The IBS-YEDP Sponsorship by Asiwaju Olayinka Fasuyi, Asiwaju of Ijesaland and Chairman, Ijesaland Community Development Assembly (ICDA)
Every development project passes through four phases: idea conceptualisation, resource mobilisation, planning and implementation. The first is the one most easily forgotten, yet without it there is nothing to mobilise for, plan or implement.
The Youth Entrepreneurial Development Programme (YEDP) is a six-month online enterprise development and business incubation programme for young Nigerians aged 18–40 — designed by the School of Enterprise Management, Ibadan Business School.
Asiwaju Yinka Fasuyi's idea of the Ibadan Business School (IBS) Youth Entrepreneurial Development Programme , IBS-YEDP sponsorship began as a conviction. Long before any money was committed, the problem was already present in Ijesa communities: too many capable young people were waiting for scarce salaried jobs, with no practical training in running a business. For years, nobody addressed it directly. Asiwaju Fasuyi did. He identified the challenge, thought it through and conceived a fitting, workable response: equip Ijesa youths with enterprise skills so they can create value and employment for themselves and others. That conception, not the funding, is where the initiative originates, and it is rightly credited to him.
His thinking also took shape in public:
1 October 2025: At the inauguration of the 3rd National Executive of the Ijesa Youth Forum (IYF) at the Oba Dr Gabriel Adekunle Aromolaran II Civic Centre, Owa’s Palace, Ilesa, he challenged young people to stop waiting for “tomorrow” and to claim the leadership that already belonged to them.
Following months: He built an economic argument around that message. Nigeria has about 6 million people in paid employment, against roughly 108 million who are self-employed, about 95 million of them youths aged 18 to 40. For most young people, enterprise is the realistic route to a livelihood, and it must be taught well.
5 July 2026: In his article “Nigeria Youths: Leaders of Today and Not Tomorrow!”, he set out the full framework. He called for a State School of Enterprise in every state, an NYSC year split between vocational skills and entrepreneurial development, and private-sector investment in youth enterprise programmes. He also commended the Ibadan Business School’s six-month, 26-week online IBS-YEDP, offered as corporate social responsibility at highly subsidised fees.
The sponsorship is therefore the practical expression of an agenda he had already conceived and argued publicly.
With the idea clear, he committed the resources. He sponsored 200 Ijesa youths at ₦50,000 per participant, a total of ₦10,000,000. The commitment was specific and matched his words, which reflects his principles of leadership by example and integrity.
Planning gave the intervention its shape. The programme was designed to expose beneficiaries to entrepreneurship, enterprise development and practical business skills, so they could establish, manage and grow sustainable businesses.
Beneficiaries were drawn from four community networks: the University of Ilesa, the Ijesa Youth Forum (IYF), churches and mosques in Ijesaland. Reaching students, youth leaders and both major faith communities broadened participation and spread ownership of the initiative across the community. This reflects his stated emphasis on stakeholder engagement and transparency. The programme’s online format also meant that distance would not exclude any beneficiary.
The 200 beneficiaries take the 26-week programme and gain the knowledge and competencies to start and run enterprises. The measurable inputs are clear: ₦10 million, ₦50,000 per participant and 200 young people. Long-term results will depend on how well participants apply what they learn. Accountability supports this phase, since projects under Fasuyi’s leadership are regularly audited, with auditors’ reports published on the ICDA platform.
From Job Seekers to Value Creators
The programme encourages young people to look beyond scarce salaried employment and develop an entrepreneurial mindset. It also reflects his belief that youth empowerment should move beyond financial handouts to sustainable capacity building, giving young people knowledge they can apply throughout their working lives.
The sponsorship complements his other youth-focused interventions: agro-preneurship training, Leventis agricultural training, financial grants to Leventis trainees, ICT training and technical education. Each began as a problem he identified and an idea he developed before resources were mobilised. Together they show a consistent strategy of investing in the skills, enterprise capacity and economic independence of Ijesa youths.
An Investment in Ijesaland’s Economic Future
Each trained youth can establish an enterprise, create jobs, provide services and contribute to the community’s development. The value of the sponsorship therefore extends well beyond the 200 individuals.
The five leadership principles run through the whole project. Vision conceived the idea. Leadership by example funded it. Integrity gave the commitment credibility, transparency broadened participation, and accountability tied it to measurable results.
With ₦10 million committed to 200 young Ijesas, the IBS-YEDP sponsorship shows the full cycle, from a problem identified and a solution conceived to resources mobilised, a plan designed and a programme delivered.
No comments:
Post a Comment