Ayo Yemisi Jaiyeola Challenges African Youths to Champion Sustainable Development Goals on International Youth Day

Lagos, Nigeria, Nairobi, Kenya, August 12, 2025 Lion Olori Dame Ayo Yemisi Jaiyeola, Lions International Regional Chairperson for Region 1, District 404B2, Multiple District 404 Nigeria, has called for greater youth involvement in Africa’s development process with the theme of “Local Youth Actions for the SDGs and Beyond” in honor of International Youth Day 2025.

As she discussed the significance of the day, she stated that the youth of Africa are “our greatest resource” and a key factor in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the UN. According to her, since over 70% of young people are between the ages of 19 and 35, local government should target and concentrate on young people while adopting the SDGs.

Through renewable energy technologies, businesses, health initiatives, and community education, I have witnessed young people from Lagos, Nigeria, Nairobi, Kenya, Kigali, Ghana, Burkina Faso, and other nations transforming problems into solutions, said Dame Ayo Yemisi Jaiyeola.

She emphasized the need of everyone understanding that every little effort contributes to a global solution.

She claims that Lions Clubs International Nigeria has consistently supported grassroots and youth-led projects, mentored and trained young leaders, partnered with youth to advance community-based SDG initiatives, and maintained Lions International’s partnership with the UN through the Leo movement and other youth empowerment programs.

Policymakers and development partners were asked by Olori Yemisi Jaiyeola to prioritize youth in economic and development initiatives. In order to empower young people with skills in entrepreneurship, leadership, and civic engagement, she urged African governments, SDG offices, states, Youth Development Ministries, local government officials, ward council members, youth development NGOs, church youth departments, and royal fathers to make investments. She also promoted youth participation in continental, national, and municipal decision-making.

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Africa must establish cross-sector relationships with young people as co-creators of the continent’s future, Dame Jaiyeola said.

As a missionary at God’s Wives International Foundation and a counselor to more than 45,000 widows in Nigeria, Lion Ayo Jaiyeola has over 30 years of experience caring for widows and single mothers. He is aware of the challenges widowed and single mothers face when raising fatherless and orphaned children, many of whom have found companionship on the streets.

She also calls on young women to refrain from drug use and other illicit activities and to act appropriately in her role as chairman of the Young Women Christian Association.
African politicians must also cease employing young people for their ill-advised political purposes, Jaiyeola reaffirmed, saying, “Make every youth a doer with the right skills and not criminals.” She claimed that when our young people succeed, Africa succeeds and the entire globe is affected.

The charter president of the Maryland Royal Lions Club, Lion Ayo Jaiyeola, encouraged African adolescents to join a local Lions Club in order to receive quality mentoring.

She said that more people are needed by Lions Clubs International, particularly young people, to serve their communities and develop as leaders.
Lions Clubs International, she noted, has more than 1.4 million members in more than 200 countries, making it the largest service organization in the world. “Lions and Leos in Lion’s Multiple District 404 serve their communities through projects in health, education, the environment, and youth empowerment, among many other areas,” she continued.