Nigerian Youths Attend TI Summer School In Lithuania

Youth representatives of various African countries who aspire to be “the leaders of tomorrow,” Nigerians among them, have participated in the Transparency International (TI) Summer School held at Lithuania’s Mykolas Romeris University, Vilnius.

Lithuanian news portal Delfi.lt reports there were over 150 participants from about 60 countries, including Argentina, Egypt, Nigeria, Uganda, Zimbabwe.

Adanna Amaechi (Nigeria), Jackson Opio (Uganda) Photo credit: MRU

Nigeria’s Adanna Amaechi has just concluded her Bachelor‘s Degree in Public Health in the US and plans to return to her fiefdom after completing her Master‘s Degree. “The contacts I made have been great,” she said of her time at the school.“It‘s good to network and talk with people from Afghanistan, Egypt, Lithuania and France.”

She added she has plans to run for public office in Nigeria, after starting “at the grassroots level” to gain the trust of Nigerians.

Lithuania TI project head Karolis Granickas said about 10% of those attending the TI School were from Africa, and they plan to increase this number. “We don’t have any ambitions to change Africa. Our focus is on the youth and that they understand the power they hold in their community,” he said.

Kudakwashe Hove, a lawyer from Zimbabwe, works for the NGO Veritas as a legal and information officer, making local laws accessible for all to read. He plans to help develop cyber regulation in Zimbabwe and plans to pursue doctoral studies.

Jackson Opio from Uganda is head of the Health and Psychosocial Dept of the NGO, the African Youth Initiative Network (AYINET), which was founded by his twin brother, lawyer Victor Ochen. This year, Ochen and the AYINET have been nominated for the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize. Jackson, who is currently studying for Master‘s Degree in Social Work in Berlin, also plans to return to Uganda.

“I will go back. This is my dream,“ he said. “My vision is to work in a setting that has a bigger impact.“

The Transparency International Summer School was held for the 6th time this year on the campus of Mykolas Romeris University, which is Lithuania‘s 2nd largest university.