Mindshift Advocacy for Development Initiative last weekend launched in Lagos after a successful launch presentation in Abuja in October.
The Lagos launch which held at the Quite Pools Inn and Residence located at Adeniyi Jones was strategically targeted at the youths.
[ads]
Tagged ‘Lagos 70’, the event saw the attendance of discerning, empowered and motivated youths and young-at-heart Nigerians who trooped in to the venue to be part of the advocacy group.
Various speakers made presentations at the event to inspire and activate a radical and positive change in the mindset of the young people present who would serve as Mindshift catalysts in the society.
Founder and Board of Trustee member of the Mindshift Advocacy for Development Initiative, Joko Okupe, kick-started the presentations.
“We have to change the way we think. I mean to change our mindset – the way we perceive things, our values, our priorities, our beliefs, in fact our worldview. We need to inspire all positive possibilities as more Nigerians buy into the idea of Mindshift,” he said.
[ads]
Mr Okupe explained that “the bane of Nigeria’s problems, and by extension that of the African continent, is the mindset of Africans as individuals, communities and nations, about themselves and the mindset of the rest of the world about Africa.”
According to him, Mindshift was incorporated as a non-partisan movement that all Nigerians can effectively identify with to tackle this menace that has kept Nigeria and Africa down for so long.
Okupe also explained that to achieve efficient and steady results, the initiative has in place well-articulated key focus areas toward its agenda. These areas are: family and society, government and politics, education, business and economy, media, arts and entertainment, innovation and technology, religion, culture, and health and wellness. Additionally, it will approach this systematically through social research, targeted issues campaigns, action-oriented initiatives, knowledge sharing, events, and public discourse
[ads]
A former Commissioner for Information and Strategy in Adamawa State and member BOT, Mindshift Advocacy for Development Initiative, Ahmad Sajoh, also made a presentation at the Lagos programme.
He explained that the Mindshift movement is focused on redirecting the mindset of Nigerians from negative, unproductive and fatalistic thinking to positive, productive and progressive mindsets.
He said: “When you look at the great nations of the world, you will discover that their people have mindsets of greatness. How can we have progress and development when majority of our citizens have the wrong mindset? We cannot achieve any meaningful transformation without a re-orientation of the citizens’ mindsets. Even when Government decides to run a campaign on changing attitudes, the success will depend on whether the mindsets of the citizens have changed or not. We cannot but pay attention to how people think.”
Also speaking at the event, a Board of Trustee member of Mindshift Advocacy for Development Initiative, Lady Taiwo Adejumo, fondly called Lady T, focused on the need for young people to see themselves as solution providers in the country.
[ads]
She encouraged everyone never to see Nigeria’s situation as an impossible case, and strongly recommended that the greatest good anyone can do for himself is to cultivate his mind to think.
The participants responded with enthusiasm in their feedback, comments and questions. Many suggested the creation of centres, online groups, mentorship teams, brand ambassadors to take Mindshift initiative to the desired level.
