Yesterday, I was privileged to be the Chief Judge of the @AEAtwit #MaskUpAbuja competition. I believe that I saw the best of Nigerian youth at that event and it greatly lifted my spirits and reinforced my faith in the future of Nigeria. Thread...

I believe that the contestants were mostly between 18 and 30 years of age. They were hardworking, innovative, industrious, confident and respectful of advice, but not afraid to ask for clarifications and justifications. The 10 finalists were 8 women and 2 men. Some were students.

We had a scientist from @SONNigeria as part of the panel of judges and her role was to ensure that the masks produced meets the right technical standards for personal and public safety. I didn’t realise before then that a mask must not have any sort of join in the middle.

I often talk about the benefit of preparation and how that affects success or failure. In Nigeria, we often say that we are good at planning but poor at implemention. I have often argued that we are actually poor at planning. What I really mean is that we are poor at PREPARATION.

The young lady that won, Malissa Onojo, a student, had read ALL the guidelines for masks: that of @WHO , @NCDCgov and @SONNigeria and produced a mask that fully complied, beyond aesthetics. She won N500,000 and a space to display her masks at Silverbird Galleria for a month.

She was such a pleasant young lady that some judges even gave her additional cash prizes from their own pockets. There is hope for Nigeria. I am happy. End!