Kaduna unveils Kashim Ibrahim fellows, says programme will make them ‘lions’

The Kaduna government has unveiled the fifth set of the Kashim Ibrahim Fellows (KIF), comprising 24 young Nigerians.

The annual programme, which began in 2018 with the initial participation of 16 fellows, is an initiative of Nasir El-Rufai, governor of Kaduna.

Currently in its fifth cohort, 24 fellows, comprising eight persons from Kaduna and 16 from other states, were selected out of 6,983 applicants that registered online.

Speaking at the unveiling ceremony, Hadiza Balarabe, deputy governor of Kaduna, said the governor’s belief in the empowerment of youths is one of the reasons for the initiative.

The ceremony, which took place at the government house in Kaduna, had members of the steering committee and KIF alumni in attendance.

“Nasir El-Rufai, governor of Kaduna state, believes that empowering youths for leadership requires deliberate effort to create platforms to train and avail them with practical skills,” the deputy governor said.

“Malam Nasir El-Rufai conceived this fellowship targeted at improving the future of Nigeria by catching young Nigerians in their formative ages and bringing them up as capable and committed young leaders, who recognise the importance of public service in building the country we dream of.

“Nigeria’s public service today is dominated by lambs. At the end of your one-year training under the Kashim Ibrahim Fellowship, we hope to make lions out of you — lions that shall roar Nigeria’s public service to better heights.”

The current set of fellows, who commenced the programme in August 2021, are set to graduate in July 2022, while the fifth set is expected to commence the one-year “intensive leadership programme” in August 2022.