REPORT ON DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP TRAINING WORKSHOP BY TERKUMA ZASHA, Amukret@yahoo.com, 08035811984

It is with deepest sense of gratitude that I express enthusiasm at having attended this ALF workshop and further becoming fully aware of the current activities of the Tiv Internet Project. As a child I truly looked forward to a forum where I could meet other well meaning Tiv youths and elders in Diaspora that would share my opinions on how best to push the common goals of Tiv culture into limelight.

Concerning the African Leadership Forum, I initially decided when hearing about it and invited for it by Mr. Vitalis Ortese that it was a serious opportunity to liaise with other participants in securing a good job and also to get an avenue to advertise my books and also get a broader audience aware of my NGO in Benue TZ Dreams.

My fears were that I would come over not meeting my expectations that I would probably discover on arrival that none of my goals would fit in with the crop of people I would meet at the forum. Fortunately this was not to be.

At the end of the forum, I sincerely discovered that there exist numerous leadership opportunities that several Tiv youths are not aware of, let alone could be in a position to decide on. Easily available opportunities for networking were simply fantastic. I reiterated in my mind the fact that no leader aspiring or on seat, can act in a vacuum, just like numerous Tiv youths that decide to sit back in Benue and wish opportunities on themselves. With this in mind I intend to return and in my own small way attempt to re-vigorise the average Tiv youth through my TZ Dreams Initiative.

I also realised from the galvanizing words of Mr. Vitalis Ortese that true visionary leaders are rarely born but instead are actually created through constancy of purpose, perseverance, prayer and patience.

Thus it is only obvious in my quest to be part of the brewing Tiv Renaissance that I continue to preserve in all I do concerning helping other Tiv youths in getting a clearer picture of just how close our dreams could be if only we have just one thing in mind FOCUS.

Thus, as I return to Benue, my primary focus would be to instil the values I learnt into my group TZ Dreams, through the already ongoing rehearsed book acting theatre performances, reaching out to other youths in maintaining a book reading culture and with the hope that opportunities with which we could showcase our talent to the outer world continue to exist and come our way.

The entire report would be quite meaningless without special thanks and gratitude to Mr Vitalis Ortese and Mr. Bemsen Ugo of the TIP project through whom I got aware of such a group I have always dreamed of participating with in making the dreams of the Tiv youth and culture possible.

THE ZEALOT is Terkuma Zasha, first published Novel. There are over ten completed but yet to be published Books, which include, THE RETURN OF THE ZEALOT, THE END OF THE ZEALOT, FANGS,and a host of other sure page-turners.

Watch out for him and his Lizards at TIV DEV '05