Thirty youngsters from northern Nigeria who are under the age of 30 have been honoured by Arewa Agenda a publication of Image Merchants Promotion Limited (IMPR) – publishers of PRNigeria and other titles – in a collaboration with Daily Nigeria for their outstanding success in various areas which include innovation, arts, technology, sports, entertainment, activism, humanitarian work, social media impact etc.

Tagged “30 Under 30 Arewa Stars”, the maiden award ceremony was held in Kano on Saturday to celebrate the best brains from the North who are making impacts and inspiring others.

The 30 superstars were selected from over 300 nominees by a team of judges led by Dr. Kabir Sufi and made up of scholars, senior journalists, business leaders, and tech icons assembled by the organisers.

Speaking at the colourful ceremony, the Chief Host and Managing Director of IMPR, Yushau A. Shuaib, said that the essence of the event was to honour young, talented, and productive professionals and individuals who are making positive impacts not only in the country and beyond.

“Arewa is occasionally underrated and underreported on many giant strides undertaken by young minds. This is, therefore, to recognize outstanding contributions and promote excellent performances by these roles models from this part of the world,” Yushau said.

In his remarks, the PRNigeria's Head of Investigation and chairman of the organising committee, Mohammed Dahiru Lawal, told the audience that the essence of 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 so that more young people can find their ways to the top.

The event also witnessed a presentation by Aisha Bashir Tofa, the founder of Startup Kano, who spoke on the Convergence of Technology for Youth Enterprise.

Aside from honouring the best 30 under 30 Arewa youths with different awards, the event also witnessed musical and comedy interludes, motivational sessions and an interactive panel discussion that focused on how to elevate the thinking capacity and living standard of the Arewa youth.

Mustapha Abubakar Gajibo, a Borno-born prodigy was honoured as Innovator of the year for blazing a trail in producing electric vehicles; Dr Khalid Sunusi Khani on the Public Health category for championing the implementation of the Tertiary Institution Social Health Insurance Program and hosting the Medical Outreaches in Rural Communities and Sagir Koki on Engineering for running a successful engineering firm in Nigeria as the founder of Forte GCC Innovative Solutions.

Fintech: Abdulrazak Rogo on Fintech as an accomplished Creative Designer, Software Developer behind several startups; Bello Ahmed on Interior Decoration for his Deco Studio, one of the best interior companies in Kano State and Salim Yunusa for Social Activism through literature.

Other winners included Usman Usman on Arts and Printing, Ahmed Rufai Maiyaki on Legal Profession, Amina Umar on Event Management, Adnan Muktar Adam on Politics, Zainab Bala as a media personality, and Dr Naima Idris as Social Media Influencer and Salahudeen Muhammed as Sports Personality of the Year.

Others are Josiah Innocent on Entertainment, Ibrahim Datti on Architecture, Lawan Mu’azu on Education, Yusuf Dauda Kargi on Entrepreneurship, Aishatu Alhaji Kabu on Humanitarian, Sulaiman Musa Daitu as Fashion Designer, Aminu Dauda Barau craftsman (Handcraft) and Zuliahat Ibrahim (Zpreety) as the actress of the Year. (PRNigeria)

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