By: Abdulmumin Kolo Gulani
The Director of MacArthur Foundation Nigeria Office and Co-Director of the On Nigeria Big Bet. Dr Kole Shettima has called on Nigerian youths to prepare themselves for opportunities through hard work, innovation and continuous learning, stressing that talent alone is not enough to guarantee success.
Delivering the keynote address at the Northeast Youth Idea Summit 2.0 held in Damaturu, Yobe State, on Saturday, Dr Shettima urged young people to develop practical solutions to societal challenges and position themselves to seize opportunities whenever they arise.
According to him, the difference between those who succeed and many equally talented individuals is often access to opportunities rather than intelligence or ability.
Drawing from his personal journey from Machina in Yobe State to earning a fully funded PhD scholarship at the University of Toronto, Canada, Dr. Shettima said his success was made possible because someone recognised his potential and invested in his future.
“The only difference between me and many of my classmates was opportunity. I am sure many of them were just as brilliant as I was, but someone saw my potential and awarded me a scholarship,” he said.
He encouraged participants not to rely on luck, explaining that success comes when preparation meets opportunity.
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“People often say someone is lucky, but luck simply means you were prepared when opportunity came. You cannot take advantage of opportunities if you are not prepared,” he stated.
Shettima, a renowned development expert, further challenged youths to become solution providers by using technology and innovation to address Nigeria’s developmental problems instead of merely complaining about them.
Using the country’s electricity challenges as an example, he urged participants to think beyond power outages and begin creating innovative ideas capable of transforming the energy sector.
“When people say NEPA has taken the light, the real question should be: what ideas are we developing to solve the problem?” he asked.
Dr. Shettima also urged governments, development partners and the private sector to create more opportunities for young innovators by supporting the entire innovation value chain from ideation to incubation, acceleration and investment.
He stressed that many brilliant ideas fail to make a meaningful impact because innovators lack the support needed to transform their concepts into sustainable businesses and development solutions, while also calling for stronger protection of intellectual property rights to ensure innovators retain ownership of their ideas and enjoy the benefits of their creativity.
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Earlier, in his opening remarks, Mu’azu Alhaji Modu described the Northeast Youth Idea Summit as a strategic platform designed to inspire young people to embrace innovation, entrepreneurship and technology as tools for addressing societal challenges. He urged participants to take full advantage of the knowledge-sharing sessions, networking opportunities and mentorship available during the summit, noting that the future of the region depends on the creativity, resilience and commitment of its youth.
The summit, themed “Transforming Nigeria’s Local Governance: Harnessing AI and Youth Innovation for Transparency,” attracted government officials, development partners, youth leaders, entrepreneurs and technology experts from across the North-East.
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Other sessions featured presentations on the Nigeria Youth Futures Fund (NYFF), the Youth Local Government Accountability Fellowship, TEDx-style impact talks by fellows, a panel discussion on “Transparency in the Digital Age: Technology, Open Government and Citizen Power,” the unveiling of the Bayani AI Toolkit, success stories from NYFF grantees and award presentations recognising outstanding fellows and partners.
The summit ended with renewed commitment by participants to harness Artificial Intelligence, innovation and civic engagement to promote transparency, accountability and sustainable development across Nigeria’s local government system.
