Brain Builders Youth Development Initiative

Happy Birthday, Fatima Abubakar.

Today, we celebrate our amazing Communications Associate, whose creativity, dedication, and passion continue to amplify our voice and impact.

Your work tells our stories, connects our community, and inspires change and we’re grateful for all you do.

Wishing you a new year filled with growth, success, and beautiful moments.

Happy Birthday once again!

Kemi finally gree go the AI workshop. Her children dey jolly. Oga John even waka come her house personally to invite her.

But before she fit settle down well, her head don turn. Too much grammar. Plenty big-big words. She no fit understand half of wetin dem dey talk.

She comot from there with vex. "Di time wey I waste for there, I for use am find customer."

Funsho watch as him mama give up. Dat night, he promise her: "I go explain am to you myself. No big grammar. Na just you, me, your phone, and your market."

Funsho promise go work? Or Kemi don bone the matter finally?

🎧 Listen to Episode 2 of Our Life Everyday.
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6HhKB4I79v3gUpQHARJrsV?si=kFtsKiBJQ3erJxczFWcFmw

YouTube: https://youtu.be/IkQem5Hq_wE

Sextortion is a form of online blackmail that thrives on fear, silence, and lack of awareness. It can happen to anyone, and it often starts with something that seems harmless.

Knowing the signs and how to respond can make all the difference. Stay cautious about what you share online, who you engage with, and where your information goes.

For clear guidance on how to protect yourself and what to do if you or someone you know is affected, visit our Digital Safety Manual on the HerSafeSpace website:
https://hersafespace-gbv.org/resources.html

Our Communications Director, Sanni Alausa-Issa has published a reflection on what we saw inside BBYDI's National Essay Competition on AI Literacy.

1,423 students from 549 tertiary institutions across all 37 states sent in submissions. After two rounds of screening, 100 essays advanced to our judging panel. The most common reason an essay didn't make that cut, in a competition specifically about responsible AI use, was that the student had leaned too heavily on AI to write it.

The piece reads that pattern as a signal about the systems around these students rather than a verdict on the students themselves, and asks what tertiary institutions in Nigeria are willing to do with it.

Read it in full: https://medium.com//what-1-423-essays-revealed-about-how-nigerian-students-are-using-ai-6684f64a0f54

Supported by the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation

Turning ideas into impact starts with strong storytelling and the right skills to back it up.

We recently hosted an internal grant writing workshop designed to sharpen our team’s ability to develop clear, compelling, and results-driven proposals. The session explored how to align with funder priorities, articulate impact with clarity, and structure winning applications that stand out in competitive spaces.

By investing in these skills, we’re strengthening our collective capacity to unlock opportunities, scale our work, and drive meaningful change.

BBYDI

Happy birthday,

Across your years at the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism, NRGI, and now as Regional Portfolio Director, Africa at Luminate, you've helped shape the spaces where civic participation, press freedom, and women's voices in public life have grown stronger across the continent.

Your more recent work at the intersection of technology, democratic participation, and socio-economic justice has opened room for organisations like ours to think seriously about what ethical AI looks like on this continent. It is the kind of leadership that makes our own work on AI literacy and Technology-Facilitated Gender Based Violence feel less lonely.

What has stayed with us, beyond the work itself, is the way you carry it. There is a humility in how you show up that is rare at your level, and an openness that makes every conversation feel like one between equals.

Thank you for the work, and for the principled, unassuming way you do it. Wishing you rest, joy, and a year as generous to you as you have been to this field.

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. It is a time to talk openly about sexual violence, who it affects, and what survivors need.

Sexual violence takes many forms: r**e, sexual assault, harassment, coercion, and the sharing of intimate images without consent. It happens in person and online. It happens between strangers and between people who know each other. What connects every form is the absence of the survivor's clear and willing consent. Responsibility lies with the person who caused the harm.

Many survivors stay silent. Some worry about being judged or exposed. Others aren't sure what counts, or whether what happened to them is serious enough to talk about. These doubts are common, and they are part of why sexual violence stays hidden.

If you have experienced sexual violence — online or offline, recent or years ago — support is within reach. KEMI is BBYDI's free and confidential WhatsApp chatbot. You can ask questions, get information about your options, or talk through what's happening at your own pace.

Reach out when you're ready: https://wa.me/+2349124648826

Education remains one of the most powerful tools for national development, yet funding does not reflect its importance.

Nigeria allocates less than 10% of its national budget to education, falling short of the global benchmark of 15 to 20 percent. This gap continues to affect access, quality, and opportunities for millions of learners.

As we mark Global Action Week for Education, this is a call to prioritise education not just in words, but in action and investment.

For everyone asking what comes next on the National Essay Competition on AI Literacy:

Review is in progress. Every applicant will receive an email by Friday, 24 April, whether the essay is advancing to the second round or not. 100 essays move to that round, and the top 10 finalists will be selected from there.

If you submitted, check your inbox (and spam folder) over the next few days.

Supported by

We are proud to have our communications associate, Fatima Binta Abubakar represent us at the Business Tech Summit 2.0, University of Ilorin.

She joins other thought leaders to share insights on building sustainable solutions and translating advocacy into real, measurable impact.

At BBYDI, we believe in turning ideas into impact and this conversation is an important step in shaping that future.

We look forward to the conversations, the connections, and the solutions that will emerge.

Unilorin TechInAfrica