While some Nigerian youths abroad are reportedly engaging in illicit businesses, 24-years-old Oke Bayode-Thomas is busy making his fatherland proud.
He has been recognised with the highest award a young person can receive for social action and humanitarian efforts – he was honoured with The Diana Award for young heroes who go above and beyond in their daily lives to create and sustain positive change to their environments and society at large. The Diana Award was established in memory of the late Princess Diana, Princess of Wales, and it is given out by the charity of the same name, with the support of her two sons, The Duke of Cambridge and The Duke of Sussex.
Bayode-Thomas is a Nigerian trained Computed Tomography Specialist Medical Radiographer. He is also a member of the European Society of Radiology. He is currently the Administrative Director and Co-founder of The Invasion Group, a non-profit organization, which focuses on harnessing the strength of young minds for change.
He is also the co-founder of Mentors in Nigeria Initiative, a community of mentors who support young people to make empowered decisions and believe in their potential.
Society Watch gathered that Bayode-Thomas, who obtained his medical degree from the University of Lagos, Akoka, had experienced the profound impact of mentoring in his growing up days; hence ,his current involvement in the initiative.
His organisations have over one hundred committed volunteer mentors who provide support to young people.
Fifty of the young people who have been mentored through the programs have gone on to become mentors themselves.
This strategic thinking professional with more than three years’ experience in the non-profit space is highly skilled at relationship building with clients and across organizations and teams.
Bayode-Thomas, a multiple-award winner, also works with community-based organizations and government health institutions to advance health education and promote awareness.
He obtained his medical degree from the University of Lagos, is a young African Leadership Initiative (YALI) fellow and a finalist in the regional finals of the Hult Prize business competition Abuja, 2018. He is a certified design thinker, having undergone trainings with the USAID and the Lufthansa group.
