Your Dreams Are Within Reach, Mariam Mohammed Encourages Youth at Maktoub Forum

Last weekend, hundreds of young people were gathered by Ms. Mariam Mohammed, the founder of Maktoub Media, who encouraged them to persevere in their goals in spite of growing challenges.

As part of her annual birthday celebration, Mohammed gave a speech in Abuja at the 2024 Maktoub Youth Forum (MYF) with the theme “Ignite, Inspire, Impact.”

Mohammed, who expressed gratitude for the large turnout, clarified that the forum’s objectives were to encourage young people to strive for leadership, emotional intelligence, job advancement, personal development, and assisting prospective young people in creating a career roadmap.

She clarified that it was a call to action for the youth of Nigeria, imploring them to follow their aspirations with the necessary fervor.

She emphasized, however, that in order to succeed in life, students must be prepared to deal with the drawbacks and challenges that accompany personal development, noting that one of the program’s goals was to lessen these dangers.

You are aware that everything has drawbacks. Programs like these have the drawback of reopening long-suppressed wounds. Many believe that running a mentorship program is ostentatious. However, it isn’t. Because you have to share your journey to get here, you are essentially a test subject during this program.

And I won’t lie to you: those stories aren’t always very good. Telling those experiences often makes you cry, not because you’re weak, but rather because you’re in shock that you’ve come this far. You would understand it if we all stood here and told you our tales of how we arrived to where we are now.

“You recall instances in which you have surrendered and given up. At times, it even reaches the point of wanting to terminate everything. In order to help you avoid the mistakes we made in life and to help you overcome obstacles—perhaps not completely, but sufficiently to get by—we host programs like this one to let you know that we are your test subjects. This is due to the fact that you will encounter obstacles throughout life.

She informed the youth, “These programs help you understand that those upper cuts will heal and all you need are teachers here and there and you will be fine.”

Additionally, Aisha Mohammed, an Assistant Controller with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), warned the young people that while social media may still be a tool for good in many ways, it can also be used to cause harm.

She advised the participants to avoid being duped by what they see on social media and to not believe everything they read online.

Our lives now revolve around social media, but it’s important to recognize the difference between the two. What we portray to the public on social media and who we really are are never the same. Numerous social, political, spiritual, and economic difficulties in society at large stem from this disparity.

Perception, projection, and intentional programming are key components of social media. Because you constantly compare yourself to what other people are posting, which isn’t the reality, the pressure to project a flawless online persona can generate feelings of inadequacy and unhappiness. We are all aware that those things are not genuine.

“Even if someone is starving, they can post on social media that they just completed a fantastic dinner, and someone else will see it and think, I must do this. Or someone posts something that isn’t real, like “I just got a Rolls Royce, I just got a Range Rover.” It’s possible that the individual simply visited a car dealership, took a photo, and uploaded it to the internet.

Therefore, we make an effort to educate young people about the fact that not everything we see online is true. And discovering who you are makes you feel unworthy of living, despite the fact that there are instances of people killing themselves via cyberbullying, social media, and, as I previously stated, sexual assault,” she emphasized.

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She advised the youth to embrace who they are and refrain from evaluating themselves or their accomplishments against those of others.

In her remarks, a Public Health Professional, Fatima Mamman-Daura, urged the youths not to feel resentment when they think they are underachieving, exhorting them to find a passion and nurture it.

“ Passion makes everything easier and more enjoyable to pursue your dreams and ethically too. Recognize your onions. Make your intelligence your greatest asset. In your early career, I think this is when it is most important, you should soak up all the knowledge that you can and learn all the skills that you can.

“Technical skills get you the recognition and then it moves you up the career ladder. Produce exceptional quality work. Go the extra mile. Cross all the T’s and dot all the I’s. Do not be lazy,” she advised.

Besides, she urged them to practice soft skills, emotional intelligence, and people management, stressing that as they move up the career trajectory from managers to leaders, they will need less technical skills and more conceptual skills.

“You will need things like communication, problem solving, team building, conflict resolution, resource mobilisation, crisis management, critical thinking, etc.,” she pointed out.

Other persons present at the event were: Son of the President, Seyi Tinubu, Channels TV Presenter, Seun Okinbaloye, who spoke on the topic: “Unbroken: Transforming Personal Pain into Springboards for Success,” among others.

The annual event encourages youths to discover, explore and maximise their natural potential and create a better future for themselves in spite of all hurdles.