Three Nigerians to receive Queen's Young Leaders Awards

Three Nigerian youths are among 60 in the British Commonwealth who recently were named recipients of the Queen’s Young Leaders Award.

Imrana Alhaji Buba, 23; Olanrewaju Adeloye, 23; and Olumide Femi Makanjuola, 28, will receive their awards from Queen Elizabeth II at a ceremony in London in 2016. The awards honor young people who are leaders in organizations that make a positive impact in their communities.

Buba was the winner of the Generation Change Fellowship of the United States Institute of Peace and also was inducted into the Global Alliance for Youth Leaders for his efforts in community building and youth-education programs in Nigeria. The organization he founded to carry out these projects now has more than 600 members.

Additionally, Buba trains unemployed young people to help them find work.

Adeloye went to college to study medical physiology. After three years as an intern at a center that served poor mothers and their newborn babies, Adeloye founded SaferMom, an organization that utilizes low-cost mobile technology to give mothers access to health information. Currently, 900 rural African mothers use the service.

Makanjuola has been involved for nearly 10 years with projects and programs that support the LGBTI+ community. Makanjuola has given Nigerians access to sexual health and human rights educational resources, and has assisted with the production of a documentary about same-sex marriage that has, to date, been screened in 14 countries.

Makanjuola has given presentations about his work to the European Union Parliament, European Asylum Support Office and the World Pride Human Rights Conference.