PROJECT_INSPIRE INTERVIEW WITH ADETOKUNBO ADETOLA ABIGAIL

Award-winning Adetokunbo Adetola Abigail is a 22-year old vibrant teacher, educator, school administrator, child advocate and public speaker. Daily, she inspires children to explore possibilities within their worlds. As part of efforts to give back to society, Abigail founded Kiyeseni Foundation, a non-profit organization committed to providing indigent children with access to basic quality education and to raising awareness on child sexual abuse. In this interview with PROJECT_INSPIRE, Abigail shares more about her passion and work at Kiyeseni Foundation.


PROJECT_INSPIRE: Please introduce yourself.
ABIGAIL: My name is Adetokunbo Adetola Abigail. I’m 22 years old and a native of Ondo State.

PROJECT_INSPIRE: How was growing up like for you?
ABIGAIL: I had a very interesting childhood. I rolled tyres on the streets, climbed trees, flew kites, watched the moon bulge in the evening on some days, and I had a few friends here and there. It was beautiful, with very few worries.

  PROJECT_INSPIRE: Tell us your educational background?
ABIGAIL: I’m a trained and certified Teacher in Primary Education & Sciences. I’m currently taking a degree in Psychology.

 PROJECT_INSPIRE: What contribution(s) are you giving to make Nigeria better?
ABIGAIL: First off, I’m a Learning Support Teacher. I aid the learning process of children with learning difficulties. They are the ones often neglected and yet very talented if only we take time to teach them. Unfortunately, we believe we don’t have such time. I see every child as a solution provider but we neglect them because they don’t carry the 'supposed' traits of how a child should learn. My work with children has earned me two global awards—Arc Light Foundation Teachers Award, 2017 and AKS Global Teacher Awards, 2018. We have had to organise several walks and programmes to sensitise communities on the need to create a protective environment for their children. We run a Book Club in a community in Ogun State where children come together to read, imagine and have fun while learning.

  PROJECT_INSPIRE: What has been your motivation?
  ABIGAIL: No child deserves abuse. Every child has a right to basic education. We don’t want to rob an entire continent. These are my motivations.

  PROJECT_INSPIRE: How will what you are doing help our nation realise its full potential?
ABIGAIL: Picture a world where children are safe and I'll show you a world where children will effectively maximize their potential. Like one of my mentors in the field of Child Protection, Barr. Taiwo Akinlami, would say, "To create a safe and friendly environment for children to live in, we need to create standards of care to meet these needs." Study the nations who put welfare of young people at the forefront of national matters and you would see how they thrive more than those who don't. The earlier we realise that we need to create new policies or tweak the old ones to safeguard the child, the better for us. If this is implemented, we would have balanced children and a less dangerous world to live in.

  PROJECT_INSPIRE: What has been most challenging about your work at Kiyeseni Foundation?
ABIGAIL : The first issue I’ve had to deal with was my age. Because I was much younger when I started, I got knocked, shut up, injured and even threatened because of my activities on child rights protection. I would go out of my way to see justice done on behalf of abused children and some people kept insisting that I was too young for that cause. However, nothing they said or did was strong enough to deflate my passion. I’m getting stronger and better everyday. Another challenging part of my work has been finances for our public events. Sponsorship is not readily available. There's also the issue of finding vision-oriented people, those who are committed to making impact instead of just fame or money, for the purposes of purposeful networking and partnership. But in all, I’m forever grateful to everyone who has contributed in uncountable ways to support this vision. I do not take the encouragement, financial support, prayers, volunteering and the many other kind acts for granted.

  PROJECT_INSPIRE: Many young people have great ideas but finance is a stumbling block, what’s your advice in this regard?
  ABIGAIL: Ask for help. No man is an island. If we're not careful, the desire to be on the front burner of social invention will be our undoing as young people. I have learnt that when you're creating value, you need all the help you can get but if you intentionally don’t ASK, you may never find or get. If you need to partner purposefully for funds, do so. If you need to pitch your idea to get funds, by all means do. If you need a mentor or career coach to guide you, ask. ASK.

  PROJECT_INSPIRE: How has young people’s reaction been to what you do?
ABIGAIL: I have been commended, criticized, supported and asked to be a mentor to some of them.

  PROJECT_INSPIRE: How do you respond to the feedback you get?
ABIGAIL: I’m always grateful for the feedback I get. As much as time permit, I reach out to those who need my help.

  PROJECT_INSPIRE: In your opinion, why is there so much unemployment in Nigeria and what is the way out?
ABIGAIL: I will highlight a few, namely: (a).Inadequate skill to meet demands. Some of the youth are underskilled and cannot work in or with organisations that require advanced skills.
 (b).Underemployment leads to unemployment. In cases where there is available manpower but the work required is not available, you'd see a graduate being offered N15,000 per month which is way below minimum wage.
(c).Stunted growth of SMEs. Those who create jobs can tackle unemployment but when SMEs that generate jobs are dying, there will be less jobs. The economic instability of the country isn't helping matters too. The way out is for us to hone our skills and learn more. If you can't be good at everything, be better at some. We also have to get rid of the Quick-Money Syndrome that our society has subtly imbibed. Even when we aren't qualified for a job, we still feel we should be paid more. As youth, we should be committed to continuous training and learning and where possible, mentorship. It guides us as we thrive.

  PROJECT_INSPIRE: What would you say is the major role of the youth in our national development process?
  ABIGAIL: I’d say providing solutions and generating wealth. We’re in the active percentile of every nation's grid and have to be empowered at every level to unburden the nation. My Career Coach Mr Rotimi Eyitayo used to say, "The development of a country is tied to the development of her people." There are no truer words than these.

  PROJECT_INSPIRE: Your final words to the Nigerian youth.
  ABIGAIL: There's no quick way to hitting the mark. It requires skill, hard work, grit, people and experience. You either create something new or do the old differently.

  PROJECT_INSPIRE: Thank you for sharing your story with us and we do hope that many are inspired as they read.
  ABIGAIL: Thank you for having me.




  Many thanks to our editor: Pookers Literary & Editing World. www.pookersconsult.com.ng +234 703 009 4966 .



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