At age 17, while his peers were busy on the social media platforms, Idris Bilyaminu Ndasadu’Lau had already made up his mind to dedicate his life to the service of humanity.
He founded Connected Youth for Accountability, Peace and Development Initiative (YAPD4Africa), a Pan-African youth-led civil society organization, in 2017 whose dedicated mission is to build strong people and sustainable communities in Africa.
He said while growing up, he realised the lack of access to health and youth exclusion in the decision making process in his immediate community.
‘What really motivated me was the lack of access to health and WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) facilities in my community, and also the fact that despite the high population of young people, they were often excluded from decision-making processes and community development issues,” he told the Daily Trust in Kaduna.
He said his organisation is involved in community engagement, focusing more on health, education, and WASH facilities. ‘We also do civic engagement, policy advocacy to influence policies that protect the rights of young people, and youth empowerment projects.
‘We educate the youth on their rights and how they can actively engage in governance. We also work in hard-to-reach, marginalised grassroots communities in Nigeria. These are underserved areas where government presence is almost absent, except during elections. We make sure to include such people in our projects and connect them with partners who can support them.
‘We support them through the construction of water supply systems, providing access to quality education, and meeting other basic needs,”Idris said.
He said his NGO has worked in communities in Kaduna, Kano, Jigawa and several other states in Nigeria.
‘We have implemented more than eight projects in Nigeria. One of our projects was selected among the 100 best youth-led projects in the world. I recently returned from China, where the project was showcased. It has impacted over 5,000 people in Nigeria and Cameroon. Overall, our organization has impacted more than 20,000 lives in over 100 communities across Nigeria.
Another session with youths
Idris said one of the special projects his organisation was engaged in was the promotion of sanitary pads among rural women.
‘We discovered that many women cannot afford sanitary pads. So, we came up with a solution called Reusable Pads. We trained the women ourselves and sought funding to produce the pads.
‘Initially, we funded it from our own pockets, but later, we were able to secure support from international partners like Connected Development and Share Yourself, who gave us $1,000. Beyond that, we have raised other funds to continue supporting girls and women, because we believe that the lack of access to menstrual pads affects girls’ education.’
He said his organisation’s focus was more on the rural communities because they were often left behind in terms of development. ‘We want to emphasize that these people are citizens too, and they deserve development like everyone else. When we uplift their voices, the government and institutions will be pressured to act.
‘I have visited many grassroots communities, and the reality is heartbreaking: no schools, no health facilities, nothing. But going to such communities gives me confidence that, one day, insha’Allah, people will get what they deserve.’
He said running a non-profit organisation at a young age has been difficult, especially without funding but he’s been able to get through most of the challenges by being consistent and by leveraging his network and social media.
‘I was able to secure support from different places. Funding challenges still exist, but we are exploring local sources of support to sustain our work.
‘By staying faithful to what I am doing. I believe strongly in my vision, in Nigeria and in Africa’s future. That belief has kept me going.
‘Again, my parents have always been proud of me. One of the good things is that my father has been behind the camera supporting me for so long. He is here today, watching me during this interview, and I am very proud of that.
Lau said, so far, he has not received any support from the government.
‘Honestly, I have not received any support from the government in the eight years I’ve been doing this. I never reached out directly to the government because I don’t want to be entangled in politics. That is why I refused to reach out to the government.
‘What we do instead is document the needs of the people and send letters to the government, so they understand the situation. For instance, we recently launched a project called Moria, where we documented the voices of 14 communities still lacking education and basic needs, and we shared the findings with the local government chairman to see how they can help those communities.’
Lau said he was confident that he could bring change to the society, especially among the youth in Northern Nigeria who are mostly unemployed.
‘For youths, one of the most important things is to provide them with networks and opportunities to grow. Currently, I am working with more than 1,000 young people, not just in Nigeria but across Africa. Recently, we implemented a project in Jigawa State called the Local Accountability Watch Project. It was funded by the EU and focused on helping young people demand accountability from local governments.
‘Over 400 youths applied for just 20 available slots, which shows how widespread unemployment is. We selected 20 and trained them on how to engage governance and demand accountability at all levels.’
Looking at the future, Idris said his biggest hope was to see that every community has access to basic facilities to enhance the living conditions of its members.
‘My biggest hope is to ensure that every community has access to basic needs such as education, health, among others. I believe these are fundamental human rights. I also want to see myself at decision-making tables where the needs of ordinary people are addressed and their voices are heard.
‘I would like the world to know more about what we are doing, especially in amplifying the voices of grassroots communities and equipping young people with the skills and knowledge to demand accountability and good governance.
‘These are the kinds of initiatives young people are capable of leading, and in many cases, they can do them even better than the older generation currently in leadership.’
He advised young people to be more courageous in facing challenges in life.
‘Many believe money is everything, but money is not everything. I started this work without funding or external advice. What kept me going was courage and belief. Many young people have great potential, but they lack the courage to act on it. My advice is for them to wake up. We are the future of Nigeria and Africa, and there is still so much for us to catch up with,’ Idris said.
One of the beneficiaries of the project in Joga village, Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State, and also a youth leader, Abdulaziz Zubairu, said the organization helped his community by repairing an old borehole that now provides them with drinking water.
‘After the borehole was constructed, we barely used it because it broke down shortly after completion, and so we continued to face the problem of getting drinking water. But by the grace of God, when the YaPD4Africa came to this village, they repaired the borehole for us, and since then, we have been benefiting from it.
‘Truly, the young man who leads the organization has become like a brother to us in this village because of the good work he has done for us.
‘In addition, they taught us the importance of helping one another without relying solely on the government at all times. That is why, a few days ago, when the borehole developed another fault, we (the villagers) contributed money and repaired it ourselves for our own benefit.’