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It’s World Savings Day!!!

While saving do not do not participate in Ponzi Schemes – remember M3? I mean, MMM? Yup! Your money is neither backed by assets nor securities and is simply used to pay outrageous returns to other participants. Its failure will erode your hard-earned income/pocket money completely.

The World Savings Day was established on October 30, 1924, during the 1st International Savings Bank Congress in Milan, Italy. This day is now celebrated on October 31 every year. The essence of this day is to highlight the importance of saving to individuals and economies.

One of the tenets of personal finance is the art of saving which is something our teenagers must possess. It simply is the setting aside of money for a future time. To save you need the ability to assess the cost and benefits of decisions you make regarding money. In saving, you pay yourself first, yes, pay yourself.


The foundation of this art is to first cultivate the habit regardless of your income/pocket money. What percentage will you be saving from your income/pocket money? Remember it’s the habit that counts and not necessarily the value.

Here are practical suggestions on how to make room for savings:

  • Avoid borrowing to cover living expenses.
  • What goals can you set to motivate you to save? A phone that gives you access to the internet which hosts a plethora of information that you can use? Remember that these goals have to SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-Bound).
  • Can you walk to classes on campus instead of taking a taxi/cab? Motivate yourself with the idea that you are a part of the #FitFam community.
  • Cook more and eat less fast food and junk meals?
  • Do your laundry yourself instead of taking it to the dry cleaners’?
  • Focus on only viewing relevant content on social media (Twitter, Instagram and YouTube) to save money on repeated data purchases? Data is so expensive in this part of the world.
  • Employ the use of WhatsApp calls to cut down on phone voice bills?
  • Get more long-lasting hairstyles and avoid changing your styles more than once a month? Or flaunt your natural hair in protective styles especially if you have great hair texture?
  • Start a business. A legit one. Tutorial sessions on modules you are great at and can be paid for? Creating written content (handouts) on difficult courses that can help your peers understand better?
  • Earn prize money by partaking in appropriate competitions that you’re passionate about? There a lot of writing competitions out there.
  • Place your savings in a bank account so it can grow.
  • Create a priority list – economists call this the Scale of Preference, to place your needs above your wants.
  • Train your mindset to understand that there will always be opportunity costs because you can have it all but not just at once.
  • While saving do not do not participate in Ponzi Schemes – remember M3? I mean, MMM? Yup! Your money is neither backed by assets nor securities and is simply used to pay outrageous returns to other participants. Its failure will erode your hard-earned income/pocket money completely.

CAVEAT: While saving, it is also important to understand the impact of inflation. If consistent, the purchasing power of the money saved will be eroded. In other words, the plantain chips you bought at NGN100 before you commenced saving may be valued at NGN110 (inflation rate of 10%) at the end of the following year while the NGN5000 you set aside may have gained circa. NGN400 (rate of returns/gains at 5% per year) in the past 2 years (excluding bank charges). In this case, inflation has outrun the gains on your savings account.

Remember, you can create your financial future. Leverage on the time you have now because the earlier you start, the better!

Picture of Ifeoma Nwulu

Ifeoma Nwulu

Popularly referred to as the “Lady of the Ledgers”, Ifeomachukwu Nwulu is a chartered accountant and process improvement enthusiast. Her expertise cuts across personal and corporate finance as well as investment management. She serves as the Financial Literacy Advisor to the Teens Going for Gold Network and Project- Teach a Teen. Her desire to improve the financial education of Nigerian citizens in a bid to boost economic growth forms the foundation of her role.
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Board of Trustees

Dr. Waheed Awonuga

Member, Board of Trustees

Waheed Oyetola Awonuga is a trained Medical Doctor with five years of ongoing practice experience, specialising in Family Medicine. He is also an entrepreneur with a knack for developing ideas that are not only bankable but profitable.

Waheed attended Santa Maria Private School in Mushin and Government College Ikorodu. He holds a Diploma in Data Processing from Olabisi Onabanjo University and completed his medical education at the University of Sierra Leone, graduating with MBChB (Medicine and Surgery). He passed the West African College of Physicians Primaries Examination at UCH, Ibadan.

Waheed is an alumnus of the Young Africa Leadership Initiative (YALI), Africa Cohort 2. He owns Infinity Creative Media, a media consultancy firm in Freetown, Sierra Leone, and Infinity Print House, a general print firm also based in Sierra Leone.

Waheed is an avid reader and writer who enjoys travelling and spending time with his family.

Management Team​

Hon. Tobi Olatunji

Executive Director

Hon. Tobi Olatunji serves as Executive Director of Teens Going for Gold Network, providing strategic leadership across TGFGN’s programmes and institutional partnerships.

He oversees programme delivery across all five active states and drives the organisation’s evolution into an institutional peace education body, ensuring that TGFGN’s work remains responsive to the complex social realities facing Nigerian youth today.

Management Team​

Ola Olaoluwa

Co-Founder

Olawumi Olaoluwa is a graduate from the Economics department of the University of Benin, Nigeria. He is also the Creative Director of JOSEL kolektionz, a clothing line.

Vocationally, he is a writer, content developer, actor, and leadership enthusiast. One of the pioneer volunteers of Teens Going for Gold Network, Olawumi has over five years of experience in teen mentoring and coaching. He currently serves as Director of Human Resources.

In his own words: “The opportunity Teens Going for Gold Network presents me with to impact teenagers with qualitative and sustainable education is the main attraction the organisation holds for me.”

Board of Trustees

Dr. Mala Mustapha

Member, Board of Trustees

Dr. Mala Mustapha is an academic and development professional with deep expertise in conflict resolution, peacebuilding, and institutional governance.

His scholarly and practitioner experience spans multiple Nigerian states and regional contexts, providing TGFGN with critical insight into the structural dimensions of peace and security in Northern Nigeria and the Lake Chad Basin region.

Board of Trustees

Idayat Hassan

Chair, Board of Trustees

Idayat Hassan is a leading expert in security, governance, and democracy in West Africa. She serves as the Director of the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), one of the region’s foremost policy research and advocacy organisations.

Her work spans election monitoring, conflict prevention, and democratic institution building across Nigeria and the broader West African sub-region. She brings decades of governance expertise to TGFGN’s Board of Trustees.

Management Team​

Godsgift Chayil Obi

DEPUTY DIRECTOR

Godsgift Chayil Obi serves as Deputy Director of Teens Going for Gold Network, supporting organisational management, programme coordination, and operational delivery.

In this role, she works closely with the Executive Director and management team to ensure that TGFGN’s programmes achieve their intended impact across all active states, maintaining the quality and consistency of delivery that has defined the organisation’s 12-year track record.

Board of Trustees

Dele Olomide​

Member, Board of Trustees

‘Dele Olomide currently leads the Human Resources and Admin function of Clarke Energy Nigeria, the largest authorised distributor and service partner for Jenbacher gas engines and a leading brand in the power and utility sector in Nigeria. His interests are Leadership Development, People Development (Coaching and Mentoring), Organisational Development and Change, Strategy and Growth.

‘Dele is an HR professional with approximately 10 years of generalist experience spanning Manufacturing, IT, Gaming and Energy. He is also an Associate Pastor with El-Shaddai Covenant Church, Lagos. Before now, he has worked with two multinationals, three start-ups, and a Secondary School.

He graduated from the University of Ilorin where he studied Mathematics/Statistics and holds an MBA in Marketing Management. He is an Associate Member of the Nigerian Institute of Training and Development and an Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management.

Board of Trustees

Adedolapo Osuntuyi

Member, Board of Trustees

Adedolapo Osuntuyi is a children and education advocate. She is the founder of Dolly Children Foundation, a nonprofit organisation that equips the African Child to adopt twenty-first-century skills through education, capacity building and advocacy programmes.

Inspired by her upbringing, she has a passion for empowering and creating equal opportunities for children from low-income backgrounds. Dolapo has developed organisational strategy and management processes in the Foundation that have impacted over 22,000 children in 25 communities in four states.

Dolapo has over a decade of experience in child protection, early childhood and community development programmes. A graduate of Botany from Lagos State University, she also holds a master’s degree in Child Health and Social Care from the University of Central Lancashire, Preston, United Kingdom.

In 2015, she received an Africa-America Institute Scholarship to study Social Sector Management at the Enterprise Development Centre, Pan-Atlantic University, Nigeria.

Board of Trustees

Adebanke Ilori Oyeniyi

Secretary, Board of Trustees

Adebanke Ilori Oyeniyi is a lawyer and development professional. Her professional experience spans across politics, inclusive governance, and legislative reforms. She serves as the Executive Director of Raising New Voices Initiative and as the Managing Editor of Lawyard, a platform for interactions around the practice of law in Nigeria.

In 2019, Adebanke led New Voices to conduct the national #BreakTheHold campaign providing resources to competent young people under 35 contesting to be members of the Federal House of Representatives. As a woman in politics, she was appointed as the National Publicity Secretary of Kowa Party — making her the youngest female to occupy the position in Nigeria.

As an advocate for social equality, she has championed the right of prison inmates to education in line with the UN Minimum Standard Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, and has worked for the implementation of laws to promote the rights of children and prevention of violence against persons.

As a Pan African, she has facilitated extensive deliberations at the African Union on the importance of youth integration in the actualisation of Agenda 2063.

Adebanke holds a bachelor’s degree in law from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, a Certificate in Public Management from Bridgewater State University, Massachusetts, and is pursuing her Master’s in International Development and Policy at the University of Chicago. She is a 2019 Mandela Washington Fellow.