By Emmanuel Onotevure
A young entrepreneur and motivational speaker, Elisha Mamman, has called upon youths in the country reposition themselves and be prepared for the challenges ahead.
Mamman, who is the Convener/Pointsman of “The Winning Mindset”; a motivational platform has called out to youths in the country, to embrace education and see it as the right weapon that can be applied in fighting poverty, which he described as a common enemy.
He made this call during the 2ND Year Anniversary of ‘The Winning Mindset platform in Kaduna, which also coincided with a Symposium organized for members of the National Youths Service Corps, NYSC, Kaduna South Zone, titled: Poverty, Corruption and Insecurity in Nigeria; “A Fight For Today”.
During his presentation at the symposium, the motivational speaker noted that, according to the United Nations SDGs vision, eradicating poverty is the No 1 goal. It is simply because every other thing stems from this single epidemic.
“Poverty”, according to Mamman, “as an enemy; though Man-Made, is surely an “enemy worth fighting against”.
“We must take a firm stand against poverty because, if we don’t, the poor will eventually make life uncomfortable for the rich”, he stated
“Using Global World Poverty clock, the convener noted that Nigeria in 2018, overtook India as the world’s poverty capital. India with a population of 1.3b has 71.5m people living in extreme poverty while Nigeria, with a population of about 200m people, has 86.9m of her population living in extreme poverty. Which means; they live below $1.90 (N684)”, he said.
Revealing that eradicating poverty is no longer an option for any of us as individuals, communities or nation, Elisha Mamman stressed that poverty has consistently, unleashed its power on the citizenry and has left in its wake, devastating effects on humanity and the environment.
“Its effects are far-reaching for some, considering the emotional, health and psychological impact on the lives of many Nigerians. We must take a stand and fight this scourge with all that we have so that, we can make Nigeria a better place for all. Corruption can be traced to poverty and poverty can be traced to corruption”, he disclosed.
While calling on corps members to see this as a challenge, the youth entrepreneur urged them to see this as a matter of urgency and make up their minds to overcome it; not just for themselves but, for their families and country.
“If we truly want to deal with this enemy, our first ammunition will be to invest in some very key sectors of our collective and individual lives which are enumerated below:To fight this enemy, we must engage the weapon of Education and, according to the late Dr. Nelson Mandela, “Education is the most powerful tool which we can use to change the future”.
“We must not forget that education is more than school but it can begin there and, according to Albert Einstein, ‘Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school’, stressing that, because poverty thrives in ignorance, we must therefore, give priority to education, because it is a weapon.
“The marketplace does not pay for preparation but, for performance. You need education to prepare and also, you need skill to perform. We must enhance our ability to perform which will also lead to our being rewarded for our performance and not our certifications. Skillfulness is about the ability to create solutions to perceive and resolve problems. We must invest in acquiring the right and relevant skills for our youths.
“It takes people with great heart to focus on creating solutions for others”, he counseled as we must begin to Live for others than ourselves and we must become compassionate in our passion to succeed”.
“We must see humanity as one and we must always remember this World is one big family. Until we see ourselves as one, we will not work towards our general well-being, he further stated.
He challenged NYSC Corpers to make most use their service year….”seek knowledge, develop a skill and find a way to help another person”,
Enjoining the Corpers to be the drivers of the nation’s growth and development, Mamman disclosed that the platform has expanded across the entire Kaduna state and has spread to Abuja and is set to take more new territories.
Speaking with newsmen after his presentation, he revealed that in 2 years, ‘The Winning Mindset’ has given out grants for startups to a number of businesses and has consistently, churned out inspiration to the young people and given them hope for a better tomorrow.
“The Winning Mindset with Elisha Mamman”, is a motivational platform that was birthed in 2017 with less than 50 participants and has in its two years of existence, sprang in growth and impact to over eight hundred participants”.
“The Winning Mindset has had on its stage, great personalities like;Fela Durotoye, Steve Harris, Ejimi Olufukeji, Niyi Adesanya, Apeh Harrison. Elisha disclosed to newsmen.
One of the dignitaries that graced the 2nd Year Anniversary was Niyi Adesanya, one of Nigeria’s finest public speaker, as its Keynote Speaker.
