigeria to amplify the voice and demand of youth.
Oluwatosin Adeshina
Oluwatosin holds a bachelor’s degree in History and International relations from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. I am highly skilled and passionate about Human Resource Management, currently an Associate Member with CIPM. Driven by a strong belief in the total maximization of human potentials for desired results. She is deeply interested in helping to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth, by helping Nigerian undergraduates to navigate and excel in chosen career paths.
Iheanacho Christabel
Iheanacho Christabel is a girl child Advocate and the Founder at Fearless Girls Initiative (FGI) where She’s working to end Period Poverty through Education on Menstruation and Menstrual Hygiene Management. She’s a graduate of International Relations and History. Passionate about Youths involvement in the affairs of their communities, she collaborated with other youth Activists and Founded WASH Rights Network (WRN) in Enugu State to sensitize the citizens on their Water Rights and to hold the Government accountable. She’s a Mandela Washington Fellow, an Associate Fellow of the Royal Commonwealth Society, and a member of the International Leadership Association (ILA). Christabel is committed to addressing issues bothering Girls and Young people.
Ifere Ruhamah
Ruhamah Ifere is a Policy Advocate, Community peacebuilder, Youth and SDG Advocate with a commitment to transforming the minds of young people to become Nation-builders. She is a certified Social Change Agent from the Mike Oladipo Global Leadership School, YALI RLC Public Policy fellow, Ambassador, Institute for Economics and Peace 2020, World Literacy Foundation Ambassador. She works in the intersection of social works and policy advocacy. Ruhamah Ifere is also the Co-founder of The Youth Evolve, a youth-based initiative that focuses on peace-building skills. She is a Commonwealth Youth Peace Ambassador and currently the Acting Youth Coordinator of the Youth, City of Peace Initiative, Lagos. She was currently named one of the most influential young people by Opportunities Hub. Ruhamah is an avid reader and writer. She has published several articles and has been featured on Radio and TV stations to speak on Peacebuilding, Leadership, Volunteerism and Youth Involvement.
Shasanya Akinola
Shasanya Akinola is a Change Agent, Creative thinker, Who is passionate about leadership development and creating institutional opportunities for young people. Shasanya is a student of the University of Lagos and holds an Executive Mini MBA in Leadership and Management from Accra Business School in Ghana. He has 5 years of experience in volunteering and in the development space work. He’s a Member of the Lagos State Youth Parliament Chairman Committee on Diaspora and Foreign Affairs, Young Africa leaders initiative (YALI) Lagos Network and an Alumnus of the Africa Young Leaders Fellowship Programme Center in Accra, Ghana. He was a part of the 4 man team to organize the first Nigeria constitution quiz competition amongst students of secondary school in Lagos state and also a part of the 25 youth that drafted the 10 points Lagos State Youth Agenda. He represented the Lagos State Youth parliament at the Africa Youth Commission 3rd, General Assembly, in the Gambia, also at the Africa Youth Movement retreat in Ethiopia under the Africa Union youth Envoy and the International Youth Diplomacy Conference 2019 at the University of Accra in Ghana.
Busaosowo Bisong
Busaosowo Bisong is the founder of Busaosowo Foundation, a nonprofit organization that focuses on identifying problems facing young people and creating sustainable solutions through interventions, policy advocacy, campaigns and training. Bisong mentors 40 social entrepreneurs across eleven African countries through the Africa Development Series, a learning platform that provides trainings and skill development for social innovators that helps them create greater impact. Through his television show with a coverage of over 10,000 viewers, he has championed inclusivity for people with special needs and drug abuse reduction among young people. His offline campaigns have reached 1,701 teenagers in two States.
Ameerah Muhammad Ashir
Ameerah Muhammad Ashir is a Digital Content Creator (Animator, Graphics Designer, UI/UX Developer, Motion and Logo Graphics Designer, Photographer, Cinematographer), and Web Developer. She is an Activist, IT Expert/ Innovator and an alumnus of Kaduna Business School (Digital Marketing Entrepreneurship) amongst other certifications. She has served in several capacities and currently serves as an International Ambassador at Model United Nations (MUN), A Coordinator in Africa, a Local Coordinator at Africa Students for Liberty (ASFL) and Brand Ambassador in Africa (AfricaHacks, Grand Africa Initiative, Indomie). And an Executive Member (Project and Event Coordinator & ICT Officer) at ROB Foundation International. She has participated in numerous competitions and also attended several workshops and conferences; she was recently invited by KAD ICT HUB and the French Development Agency (FDA) to participate in the ICT Training and Skills acquisition program toward youth residents of Kaduna State (North- West region).
Emediong Akpabio
Emediong Akpabio has his educational background in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Uyo in Nigeria. He has been working in the social development space for the protection of children, girls and women and joined the African Union – UNICEF as a youth reference Group Member on Ending Child Marriage in Africa. Emediong is passionate about human rights and gender justice and in 2019, he was featured on the Washington Post for his work in social justice and also emerged as the first runners up of the Open Government Social Impact Challenge (OSIC) to become a CivicHive Fellow and has been actively involved with actions that seek to create safe spaces for women. He currently works with the Fair Internship Initiative (FII) Geneva to improve UN Interns rights globally.
Chikere Gift
Chikere Gift is an all-around creative artist who majors in music and poetry. She started her journey in activism in 2016 under the mentorship of Mrs Rita Ezenwa- Okoro a renowned art activist, through the Street Project Foundation. Her activism earned her opportunities both nationally and internationally. Her art has been aired at the Castillo Theater, New York, USA 2018, and the All-Stars Creative performance USA, 2021. She is known for speaking out on societal concerns such as governance, human rights, and leadership. She is set to debut her maiden music project in a few months.
Chidimma Chikwelu
Chidimma is a passionate teacher. An advocate for education, good governance and a rights activist. The co-founder of Child, Teen to Adult Academy(ctaacademy.org) which is aimed at unleashing unusual local thinkers in all specialities, youth trained to add value beyond the basic, who will help build the civilization of which this country stands in need. She is also the founder of the Military Veterans Family Care Initiative (milivetcare.com.ng) and Past Country Coordinator and member of the Afrika Youth Movement.
Raphael Terungwa Anagbe
Raphael is the Senior Programs Officer Enactus Nigeria responsible for the day-to-day program implementation of Enactus Nigeria programs, there have been 9 years of service as (Student, Alumni, Volunteer, Programs Officer and Senior Programs Officer). He is part of the efforts that directly coordinate, train and mentor over 3500 undergraduates’ annually on over 35 tertiary institutions across 30 states in Nigeria.
Nebo Obinna Collins
Nebo Obinna Collins, born in Enugu State, Nigeria. He studied Economics and Philosophy at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. He is a development worker with over 9 years of experience. He was a member of the Nigerian Youth Parliament, National Assembly Complex, Abuja. He held a number of positions as a students leader and a youth leader respectively. He is a member of the UNESCO Youth Forum committee on youth policy review in Nigeria. He was part of the team that reviewed National Youth Policy (NYP) 2019 – 2024 and Nigerian Youth Employment Action Plan (NIYEAP) respectively. He is the founder of New Century Initiative (a non-profit organization) based in Enugu state. He has trained over 3000 young persons on leadership. He is the CEO of CELPH consult. He is a champion of ONE Africa, International Youth Action Against Terrorism, and Global School Advocate for United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network – Youth. In 2015, he was named one of Commonwealth Young Achievers.
Ene Mary Audu
Ene is a graduate of Law from the University of Jos, with an enthusiasm for Advocacy, Human and Societal development and Good Governance. She has gained professional and valuable experiences in Administrative and Secretarial duties, policy and Legal Advocacy and Research through her works and Volunteering activities with various Organizations and CSOS. Her most recent achievement was her internship Programme with Policy And Legal Advocacy and the National Assembly, she was one of the 39 young Nigerians sponsored by the European union to undergo a Legislative internship Programme at the National Assembly, through this internship Programme she gained practical and theoretical knowledge on the workings of the Nigerian Legislature, her experiences at the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public petitions gave her an understanding of the procedures the Nigerian National Assembly embark on in receiving complaints or petitions regarding infractions of rights and administrative injustices. She was made Chairman House committee on Human Rights at the 2021 model Legislative Assembly. Ene strongly believes that In other to achieve the positive change we all dream of, our Country Nigeria needs Doers, not Moaners, she has been intentional in contributing to the growth and development of her society by encouraging other youths regardless of their Status, Gender, Religion or Ethnicity to come together and use their voices, ideas and innovations for the purpose of building a better Nigeria. for united we stand, divided we fall!
Gloria Emmanuel
Gloria Emmanuel is a life coach, Spoken word Artist, and Public Speaker. She advocates for Peace, Development, and Good governance. This has earned her the opportunity of working with several Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and also becoming a TEDx speaker. Her passion for adding value to humanity has propelled her into using the power of words to stimulate positive change and improvement in her listeners. Hence, she has mentored about two hundred young people in discovering their passion in life, and also in the area of policy and governance. Gloria makes use of the mainstream media and social media to advocate for good governance and speak up about issues that need to be addressed in her country and the world at large, while also motivating her follower to be the best version of themselves in their various spheres of influence.
Rafiu Adeniran Lawal
Rafiu is the Executive Director of Building Blocks for Peace Foundation, an organization building the resilience of people against violent philosophies and promoting sustainable peace in Nigeria. He is also the convener of the Nigeria Youth 4 Peace Initiative (NYPI), a movement of young people advocating and promoting peace in Nigeria. Through his leadership, over ten thousand youth have been empowered on conflict prevention and peacebuilding through capacity building training, community sensitization among others. Rafiu is a passionate peace advocate with over four years of experience and currently volunteers as the Regional Coordinator of UNOY Peacebuilders in West and Central Africa.
Ruth Ogwuche (nee Ngoka)
My Name is Ruth Ogwuche (nee Ngoka). A social change agent, youth advocate and graduate researcher in the Department of Political Science, University of Nigeria, Nsukka. I am very passionate about education and most importantly inculcating the spirit of academic excellence into youths.
Ikenna Ugwu
Ikenna Ugwu is a social development and volunteer activist with a special interest in education, the environment, and gender equality. Currently, he works as Programs Manager at Ogadagidi Global Empowerment Initiative (OGEi), nonprofit advancing gender equality through women empowerment, health and education programs. Ikenna is also a sustainability activist and serves as Volunteers Coordinator at Green Environment Network, a nonprofit organization working to achieve a sustainable environment. He has been coordinating activities for *Nigeria Youth SDGs Network* in Enugu State since 2019, mobilising young people to act for the SDGs. He is also a state Champion for Follow The Money, a social accountability platform that tracks government spending to promote transparency and accountability in governance. He is the Director of Communications and Public Relations Officer for WASH Rights Network and Enugu State Network of Civil Society Organisations. Ikenna holds a bachelor’s degree in Mass Communication and is motivated by the desire to create a more sustainable, just and prosperous world.
Lauritta Boniface
Lauritta Boniface is an Environmentalist who is keen on providing a sustainable solution to the problem of plastic waste in Africa by recycling and effective waste management practices. She is the co-founder of www.ecocykle.com She is currently based in Abuja, Nigeria.
Arinze Okafor
A creative practitioner, with interests in experimental art, performance art, fashion illustration. Creator of Nnekata the Stained Eyewear, wearable art eyewear with stains telling stories. In 2018, Stained Eyewear was used as a vital tool in creating performance art in Enugu. Arinze studied Fine and Applied Arts at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
Anthony Chinweuba
Anthony Chinweuba is a Town Planner and a brand strategist with a keen interest in digital literacy. His digital activities are typically focused on career improvement for youths using social media as a tool, especially through personal branding. He has and is still volunteering for the execution of 8 TEDx events in his community while working in other capacities as a creative on various projects. He also looks forward to opportunities that will allow him to contribute to the achievement of the SDG goals within his community.
Muhammad Ibrahim
My name is Muhammad Ibrahim M is a Peace Advocate. Born and brought up in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital. Arising from the individual and collective traumas, I developed a passionate interest in human rights-related issues of human dignity, prevention of mass atrocities and forced displacement. I have a genuine interest in the prevention of conflict, violence and the promotion of peace and security. I currently work with Global Rights Nigeria as Data Collection Officer in Abuja.