Leading Now, Not Later: How My First Abuja Trip Contributed In Shaping Me

As a proud member of the Global Shapers Community (Alumni) and co-founder of GhanaThink Foundation, I’ve participated in many high-level gatherings across Africa. 1 of such memorable events were those that I experienced in Abuja in May 2014. That trip wasn’t just another conference; it was also my first time in Abuja, the capital of Africa’s most populous country - Nigeria - & Ghana’s younger brother. Being at the WEF Africa & SHAPE Africa events added to how I saw my role in Africa’s future.

I flew into Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport on Arik Air – a direct flight linking Accra and Abuja back then. Earlier that year, I had also flown to New York using Arik Air. I leveraged that relationship I built with them to help get a more affordable ticket for the Nigeria trip. Seven of us from the Accra Hub made the journey: including Yawa Hansen-Quao, Emmanuel Gamor, Esi Cleland, Deborah Ahenkorah, John Roberts, etc. We jokingly called ourselves #ArikAir ambassadors because that flight symbolised something bigger - thanking them and pushing African air travel stakeholders. I landed buzzing with anticipation. @mightyafrican captured it perfectly: “First time in #Abuja. Ayooluwaato Eze is really excited to be in #Nigeria's capital. Hope to have a great time.” Ayooluwaato Eze is my Nigerian alter-ego. Little did I know how deeply the next few days would embed themselves in my story.

The real action started with SHAPE Africa 2014, held on 5-6 May at the Transcorp Hilton. Several Global Shapers from various hubs in Africa –gathered under the banner “BOLD Solutions.” This wasn’t a passive youth side-event; it was deliberately designed as the preparatory track for the main World Economic Forum on Africa. We were there to co-create, not to observe. Our sessions zeroed in on four pillars: Technology, Education, Agriculture, and Entrepreneurship. It was terrific to meet similar young awesome people from all over the continent, networking with them, learning from them, sharing with them what we were doing in our circles, communities, and cities to improve our countries and continent.

I tweeted: “#WEFAfrica RT @KarenAttiah hoping that some delegates attending #WEF in #abuja will make a statement about #BringBackOurGirls issues.” Seeing our ideas move from brainstorming to actual launch felt like youth voice finally meeting global urgency.

Just like the WEFAfrica events I had been to in previous years, major influential Africans engaged with us. Nigerian Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala dropped in to advise us. Oando Group CEO Jubril Adewale Tinubu and World Economic Forum Africa Head Elsie Kanza joined sessions and offered practical guidance. SHAPE Africa was driven by Nigeria’s three active hubs – Abuja, Lagos and Kano. By the end of SHAPE Africa, we had concrete resolutions and a shared commitment to deliver. I tweeted proudly: “#Shapeafrica2014 was awesome. Expecting the #GlobalShapers @ #WEFAfrica to show other delegates that we're leading now with #boldsolutions.”

A few key things were shared at SHAPE Africa that I posted on social media & now here for you:

• Some hubs are registered as NGO's - Abuja, Kano, etc. This helps in raising funds. 

• A good hub should have people who are committed, and be able to work on projects no matter what. 

• We discussed how hubs elect new leaders. We can use: nomination process, anonymous votes, online polls, etc. 

• A good hub should be known. It should be visible in its community or city. That comes from doing. 

• Change the thinking, change the results. Bold solutions needed for our airline industries. Let's shape Africa. 

• Hubs should get local sponsors who commit funds for long periods to ensure sustainability. 

• Hubs need to measure impact. Need help evaluating & ensuring great initiatives. Evaluate projects regularly. 

• Change the thinking, change the mindset, change the inactivity, change the results.

• Hubs can run income generating activities and things to get funds to support their work. 

• Hubs should identify local companies that can support our projects, even from hubs for more buy-in. 

The main World Economic Forum on Africa opened immediately after, running from May 7-9. More than 1,000 leaders from business, government, civil society and academia converged from almost all African countries & others abroad. The theme “Forging Inclusive Growth, Creating Jobs” couldn’t have been more timely. I had started to think more of the importance of jobs for the youth of Africa, and how we needed more competent job-seekers. Co-Chairs for WEFAfrica 2014 included Patrick Awuah, Aliko Dangote, Bineta Diop, Jabu Mabuza, Sunil Bharti Mittal, etc. Those are some real power players in the private sector. Also present were sitting presidents and prime ministers: Nigeria’s Goodluck Jonathan (host), our own President John Dramani Mahama from Ghana, Rwanda’s Paul Kagame, Kenya’s Uhuru Kenyatta and many others. Africa’s growth was projected above 5% that year, with West Africa leading, yet the conversations kept returning to the hard truth – growth without jobs and inclusion is meaningless.

Global Shapers had our own dedicated sessions. Those who represented us at #WEFAfrica 2014 didn’t sit quietly in the back – they carried the BOLD ideas from SHAPE Africa straight into the main halls. For me personally, the experience crystallized why the Global Shapers Community exists. We weren’t just another youth group; we were a network of doers embedded in every country, ready to turn ideas into action. We were especially important in African countries, where the youthful populations are huge and we need to prove to everyone around us, that youth could lead now (in various ways and sectors), and we are not waiting till the future.

The friendships formed in those rooms – especially with Shapers from hubs I did not have a lot of friends from - were key for me. The projects we sketched that week echoed for years in my own work. Back in Ghana, we at the GhanaThink Foundation doubled down on Barcamp Ghana, Junior Camp Ghana, Ghana Volunteering Program, and then expanded Diaspora Camp and birthed Komseko GH. Our partnerships with Africastalking and others scaled because I now understood how to build cross-border marketplaces and funding platforms – exactly the kind of BOLD Solutions we designed in Abuja.

More than a decade later, the lessons remain painfully relevant. Youth unemployment, skills gaps and unequal access to capital are still with us. But so is the energy I felt in those rooms with the other passionate people. The Global Shapers Community has grown leaps and bounds with a lot more youth and many other hubs. In Ghana, we have had hubs in Accra, Kumasi, Tamale, Dodowa, Ho, Cape Coast, Sunyani, Takoradi, etc.

Flying back to Accra two days later I wrote: “2:33pm in #Accra, #Ghana. Back 2 the work grind. Need bold solutions to solve problems. Tracking #Shapeafrica2014 #wefafrica too.” When I look back at those tweets from May 2014 – full of raw excitement and late-night reflections – I see the beginning of a commitment that still drives everything I do today. I left the city more determined, better networked and absolutely convinced that the future of Africa is being written by young people who refuse to wait.