2018 YIL Fellows
These are young professionals who have been inducted as Y.I.L Fellows. After the four months intensive programme, they have emerged as Fellows. They are professionals in whom we have found some seeds of excellence and we are glad to offer them a platform to scale up their excellence. They were selected from across Nigeria through a rigorous screening process.
Folakemi is a passionate nutritionist who is versatile and given to deep works. She emerged best graduating student in the Faculty of Public Health in the University of Ibadan. She has won several notable awards, few of which are: Chief Michael Okunola Akinyele Memorial Prize Award for the best student in Human Nutrition; De-United Indomie Scholarship Award; Dr Liman Ciroma Award to the best student with the highest CGPA in the Faculty of Public Health; 2017 UTC Annual Prize; the NUPEMECO Prize for the best all-round student in the Faculty of Public Health; Valedictorian, Crown College, Abeokuta; Cowbell Prize for overall best student, St Bernadette School, Abeokuta. Folakemi is a writer with an inclination towards fiction writing. In a few years, she hopes to be a best-selling author whilst excelling in public health nutrition.
Chibueze Clinton is an emerging educator, researcher and entrepreneur. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Classics from the University of Ibadan where he emerged the best graduating student in his faculty — First Class Honours — with several awards. Clinton is skilled in teaching his discipline, conducting academic research, project management, writing and translation of Latin, and digital marketing. He is the co-founder and CEO of Culturenett, a culture resource hub and startup offshoot of his Y.I.L Fellowship capstone project.
Cyril is a graduate of Industrial Physics from Federal University of Technology, Owerri. He is competent in embedded system technology, basic circuitry, computer hardware and software installations, and trouble-shooting. Cyril is tech savvy and has a burning passion to explore technologies like AI (robotics), IoT and AR/VR. He has built an obstacle-avoidance robot with real-time video feedback to the controller. His recent project is a Vehicle Emergency System which he built for an Owerri-based logistics firm. With this device, a button press will send the location of the vehicle via text message to the management when a driver is in duress. With his team, he has designed a solar-powered horizontal take-off and landing aircraft drone. He has led the construction of a solar web-based weather monitor which is able to measure the temperature, relative humidity, and air pressure of several areas around his University environs. He leads a team that has prototyped an IoT device used to detect faults in cars in order to prevent breakdown. Cyril desires to be a serial-entrepreneur, someday.
Ogochukwu is a physiologist with a penchant for biomedical research. Her bachelor’s degree was obtained from the University of Ibadan where she studied Medical Physiology and graduated as the best female student of her department. She is a laudable communicator and a voice of motivation to young minds in her environs. Ogochukwu was the vice-president of Ibadan chapter of FECA Nigeria – an organization involved with all-round youth development — where she reached out to hundreds of young persons, inspiring them to lead exceptional lives and encouraging them to strive for mastery in their various fields. She is also a prolific writer and content developer. Ogochukwu is a human resource developer, editor, and content developer at Xplain Consults, a leadership consulting firm. She sees herself in a few years as an education expert and a world class biomedical researcher that would take research in Nigeria and by extension, Africa to its frontiers.
Chisom is an afro hair expert and a data analyst. She graduated with honors from the University of Ibadan where she studied Computer Science. She has years of experience handling African women’s hair. Chisom is co-founder of a natural hair community named House of Naturals, a platform where undergraduate students voice their hair challenges. She is currently building her brand by exploring opportunities in the African hair industry and their interception with technology. She has expertise and good knowledge in skills such as project management, data analytics and visualization, and web development. In a few years, she sees herself providing technological solutions to afro hair enthusiasts in all spaces.
Kingsley calls himself a “computer freak”. This, he has shown in his academic performances. He graduated as the best student at Federal Polytechnic Ado-Ekiti where he got a national diploma in Computer Science. Due to his passion for computing, he further enrolled for a bachelor degree at Federal University of Technology Akure, where he also graduated as the best student of his department. Kingsley is a researcher and scientific writer. His recent research on a Tabu Search-based University Lecture Timetable Scheduling Model has been accepted for publication in the International Journal of Computer Applications. This system solves the problem of timetable clash during scheduling of university lectures. He also, frequently, publishes his tech thoughts on Medium.com. Kingsley is skilled in the use of SQL, PHP, and Python. With these skills, he has developed an algorithm called brand-chain algorithm which enables emerging brands to promote each other across social media platforms. He has also contributed to the machine learning model of a leading apparel firm in Africa by leading its data mining projects. Kingsley hopes to obtain a PhD in computer and information security.
Oladimeji is the founder of Educate an African Child Initiative (EACI) – an initiative geared towards reaching out to out-of-school children in marginalized communities in Africa, with the aim of grooming them to become champions through educational technology, leadership and civic learning. He also serves as the Project Manager of RecycleGarb Hub Limited. He was winner of the TSL Africa Prize for Education, Energy Club Chairman at University of Ibadan, Oyo State Team Lead for Youth Awakening Outreach Missions, and Campus Director for Hult Prize Foundation. He was also Program Facilitator at Junior Achievement Nigeria. Oladimeji has expertise in design of machine elements using computer-aided design software, development and implementation of projects pertaining to quality education and climate action. He is a change-maker as well as a public speaker who seizes every opportunity to charge youths up for innovation. In five years’ time, he wants to be a role model to many youths, and a social entrepreneur who makes affordable and clean energy readily available to both rich and poor in the world through utilization of waste potential.
Sunday Bulus is a fashion designer. He is pursuing a Master of Science degree in Mathematical Modeling and he wants to understand its applications to human behavior at the University of Ibadan. His research interest is geared towards leveraging mathematical modeling to bridge the gap between customer expectations and lasting unique experiences in fashion. He graduated with a first class honours in Mathematics from Federal University Wukari, Nigeria. He has also obtained proficiency certificates in human resource and project management. Sunday believes that African garments have always been used to portray heritage, culture and history; as such, he desires to build a notable fashion brand that will not only take Africa to the rest of the world but also flaunt her bright future.
Michael is a Veterinary Medical Doctor who is passionate about animal and public health. He is a graduate of University of Ibadan with distinction in Veterinary Anatomy. Having honed his leadership skills through several positions which he has handled in and out of school, Michael is poised to advance youth development in Nigeria through innovative platforms and initiatives. He is also passionate about public health sensitization on zoonosis prevention, especially in rural parts of Nigeria. In the near future, Michael plans to be involved in alleviating hunger through integrated farming system with renewable energy (biogas and solar).
Manyaya is a result-oriented nutrition professional with four years of experience in clinical, advocacy and field work. She has a proven track record in research, management, value delivery and innovation in nutrition, strategy and corporate planning. She has had nutrition trainings both home and abroad. Manyaya loves to cook as it helps her be result-oriented. Her quest for effective teamwork and leadership skills has also led her to embrace soccer. According to her, soccer helps her build tolerance and close relationships. Overall, she is a young lady who is poised at increasing the shareholder value and maximizing profit by improving the operational efficiencies and maximum utilization of available resources.