The Association for Young Adults of Canada Inc. (NAYA) is an ethno-cultural/non-profit organisation registered and incorporated with the Government of Canada. It is the largest Nigerian association in Canada and the first to have national affiliations and membership across all regions and provinces of Canada. In this interview with Oluwaseun Aladekomo of the Lagos State University (LASU), its President Shola Agboola, who is serving his second term, shares the organisation’s heroism and challenges, especially its drive to galvanise youth and young graduates towards taking up leadership roles.

Would you tell us more about NAYA?

Nigerian Association of Young Adults in Canada (NAYA) is an ethno-cultural community in the diaspora. We are basically for the protection of our cultural values.

I am the President of NAYA. I’m from Ila Orangun in Osun State. I am also the first Nigerian to be elected into the board of directors of the Conservative Party of Canada. I serve as a director, African Canadian Cultural Heritage Council, representing the entire African community in Canada.

So, how did NAYA begin?

This organisation (NAYA) was created 18 years ago, long before I even came to Canada. I became the president in 2013, and I’m on my second term of another four years. One of the things I changed was the trend of activities in NAYA; and this anchors on giving back to our country and inspiring the youths towards a better future. These activities bring me down to Nigeria often.

Why it is that young Nigerians who are taking up leadership responsibilities in the diaspora are flying; yet there are leadership gaps at the home front?

Let me start by saying Nigerians are immensely blessed. For instance, a youth and a member of NAYA, Hon. Uzoma Asagwara, became the youngest, the first Nigerian and the first black female to be elected a member of the Manitoba Legislative Assembly.

This means a Nigerian just broke the country 150 year’s history. It is also on record that the youngest medical doctor to be graduated from the University of Manitoba is a Nigerian by the name Dr Tito Daodu.

We are all aware that today, Nigerians are the most educated in the United States. So, Nigerians are excelling everywhere. This means we are not in short supply of talents; it’s the environment that is different. Unfortunately, there is very little individuals can do without the support of the government.

Compared to Nigeria, how does the government of Canada encourage its youths into taking leadership roles?

In Canada, we discovered that the concept of governance is not left to the rulers alone. A Canadian believes so much in his or her country and we learn a lot from that.  So, each time we have an opportunity to address a forum in Nigeria, I try to inspire the audience especially the youth that we have no other place to go than Nigeria and for the future of our children.

Unlike in Nigeria, what NAYA tries to do is to attract every Nigerians who have come to study or live in Canada into this organisation to give back and not only to enjoy the life of luxury Canada offers.

So, the question is: ‘How possible is it that a person who lands in Canada today immediately falls in love with that country?’ It is because of their kind of governance. So, we use this as a point of contact to let Nigerians know that Nigeria is blessed with intellectual deposits. Unfortunately, lots of talents are being wasted at the home front.

(cuts) And that account for the seemingly unstoppable brain drain?

Of course yes! Nigerians, especially young graduates, who come to Canada or any other country, shine like a millions stars. Imagine me in my 40s and serving as a director for a major political party; and we only have Liberal and Conservative parties in Canada.

Just imagine someone like me who has neither a god-father nor political clouts, and hasn’t spent up to two decades in Canada; but all of a sudden was catapulted into that position.

The fact is, it is the system. Once the system (in Canada) recognises your passion, it allows you to strive. So, in short, our leaders in Nigeria should create that kind of leadership that inspires the youth to unleash their God-given potentials.

What, then, do you think prevents the youth from unleashing in Nigeria?

What we need is the enabling environment. We are not asking for money, but an opportunity. Can you imagine that what NAYA is doing, a whole Nigerian commission in any country in the entire world has not been able to do it.

Majority of our members are young adults. If you don’t have the passion for this kind of thing, people easily get burned out. But we won’t give up because we are up there in Canada and our conscience does not allow us to rest because we are doing well and our children are attending the best schools money cannot buy, but created by people who never knew us. We met that system like that.

“If you land in Canada today with your children, you are automatically qualified from free education and health care facilities. If your kids are under-18, you get monthly money to take care of them despite being a working class.  So, we can’t just be exposed to than kind of life without giving back.

Some of us with conscience felt we are not different from a governor of a state in Nigeria who sits down there looting his state’s treasury.

Could you tell us some of those contributions NAYA has made in Nigeria?

Since 2013, we have made a social investment in Nigeria to the tune of about $46million. It surprises people how we are able to coordinate this, but I tell them it is through innovation and leveraging on opportunities that are available in Canada.

From 2013, we’ve been donating hospital equipment worth millions of dollars across Nigeria’s six geo-political zones. We started from Kebbi State in 2013. From there, we went to Imo and then Bayelsa State. We’ve been to Osun and Ogun states and in November last year, we launched a medical facilities valued at N784 million in Bida, Niger State.

This will be the second of its kind last year. We did one in Abia State in January (last year) to the tune of N540 million. We recently received another consignment of huge container of medical equipment which we are hopefully giving to another yet-to-be-announced state in this month.

Don’t you make any contributions in the area of education?

Of course! We have given thousands of laptop computers to different tertiary institutions in Nigeria. We have the record here and on our website.

We also partner  different universities in Canada on donations of books on Sciences, Technologies, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and to universities in Nigeria. The last thing we also do is empowerment to rural communities in Nigeria.

We bring hundreds of thousands of free clothing and reusable hygiene kits for young girls to rural communities in Nigeria. Sometimes we go with bales of clothing to distribute to communities where our records show abject poverty prevails.

How were you able to generate funds for your various projects?

The truth is, every equipment we have donated in this country has been given free by the government of Canada; and it is because of the passion and desperation we show to the government (of Canada) on the need to have those things given free to Nigeria. Second, in NAYA, we also tax ourselves from $5, $10 and $20 as much as every individuals can give.