Lead Pastor of The Afternoon Church, Pastor Akachi Nwoke says his desire to improve the lots of African youths is behind his initiative to host the much talked about African Youth Conference which comes up on 9th February 2024 in Aba.
Speaking to the media during a press conference on Wednesday, Pastor Akachi says it is for the transformation of the African youth.
“The African Youth Conference is majorly For transformation, for the African youth. Africa is a young continent and from statistics, seventy percent are young people. We don’t see Government involvement and some of our churches are not looking towards the direction of the youth.
We as a youth church, it is at the core of our assignment to empower the African youth and that is why we are doing all that we can do. That is what is behind our educational scholarship program. At the African Youth Conference, we will train the heart, the head and the hand.
Already we have ongoing trainings like the fashion school and on Friday, we are going to be presenting the graduates (in clothes making) and they are coming with whatever clothes they have made. We did a fashion training for young people here in Aba. They are sewing whatever they are going to wear to the African Youth Conference.”
Last time the program was held in Abuja, there were representatives from four African countries. This time round, the mode of joining the conference has been made easier.
“With the advent of technology, we don’t want people moving from their country to come here for a four-day conference. So we are livestreaming on the internet. We will be live on DSTV, Gotv and several media platforms. We can host more people online than on site. So we are expecting youths from Nigeria, already we have delegates from 11 states that are coming and when we are done with all the registration, we may have more. We are expecting youths from different parts of Nigeria. Every other person can follow online.”
Pastor Akachi, a graduate in Agricultural Science from Federal University of Technology, Owerrri (FUTO), has empowered many young people, especially with the scholarship for 19 students through tertiary institutions among other acts of philanthropy.
This time, the conference is happening in Aba and he says it is his way of giving back to the society where it all began.
“It takes time to explain to somebody that I am not from Abia. I was born here, I grew up here, I have been empowered here, I have been blessed here. Most of my networks are here and every time, there is this sense of giving back to a place that has helped you. I went to school here, apart from my tertiary education at FUTO. So Aba is like my PPA, my place of primary assignment.”
Such a capital intensive venture needs funds and Pastor Akachi explains how he has been able to pull it off.
“Overtime, I have raised a lot of people. That is what I have done with my life; I have invested in a lot of people. Because of the human capital investments we have done in the past, now we are reaping. We are doing more and we are still planning on massive projects for the youths.”
There will be free transportation to the Enyimba Stadium, venue of the conference and free food as well. He also said that security will be on ground to ensure the safety of the participants.