Those who know the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila, must have come across the fact that his love for the Nigerian youths is unparalleled. Here is one man that has given young people the opportunity to work with him, more than anyone has ever done.

From the very day he took the mantle of leadership as the Number 4 Citizen, Gbajabiamila made it clear that adequate attention must be given to the development of the Nigerian youth because as it is often said, they are the leaders of tomorrow. He has been coaching the Nigerian youths in different ways personally. It is on record that over 80 percent of his aides currently working with him are youths.

Taking his love and passion for the Nigerian youths to the next level, Gbajabiamila recently organized the Leadership BootCamp for young people, which hundreds of youths from Surulere took part in. The participants, comprising both males and females, were divided into two groups. While the first group had its training at the Sea School, Apapa, Lagos, the second group was taken to the Citizenship and Leadership Training Centre, Mountain School, Shere Hills, Jos, Plateau State.

As expected, the participants went through two weeks of rigorous training and lectures to prepare them for the challenges ahead.

Kickstarting the training on November 14, 2021, in Lagos, Gbajabiamila told the young participants: “Surulere, as you all know in Lagos State, is the numero uno, the number one.”

He said during the programme, “We will have instructions on economic leadership, social leadership and political leadership.

“Of all those things, I think the most important is political leadership, because your politics and what you lay politically on the ground will determine what happens economically, socially and in every other aspect of your life.

“That is why, if you guys follow the news, you must be conversant, because it happens around you; you will see that the National Assembly has just passed a Bill. You’ve heard of the direct and indirect primary controversy?

“The reason direct primary was inserted as mandatory in the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill was because of you, you, and you! So, we have opened up the political space, and it’s up to you to take advantage of it and attain the height of political leadership that some of you here, maybe not all, might desire.”

When yours truly visited the Shere Hills camp of the participants, it was a good sight to behold. Taken away from their homes, the participants concentrated on what took them to Jos, and they didn’t disappoint.

Apart from the early morning drills that they took part in, the participants were also taken through mentorship and leadership sessions on legislation and art of governance; time management as an effective tool in achieving success among Nigerian youths; leadership skills for effective service delivery among Nigerian youths.

Other areas that they were trained on included leadership and responsibility among Nigerian youths; communication as an effective tool of national development; the importance of entrepreneurship among Nigerian youths; conflicts prevention and resolution strategies among Nigerian youths, and the role of youths in promoting democratic values.

As leaders of tomorrow, they were equally trained on human rights as a requisite knowledge for Nigerian youths; the use of leisure and stress management among Nigerian youths; fire fighting prevention and control, among others.

The same thing took place in Lagos, except for areas such as marine drills and life-saving in water, as there was no such place for that kind of exercise in Jos. The participants in Jos also took part in mountain climbing, a drill those in Lagos could not engage in.

Perhaps, one session that will remain in the minds of the Jos participants for a long time, as observed by yours truly, was the lecture on time management conducted by Mr Michael Ayedisan, one of the good hands at the centre. It was really an engaging session that was equally interactive.

The takeaways from that session were that there is never enough time to do everything, but there is always enough time to do the important things; the same amount of time you use for unimportant things is the same amount of time you use for important things, and the key to success is tied to habit, and time management is one of those habits. From the reactions that day, the message really resonated well among the participants.

The participants also had an interesting time at the Shere Hills the day the Deputy Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Anti-Corruption and member representing Jos South/Jos East Federal Constituency, Rep. Dachung Musa Baggos, paid a surprise visit to the youths. They interacted freely with him even as he encouraged them to pay more attention to the training.

Rep. Baggos did not stop there as he later hosted the youths at his residence where they were treated to the traditional dance steps of the Jos people. Interestingly, one of the people that spoke there, a member of the opposition, noted the good leadership the Speaker has been providing in the House and wished him well.

The Gbajabiamila BootCamp leadership training for the youths came to an end on November 28. Though the Speaker could not join the Jos participants physically, he did that via zoom, where he commended them for their resilience and good character. He promised to continue paying attention to the development of the Nigerian youths in whatever way possible.

Gbajabiamila noted that the youths leadership training was his own way of giving back to society in order to have a better tomorrow.

He said: “For me, youth empowerment is the real empowerment because it prepares you for the future. I’m happy that you all went through the programme.

“From the package of the programme, I know you went through a lot of coaching, and you’ll come out as better persons.

“I’m glad that all of you have conducted yourselves in a good manner. You made us proud. I’m looking forward to meeting you soon.”

Gbajabiamila then thanked the Plateau State Government, the member representing Jos South/Jos East Federal Constituency, Rep. Dachung Musa Baggos, the coordinators of the programme and the staff and management of the Citizenship and Leadership Training Centre.

It was delightful to hear that some members of the House were already considering organizing similar leadership training for their constituents, taking a cue from the Speaker.

It is, therefore, hoped that the Gbajabiamila BootCamp Leadership Training would have a positive impact on the lives of the participants and make them better individuals.

Krishi is the Chief Press Secretary to the Speaker, House of Representatives.