'MY STRATEGY FOR HARNESSING TALENTS IN AFRICA'
The lofty dream was nurtured about 10 years ago. It all began with Engineer Noah Nuhu Dallaji, a young man who had a circumspective view of the natural talent embedded within human beings. Armed with the passion to discover and nurture talents, Dallaji established the African Children Talent Discovery Foundation (ACTDF), a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) that is committed to assisting the underprivileged and ensuring that the youth maximize their full potentials.
Because of its strategic role, a Board of Trustees was set up for the ACTDF and this comprises seasoned and tested personalities with diverse backgrounds, and whose records of service to humanity are deemed both impeccable and exemplary. They include Nuhu Dallaji as president, Dr. Bala Abdullahi Wase, a management and manpower development consultant as chairman, Hon. Bello Ahmed Arabi, former Commissioner for Information, Bauchi State, Chief Mac Francis, Barrister Michael Attah, and Hon. Izang Azi Abok as members, among others.
Recently, Dallaji was honoured by the organizers of African Icon Awards 2011 for his relentless work for humanity as he was conferred with African Advocacy Icon award, which he celebrated with fanfare in Lagos. The following day, he opened up on his mission to discover talents in arts, music, entertainment, sports and other areas of creative interest. Excerpts:
NGO with a difference
The African Children Talent Discovery Foundation is an NGO with a difference. It is aimed at doing what the government cannot do for the children. We are out to discover talents in and outside Nigeria. And we have been doing it for the past 10 years.
Harnessing talent
We want to help African youth discover themselves because the inability to do so means you can never become what you're destined to be. In this wise, we plan to embark on a nationwide talent discovery programmes for school children not leaving out their counterparts who are financially handicapped from assessing formal education. Poverty, parental pressure, misplaced priorities and lack of support are the key factors that constrain most gifted children in the country from attaining their potentials. The only way the country could overcome the mounting problems of unemployment is by harnessing individual talents with a view to making them self-reliant.
Two of a kind
There are two kinds of people in Nigeria today: those who are conscious of their talents but are handicapped in terms of actualising them and those who are not aware of their God-given talents. It is undisputable that a discovered talent is a rare gem of greatness and fortune for the entire society when properly nurtured. Many, who would have been legends, had lived and died as common men and it is the society that is worst affected, having been denied the benefits that would have come as a result of these wasted talents.
Discovery and follow-up
Discovery alone is not enough, follow-up is very imperative too. For instance, a child in Zaria recently constructed an aeroplane and he was lauded and showcased on television, but now nobody cares to know about his whereabouts. This is what we are talking about. This should be a collective responsibility and we expect everybody to contribute towards this goal because the essence of life is determined by the number of lives you influence positively, and this is the main crux of our mission to Nigeria.
Global youth
We will partner youth around the world to unearth their talents, nurture those discovered talents, and provide avenue to apply those talents once matured. Our programmes will reach out and span all geo-political zones, from the local ward to national and international levels. We envision a world where mechanisms are put in place to quash drug abuse among youth, where prevalent child abuse becomes a mere historical memory, and HIV/AIDS is stemmed by fostering an environment of support through programmes of awareness creation, education, mentoring, and the fulfillment of other critical needs.
Scholarship awards
The strategic and tactical objectives being adopted to promote the welfare of youth and help pave their paths for a future of hope and success include funding and awarding of scholarships. To build on this, we plan to establish schools and other institutions for the development of talents and skills in children and youths. We will also channel the energies and interests of youths towards positive endeavours through the development of their inherent talents in arts, music, film and entertainment. ACTDF will equally organize and promote sports in the development of athletic talents. Right now, we have concluded arrangements to sponsor 300 children to the United States in October to study free of charge under our scholarship.
Challenges
The daunting tasks facing the ACTDF are finance and necessary logistics to actualize our dreams but then the desire and passion for selfless service delivery has kept the NGO going. We've been doing all these alone but this time we have the American government coming in with the scholarship aspect. And when we said ACTDF has been around for 10 years, it certainly doesn't mean it's a bed of roses. However, to enhance our work, we are setting up an office in Lagos. The regional office will be headed by a director who will lead the ACTDF in discovering new and truly talented but indigent children without favouritism playing a part in the selection