•Kemi Bamro and some of the participants
Students and youths have been charged to reshape their destinies in the Artificial Intelligence era by learning technology skills that can improve their lives and make them compete with their peers globally.
Kemi Bamro, a product manager and website designer, gave the charge during the 2025 World Youth Skills Day celebration, reports Daily Independent.
With theme: “Youth Empowerment Through AI and Digital Skills,” the event was organised by the Lions Club International, Lagos Ikoyi Diamond Lions Club District 404-A3 Nigeria, at Akande Danhunsi Senior Secondary School, Osborne Road, Ikoyi yesterday.
At the event titled: “Identifying Your Skills to Develop a Career on Digital Literacy – Canva App and Soap-making Training,” where about 100 students of Akande Danhunsi Senior Secondary School, drawn from SSI and SS2, received training, Bamro said: “I keep hammering on reshaping destinies because a lot of people are born with inbuilt talents while some build their talents irrespective of what profession they choose or what they want to become in future.”
Bamro, who facilitated the digital literacy training, said,
“My main aim is to teach them Canva. Canva App is one of the trending apps used in graphic designs.”
Saying that Canva App is used in every sector today, Bamro added: “You need it in social media, you need it offices, in the government sector, presentation, public health, among others, “Canva is very useful, it’s a basic and special skill that is needed as the youths of today are Gen-Z, they are born into technology and digital era.’
“They need to surround their destinies in the midst of technology, and they need to make use of technology to guide their paths.”
Bamro said that as a facilitator, she was motivated to train the students on digital skills “to dissuade them from indulging in social in vices, as well as become self-reliant. It is to let them know that they can go through digital literacy positively instead of using the platform negatively.”
“They can use it to better their lives, their communities and the world at large by using creative designs that can promote and motivate other fellow youths all over the world in doing meaningful things,” Bamro added.
On the affordability of Canva App for every youth, Bamro, a UIUS product designer, said: “Canva is a user-friendly App. If you don’t have a mobile phone or a laptop, you can use the business center or cyber cafe. With N100 or N200, you can buy time and use it. One good thing about the app is that it is on i-Cloud, you don’t need to get Microsoft to get it, it’s already there. You just need to go to the browser and type canva.com and it will bring out the platform and you can use it immediately.”
The tech expert advised the students to take advantage of the technology era, adding: “You can add other side hustles to it, and digital literacy skills is one of the most lucrative side hustles you can do now. When you have skills in digital technology, it is the best, as you will just be at the comfort of your home and do work for people abroad and in the country. You can become self-employed and won’t need to go anywhere to look for jobs.”
While advising the government to focus on children and give them a conducive environment to learning technology apps, Bamro said: “The government needs to get more laptops, create technology centers for them where they can exercise their skills. Most of them have logical thinking and the creative ability to bring out something. We should try to bring out the best in them.”
“We have AI and robots that can be used to do little things, but you still need a human being to drive the robot, you still need a human being to design the robots,” the technology expert added.
To the youth, she said, “They should focus on technology so that when they come to the society, they will be able to build Nigeria, better the country’s infrastructure and promote the nation at large.”
She also urged other clubs to emulate Lions Club International, adding: “They should focus on digital literacy, improving the lives of the children through digital literacy skills, and giving them knowledgeable apps that can improve their lives and the communities.”
Olaoye Temitope Oluwaseyi, Assistant Director of Education and the District Counsellor representing Dr. Olunke Idowu Oyetola, Tutor General Permanent Secretary (TGPS,) Education District 3, commended Lions International Club for equipping youths with skills so that they can become self-reliant and entrepreneurs.
Oyetola advised other clubs and organisations to come on board and emulate Lions Club International as the government cannot do it alone.
“They should join Lions Club in a gesture to make our youths employable and self-reliant, to keep them away from social vices such as drug addiction, cultism, unwanted pregnancies, armed robbery, among others. This will help to curb vices that we see in society today.”
Pat Marcus Jinadu, the 38th President of Lagos Ikoyi Lions Club, said that the event “is to empower the students so that after leaving the school, pending when they get jobs or admissions into the universities, it will help them in a long way to be self-reliant, self-employed.”
While advising the students to be serious with what they learnt from the training, she said: “They should use it as an opportunity to become self-employed and make a living for themselves.”
Jinadu also urged the government to do more to ensure that every Nigerian citizen is self-employed, which, according to her, “is the best thing now.”
Ladipo Lewis, President Ikoyi Diamond Lions Club, District 404-A3 Nigeria, said that the empowerment training was one of the club’s ways to give back to the society.
According to him, “One of the most important things in life is acquiring personal skills – educational and personal entrepreneurial skills. This training is to empower the students so that wherever they find themselves in the society, they have to get hands-on skills to help them move up in life, engage them, earn a living, as well as provide for themselves and their families.”
He noted that the hands-on skills will impact their lives in the future, so that “They can’t find themselves in life at any point in time where they don’t have the ability to develop money-making ventures, develop empowerment ventures that will lift them up in the society. They can’t be left out of society when they have these kinds of skills.”
He urged the need to encourage the government to invest in hands-on skills and entrepreneurial skills that will engage young people and make them stay away from vices in society. “They should have an industrial purpose to engage the youth. It’s important that the government invests money and time to engage our youths in hands-on skills,” he added.
Betty Ikechukwu, who trained students on soap-making, said that in any society, people need to cater for themselves.
“After school, the students need something that they can do to better their lives and to also help in the family. Soap-making is a business that you can do on your own. You don’t need too much money to start it. You can start it with a little amount and you can earn more money from it, just to support you and your family.”
She commended the Lagos Ikoyi Lions Club for giving her the opportunity to train young people.
