By Rianat Wahab
“It is beyond Passion. You need a clear vision to become the person you want to become”- Tolulope Oguntayo
Tolulope Oguntayo trains graduate and undergraduate students on personal development, growth and how to become a better versions of themselves. She is the author of African Woman President (a book on gender equality) and 12 things for 1 (a book on idea execution). She is a recipient of different awards including the United Nations Human Right Committee and Commission on Women of status in International Model United Nations.
Tolulope is the founder of Life and Opportunities Academy, a self development hub aimed at helping people discover themselves and their true potential. She is currently the Executive Director of Lead Footprints Africa, a non profit organization aimed at sensitizing and advocating for Human Rights.
HOW ARE YOU LOCALIZING THE SDGS IN NIGERIA?
I have been engaging in discussion, outreaches and conferences. I am currently the Director of Zero Hunger in the upcoming Youth Sustainable Development Conference (Pan African Edition) . I also have been able to reach out to communities to talk about Gender Equality, Peace, Quality Education, Good health and so on. In my organization, we also run sensitization content online to let people understand what these things are.
PLEASE TELL US MORE THE MAIN PROJECT YOU ARE WORKING ON
Lead Footprints Africa project is beyond NIGERIA. Infact we have had Ghana, Cameroon and South Africa individuals reach out to us. We want to take actions on all we know. We have outreaches, we have sensitization programs, Advocacy, boot camp to train leaders and so many other things .we want a society where leaders are very responsible and Respect every single human. We want a safe society and we will see to this.
PLEASE SHARE SOME OF THE IMPACT STORIES
I have engaged in career awareness talk under SDG 4 , I have engaged in creating constant content on Quality Education, Gender issues and Gender equality. I have joined young minds to provide Solutions to human rights issues. For Lead Footprints Africa, In October 2020, we have trained over 350 Young leaders on Farmers Right, Employees Right, Gender Equality, Zero Hunger, Girls Child education etc. We have also worked on training about 150 women on how to strive in Tech, Politics and Career.
HOW IS THE PROJECT ENSURING THAT NIGERIA ACHIEVES THE SDGS BY 2030?
This is a beautiful question! One of our most recent project is Walk the Talk 1.0. we pasted posters and gave handbills in a bid to create sensitization on the issues of Rape and Gender equality. We engaged old men and women, children and youth on these issues in 5 different states. I would say with this recent project, if the SDG was just 10 percent, we have increased it to 20 percent.
WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES OR CONSTRAINTS AFFECTING THE SUCCESS OF THIS PROJECT AND WHAT ARE THE SUPPORT YOU NEED?
Majorly, we have had issues with proper funding. We are planning towards Organising an event for secondary school student to expose them to what Human Right is and how to stand against Human Right Violation.
YOUR ADVICE TO YOUNG PEOPLE
It is beyond Passion. What you see will take you to places. Passion fuels your actions, what you see, keep you Going.
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To connect with Tolulope, you can find her on Instagram or Twitter
