By Victor Gotevbe
A business report has it that so important is technology to today’s youth that over half (53%) would give up their sense of smell rather than lose access to it. To them, losing the ability to explore and communicate via technology would be like a blind man losing his stick.

It is clear from the results that technology plays an important role in youngsters’ lives and without it they would feel isolated and  uninformed. Nmachi, a 23- year old sfaff  with Google has found this tool very resourceful as she continually impacts her society positively.

*NMACHI

Upbringing

I was born in a middle-class household of intellectuals. My mother and father both had a love for ideas and being surrounded by this sort of intellectual energy early on imbued in me a love for ideas as well.

They were both also entrepreneurs,and this triggered my fascination for entrepreneurship. I think it is special how people can through hard work and perseverance create a respectable brand, product or service starting with very little resources.

Using technology for positive change.

I became increasingly aware about the power of technology especially in Nigeria and Africa more broadly by chance. About two years ago, I had started writing consistently on African business issues and was inspired by the impact mobile phones and the Internet were having on the continent.

As I learnt more, I began to narrow my interest to focus more exclusively on the space. I love technology because of the possibilities it provides. Technology is the great leveler. Through technology, an entrepreneurial young man or woman can create a business worth millions or even billions of dollars as we can see with Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg.

In a clime such as ours with so many young people, that is inspiring. Technology provides hope, opportunity and impact for young people willing to use it as a force for making the world a better place.

Expressing my passion in the Diaspora

As a student in the Diaspora, my immediate way of expressing this passion at the time was through blogging and writing op-ed articles on various media platforms. I became increasingly interested in covering what was progressive and interesting coming out of Nigeria. This was the way I fed my passion.

Need for CP-Africa

I established CP-Africa after my Facebook friends indicated to me that they visited my wall to find out what was new and interesting in the country and on the continent. I was unconsciously and consistently sharing information around these topics on my Facebook profile and when they brought this to my attention, I felt a web platform would be a better way to aggregate this information.

Another reason why CP-Africa was set up is to inspire myself about the positive things and progressive conversations happening in Nigeria. These took the form of inspiring actions, intellectual debates, progressive personalities and generally conversations about progress in Africa.

CP-Africa was set up to be a platform that progressive young Africans could relate to in an intellectual and engaging manner. The growth of the website has been very encouraging and I look forward to continue to expand the site’s reach.

Working with Google.

It has been a great experience. Google as a company has an interesting and impressive mandate in Nigeria —to increase the level of access, relevance and sustainability of the Internet ecosystem. This is in line with my personal passion and interest as a young woman and so I think it is a fantastic place to work.

Advice

My advice to them would be to stay focused and work hard. Continue to learn and discover new areas of interest around your passion.

YOUNG NIGERIANS MAKING THE DIFFERENCE
FAITH OLANIRAN OLUWALOSE,  MINNA, NIGER STATE

Faith is a fresh graduate of biochemistry Department of Federal University of Technology, Minna Niger State. He is into community service ,development consultations, child advocacy, creative speeches and has strong passion for the MDGs related issues alongside climate change.

Faith, who is the Niger State coordinator of Child Rights Advocacy Campaign had featured in several media programmes on Niger State Radio Station, Am Express NTA Network Service, NTA Minna; Ondo State Television Station, FUTA FM and so on.

*FAITH

His projects have collectively reached more than 1,500 young Nigerians, in which some are WORLDS AIDS DAY for both 2011 and 2012, Free HTC screening for residence of Maikunkele community in Bosso Local Government of Niger State, skill acquisition program for secondary school students in Minna Niger State, Basic health project and administration of drugs for children in Maikunkele community in Bosso Local Government of Niger State, career development seminar for secondary school students in Minna Niger State.

Since he started he has partnered the Niger State Agency for Control of HIV/AIDS, Nigerian Bar Association Minna Chapter, Niger State Radio Station, Bosso Local Government Council Niger Sate, Management Science for Health Niger State office, Rhealyz Naija, Rotary Club of Minna, Ministry of Education Niger State.

He has worked with some organizations to execute their projects and  has also attended some capacity building trainings by Rhealyz Naija, Enough is Enough Nigeria, Students Economic Development Initiative, Students in Free Enterprise, LEAP Africa, Youngstars Development Initiative, Paradigm Initiative Nigeria, Dexter & Heros Consulting, British Council and Intersynergy consulting.

Faith is also very active as a campus journalist which earned him the position of Editor of Campus line, a page on Newsline Niger State Newspaper on campus related issues and also a correspondent  with The Nation, Daily Trust, Tribune, Compass, National Mirror and some online based media outlets. His character has demonstrated consistent service delivery and established strong corporate culture of idea-sharing and synergy.  He is presently working on a project called I-CREATE Initiatives

IYINOLUWA ABOYEJI, WATERLOO, ONTARIO

Iyinoluwa Aboyeji is the Director of Research and Development  Empowerment Squared, a non-for-profit organization that helps young immigrants help themselves and their communities through various initiatives like afterschool programs and college application counselling through its DRIVEN initiative.

He is also currently CEO of Bookneto, an student focused education technology startup in Waterloo. In 2008, he worked as an intern at the Settlement and Integration Services Organization in Hamilton, Ontario and then went on to work at the World Youth Alliance in the UN Headqaurters as a research assistant.

Before founding Bookneto, he served as the President of one of Canada’s largest student publishing companies, Imprint Publications.  He will graduate from the University of Waterloo with a Bachelors degree in Legal Studies in June 2012.

OGWO DAVID EMENIKE, ABA, ABIA STATE

Ogwo is a motivator, positive change facilitator, life coach, inspirational speaker and visionary leader. He is a sage whose sagacity is directed towards making the system that drives the progress of humanity better. He is the Founder/Leader of the Mysterious Writers, a group of talented writers gifted in every aspect of writing, inspiring, encouraging and motivating all and sundry with with their talent.

He is the secretary of Higherlife International, and a member of Chiysonovelty Book Club.

Ogwo enjoys writing, reading and thinking. He is the author of the mind-blowing 21st century self-help elixir. You are a Star, and publishes articles in leading article websites.