The Open Mapping Initiative in Nigeria, driven by Unique Mappers Network- the OpenStreetMap community in Nigeria is pivotal for creating freely and accessible geospatial data to enhance humanitarian aid, urban planning, and disaster response. With 17 YouthMappers chapters, Nigeria fosters geospatial expertise among students, yet volunteer mobilization faces significant hurdles. Limited funding creates a great barrier to effective volunteering, restricting access to essential tools like laptops and smartphones while high mobile internet data subscription cost and unreliable internet connectivity impede data collection and uploads, particularly as students’ upkeep does not cover cost of internet for volunteering projects. Low awareness of OSM’s societal impact, coupled with economic pressures and a weak volunteer culture, discourages consistent participation. Gender imbalances and insufficient leadership further challenge community engagement, limiting the initiative’s scalability. During Industrial Training with Unique Mappers Network in Port Harcourt, I experienced these obstacles firsthand. The prohibitive cost of mobile data curtailed contributions to OSM due to lack of funding and donation to provide free internet access at the mapathon center,where student volunteers mobilized to be engaged with various humanitarian response mapping projects. Mobilizing volunteers was daunting, as many prioritized income-generating opportunities over unpaid mapping efforts. Despite these setbacks, open mapping remains vital for youth geospatial skill empowerment as well as addressing geospatial data gaps in local challenges, such as flood mapping and urban development. To surmount these barriers, increased funding of Local community NGOs like Unique Mappers Network, targeted OSM data awareness campaigns and mapping projects ,as well as collaborations with academic, government agencies and international agencies i are essential to bolster volunteer engagement and elevate the quality of Nigeria’s geospatial data, unlocking its potential for transformative impact using the OpenStreetMap.

Keywords: OpenStreetMap, Unique Mappers Network, Geospatial data, volunteer mobilization, Nigeria