Krystal Chanchangi: I Found Peace Promoting Unity, Culture

Model, mentor, actress, and humanitaria, Krystal Chanchangi is passionate about a Nigeria where things work.  As a young diaspora leader, she has continued to pursue her goal of empowering and uplifting the next generation through diverse projects and programmes. Chanchangi talks about her various projects and activities with regard to culture, new generation, youth orientation, and politics. Ferdinand Ekechukwu brings the excerpts 

As a Nigerian female diaspora and National Peace Awards holder, how have you been able to project this position and recognition?

An award is recognition of good deeds, and it’s more or less recognition of things that people do.  In my case, I have continued to pursue the goal of bettering cultural unity, peacekeeping, and empowering the next generation.  I have continued to host various multicultural shows, humanitarian events, and leadership programmes to uplift the next generation through my Kids Multicultural Word Organization and America Nation Multicultural Inc., Plus Africa Multicultural World Foundation, to better all communities I am associated with, and so many other places.  I continue to uplift the next generation not to earn more awards but to encourage them to have a leadership skill and well well-cultured mindset for the future.

Can you tell us about your humanitarian works within rural communities in the country with regard to some of the projects you have embarked?

So, my Africa Multicultural World Foundation, we are solely focused on empowering the underprivileged community and supporting them with the necessary human needs. We have given funds to a few kids, both in the north and the east to empower their journey for education. To also empower youths to be in businesses and for me that is the biggest thing we can do, and that was the main initiative in creating a foundation called Africa Multicultural World Foundation. We make sure we raise funds and help these youths to start a business, send the little kids that cannot afford school fees to schools, provide educational supplies. And to be honest with you, sometimes it’s hard because putting it out there that you are a not-for-profit and that you want to do these things, there are other people there that are not-for-profits not for the betterment of society but for the betterment of themselves.

What projects have you had on the platform of your Kids Multicultural World Organisation? And what’s the essence of the America Kids Multicultural show?

We have held over thirty programmes: leadership, business initiative, cultural events, and fashion shows. We have an annual programme where we have kids come on, and we talk about leadership. We talk about setting up businesses, allowing these kids to explore their talents through acting, through modeling, through public speaking, through their interests. The main idea of Kids Multicultural World Organisation and its mission is to unite a diverse nation, to build leaders of the next generation and to empower our next generation. To unite a diverse nation through tribes, ethnicity, and to also, you know, create a better world for our kids to stay safe and to stop committing crimes.

Would you say you have been able to promote cultural inclusiveness with your initiatives and in what ways?

Promoting culture and inclusiveness is one of the things I am known for. Because as someone that comes from a multi-cultural background – northern and eastern background – originally from Taraba State and Anambra State – I have found peace in promoting unity, in promoting culture, uniting a diverse nation which is known to be a mantra affiliated with my Kids Multicultural brand in the United States. I have mentored thousands of kids because we have a weekly seminar where we educate and empower kids about their heritage and where they come from and taking pride in who they are and raising them to be leaders from speaking to the way they talk and to learn different languages. So, that will tell you a lot about the kind of person I am and about the kind of passion I have about culture.

Most times, we see people engage in philanthropic initiatives using it as a launch pad into politics. Would we be seeing you delve into politics? 

(Laughs)…Okay, nobody knows the future, and nobody knows what the future holds. But if you ask me, I don’t believe you have to be a politician to make a difference in your country of origin.

How can we change this narrative and make it more inclusive for people like you who have made efforts in development and humanitarian activities?

Like I said, power is not giving, power is taken. The youths have to step up. We need to be the voice of ourselves. This is not even about the voice of the voiceless because we have been out there tirelessly fighting. So, we need to step up and fight. Fighting doesn’t necessarily mean going out and protesting, no. Fighting means doing exactly what I’m doing, going ahead to be the change you want to see in the world by creating your own journey, by creating your own success. And it’s very important for us to, you know, change our thinking first; that’s number one. Change our approach to the government, elect the right people. 

I think we definitely need to create a way that we can actually see the numbers. We have to make a decision of who actually gets empowered. I’m not sure how that works; I have never been in politics. But I hate the fact that people lose their lives, and a lot of youths have lost their lives in the process of trying to better Nigeria again. It’s also very important for us to frame our country in a better way.

What leanings or affiliations do you have regarding politics and the new generation? 

Well, any affiliations with politics… I believe that if I have a friend in politics who is currently a leader, I do not think my decision comes from the individual being my friend. Making a political decision on my side is based on what you have done for the people in the previous positions you have held. So, that is the first answer. The second is that the new generation, I definitely want to see more new generation coming in not with a corruption mindset to eat their own money, get into politics take money and feed their family. I want to see people that are hungry to see the country excel and see the country prosper, eager to rise our youth and next generation to a greater height. That is what I want to see.

Looking at your engagements and from the mindset of a young person and interest in the activities of the new generation, can we say they are really the future of the country?

Most definitely, the youth are the future of the country. Teach them the right thing and encourage them, don’t discourage them, don’t tell them politics is not for them. Let us relinquish the power of godfatherism going on. Have you thought about when you depart from this world that who is going to lead? It’s not going to be your children. You need to set up the next generation. I truly believe that the youth of Nigeria are the future of tomorrow. We have way too much talent in Nigeria. They are so passionate for the world and themselves and their families. Why don’t you think they can lead the country?

Every election cycle in Nigeria portends new possibilities and hope for a positive change with a new government. But after election things remain the way they are, even worse with the order of things. What do you make of this?

You know what, I feel like we citizens of Nigeria, are responsible for the actions of any leader elected into political office. A lot of political leaders come in and they promise a lot; to do a lot of things and make a lot of changes and they promise heaven and earth to better the economy, the educational structure, and roads and the lights…things like that. They lie just to get into the office. I don’t know if these leaders actually don’t have the capacity to lead or they just come in being deceitful. According to my ideology, I believe that every citizen is responsible to vote for the right person to be in an office. How we know the right people is by researching and checking the pattern of what they have brought to the table all through their time been a politician or I guess being an individual. If you do your research very well you will definitely know if that person is capable or not capable of being the good leader because little position of being the chairman determines you leading in the smaller chamber which shows how well you led. For example, we do have so many people that are running right now to become the Nigerian president for next year. I don’t want to mention names. It’s time for us to look at these people their history what they have done and see how well they have served the people. But like I said, we do need more avenues for youth. We don’t need people that have led to keep leading.