Shamsudeen Jibril, a Kaduna-based prodigy, won the Innovator of the Year at the 30 Under 30 Arewa Stars Award and Conference for developing handcrafted drones, IED detectors, robotics, and providing solutions in security, agriculture and logistics.
The 2023 award ceremony, which took place at the Tahir Guest Palace in Kano, was organised by Arewa Agenda owned by Image Merchants Promotion Limited (IMPR), publishers of PRNigeria and others, in collaboration with Daily Nigerian.
Chairman of the occasion, Mallam Sule Yau Sule said the event was timely considering there are many young unsung heroes who are making remarkable impact in different fields of human endeavors across Northern Nigeria.
“This is in addition to the fact that we have elders who are also inspiring the youth to excel. We can’t be here forever so we need to groom the younger generation to take over from us,” Sule emphasised.
Chief Host and Managing Director of IMPR, Yushau A. Shuaib explained that the essence of the gathering was to honour young, talented and productive professionals and individuals making positive impacts in the country and overseas.
“Arewa is occasionally underrated and underreported on many giant strides undertaken by young minds. This event is to recognize outstanding contributions and promote excellent performances by these role models from this part of the world,” he noted.
Mr. Shuaib, however, decried Northern elite’s lack of support for the media industry, among others, and urged leaders to invest heavily in the productive sector to promote excellence and professionalism.
PRNigeria’s Head of Investigation and organising committee chairman, Mohammed Dahiru Lawal said the ceremony was not only to honour greatness and inspire Arewa youths but also to create a point of convergence for potential mentors and mentees of northern origin.
Ismail Bello, founder of Youth Entrepreneurship Support Hub (YES-Hub), made a presentation on accessing global opportunities. Dr Musa Sufi of Sufi Innovation and Development Solutions (SIDES) spoke on Innovation and Development; a panel moderated by Khadija Bawas discussed leveraging technology for innovation and sustainable development.
Pharm Aminu Hashidu Danjuma bagged the Public Health Award for huge impact in the pharmaceutical sector through his Getwell Innovations; Khadijah Aliyu Ammani won the Humanitarian category for raising funds for essential medical care for vulnerable children.
Rabiu Aliyu won the Fintech category for inventions such as Pruber – an app that helps businesses to manage products, sales and customers; Lenos – a checker which analyzes the source code of a YouTube channel and reveals whether it is monetized; Phopis – a resource registry and management system for individuals and businesses.
Other winners include Mathias Manch Pwol (Agriculture); Maimuna Abubakar “Mommee Gombe” (Acting); Muhammad Auwal Ibrahim (Media); Sunnah Tech Lab (ICT); Aliyu Idris (Education); Zainab Yau (Politics); Amina Aliyu (Event Management); Bitrus Sale (Hotelier), Huzaifa Jamil (Social Activism); Maryam Abbas Bichi (Social Media Influencer); Muhammad Mukhtar Garba (Real Estate);16-year-old student Muhammad Umar (Fashion & Design).
Ahmad Umar Aliyu (Engineering); Maryam Mohammad Korau (Entrepreneurship); Josiah Innocent (Entertainment); Jamila Farouk Jamo (Photography); Abdulwahab Aminu (Sportsperson); Sanusi Bature, DG Media & Publicity, Kano State Government (Political Communicator); Kano Commissioner of Police CP Muhammad Usaini Gumel (Heroes Award for Security); Abnur Entertainment’s “Manyan Mata” (Social Impact Movie).
. TheWitness
