Vocational charity Above All Things Feed the Nation launched in bid to fill diasporan skills gap

DOZENS of members of the Nigerian community in the UK gathered for the launch of non-governmental organisation Above All Things Feed the Nation (AATFTN) founded to help equip Nigerians with vocational skills.

Founded by young entrepreneur Adekunle Adesanya, ATTTFN is a charity that seeks to train both young and old Nigerians across the UK, equipping them with the necessary skills to contribute to society. For as little as £100 per course, the charity sends interested Nigerians to universities, polytechnics and colleges, where they are trained in a variety of ways.

Yesterday, at the Scrattons Social Club in Barking, the charity was formally launched at an event graced by numerous community leaders. Among those in attendance were Sam and Tolani Onigbanjo, the founders of Women4Africa; popular disc jockey DJ Abass Tijani; business analyst Bola Adesina, Uncelebrated Nigerians Awards UK chairman Ayo Akinfe, Tawa Chillout founder Ayo Sonoiki and legal luminary Bimbo Ayodele.

Mr Adesanya said: "I decided to follow my passion as I started off trying to help the homeless but this then moved on towards me founding a charity. I hope that with the formal launch of AATFTN, we will be able to help as many people as possible."

DJ Abass added: "Launching and running a charity is not easy as it require a lot of dedication, time and energy and clearly Mr Adekunle will not be able to do it all alone. What he needs is the help of everyone here and beyond to assist with getting it going and hopefully it can be very successful with time."

Mr Akinfe added: "There are 2m of us in the UK and what the charity can offer is the ability to train those in need of vocational skills, so they can be employed here and their skills can also be transferred back home in Nigeria. AATFNT is unique in that it is founded by a young man and I hope it sets the time for future developments.

Ms Adesina added that working in the City of London, she is aware of the fact that a lot of Nigerians are highly successful and hopefully, the charity can tap into their expertise too. Ms Ayodele stressed that many Nigerians in the UK just need a helping hand to enable them achieve their potential and this charity is well equipped to assist with that.

Among those who have pledged to back the charity include Olusegun Macaulay, the regional director of Airtel Communication Nigeria and Victor Kolade, the managing director of Attop Group Recruitment Consultancy. AAFNT now plans to takes its campaign into the Nigerian community where it can source volunteers willing to take up the array of courses that are on offer in numerous UK colleges.