The curtains were last week lowered on the maiden edition of a leadership training and workshop organised by the Students’ Union of the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) on the campus. The theme of the leadership training programme, which drew participants from higher institutions in the country, as well as international students from the Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya, was: “Redefining Students Leadership in the 21st Century.”
Apart from the leadership training, the union was said to have organised series of youth and capacity building programmes for the students. The President of the union, Idris Alao, who vowed to employ constructive decision making during his administration, said the main objective of the training for the youth was to position them to adjust rapidly to the dynamism of change being witnessed globally which ranges from politics, economy, infrastructural advancement to social welfare and capacity building, among other transformational agendas.
The training attracted several speakers and panelists including the Chief Executive Officer of D-Positive Image Consult, Nasir Abdulquadri; the CEO of Strategist App, Mr. Toyeeb Godo; Founder of Inspire Youth Africa, Tochi Okafor; CEO of Heroes World Foundation, Mike Oladipo; Director Centre for Peace and Strategic Studies, UNILORIN, Dr. Mahfouz Adedimeji; and Mr. Rotimi Olawale, CEO of Ages Media & S.A on Media to Hon. Razak Atunwa. Other distinguished facilitators are Mr. Mustapha Muh’d Jamiu of Coins Communications Consult; Dr. Alex Akanmu, a lecturer at the Department of Science Education at the university; Dr. R.G Jimoh, a lecturer at the Department of Communication and Information Science and Mr. Abdulkareem Alabi, a lawyer.
Welcoming guests and participants to the event, Alao said he envisioned a world where the youth will constitute a larger percentage of world decision making units and the major determinant of wealth of every nation through useful contributions to human capacity building projects.
“This is a clarion call to action for all of us to bring about the much-needed change on our fatherland ahead of 2040.” In his opening remarks, the Dean Students’ Affairs (DSA) of the university, Prof. Yomi Omotesho described every student as a leader in his or her own right, saying as leaders it is expected of them to serve diligently.
The guest speaker and Director, Centre for Peace and Strategic Studies of the institution, Dr. Mahfouz Adedimeji, who spoke on: “Aloha Unionism; Strategising for Effective Conflict Management,” said: “Leadership is everything and a leadership programme that is targeted on the leaders of today and tomorrow cannot but be commendable.
