Ten students in Nigeria were selected and sponsored by Whole woman Network to attend the Legendary leadership conference at Oriental Hotel Lagos. The conference was organised by BeenThere & DoneThat Ltd. JENNIFER UMEH the founder of Hope for African Girls Initiative was One of the selected participants
The students was among the fifty others who attended the Educate a girl workshop in lagos in December 2015. It's 7 months since the Educate a girl workshop took place. The founder of whole woman Network Mrs Juliet Ume-Onyido has always encouraged Educate A Girl Scholars to make sure their impart is been felt in their communities no matter how little it is.
The students participated in the one day Leadership and Teambuilding conference at Oriental Hotel lagos Nigeria .
According to the Organisers. The purpose of the conference was to inspire, motivate and empower young Nigerians who are
or who wish to be in positions of
leadership. The participants will have the opportunity to learn key leadership lessons such as integrity, honesty, determination, courage, commitment, confidence,goal-setting and positivity.
The Organiser of the Workshop Dipo said the workshop
was designed to help participants
understand the importance of leadership, creativity, and team building within the business world. Having speakers consisting local and international, the activities at the conference would not only enhance participant’ knowledge on
leadership and team building, but they would also help other change makers build a close connection with their fellow Mates.
Speaking with Sukurat Adenike one of the selected participants (EAG scholar) she said "My experience was awesome. I learnt other leadership traits other than the ones I knew and I also enjoyed the interactions the panelists had all through the program and I have been able to engage young people in my community. I am a journalist and I also run an NGO called FutureforFututeInitiatives"
Another Participant express her self to us, Amarachi C. Attamah, a Radio/Tv Presenter, a performing poet and a writier. She said "I was very delighted to be selected as one of the participants of the Legendary Leadership Conference. It came with the excitement that comes when you know you are going to pick a new dress. I was selected as one of the EAG scholars who sent in their EAG conference report. After the screening, I made it to the list of those sponsored for the Legendary Leadership Conference. To me, it was an opportunity to widen my horizon. The impact of the conference was as outstanding as the tallest tower and as vital as air. I cannot house an atom of regret fro making it to the conference. As a human, I learnt to be impactful. As a woman, I learnt to be stronger and focused. As a participant, I learnt what it means to be a Legendary Leader.
Meeting some personalities I admire from afar was exciting to me. I expressed myself and made my voice relevant. That I learnt from the powerful young persons who shared their knowledge and experiences with us."
Legendary Leadership Conference she said , added another important feather to her cap and equipped her more for greater tomorrow. Amarachi concluded.
We went futher to interview other participants. Nina Mbah, Founder Nina Prize, She said, "Listening to various leaders in different fields at the conference, I learned that every experience am currently passing through to achieve my dreams is absolutely necessary to making me better and therefore should be happily embraced. And in the course of my mission, never to forget empathy and encouragement needed in carrying other good leaders along."
Another participant who spoke to our correspondent Uwandu Esther Chioma. Said " I felt so excited and elated...being selected from the many people that applied. It showed how relevant I can be.
I have been working on women issues from the grass root level, and my team hopes to go beyond where are now. The conference made me to understand that there are still more works to be done, especially among the youths."
While speaking to many selected participants Adenike superb, One of the team members of Hope for African Girls Initiative, shared her experince with our Correspondent she said" The Leadership program sponsored by Juliet Ume-Onyido; the altruist in deed, kind and ideology was a bumper event. It was filled with eye-openers, professional advice in the field of journalism, presence of profound dignitaries and elegant women. Just a few of the myriad things we discussed which includes the topic 'politics and journalism, lessons from the last decade/lessons for future leaders', was anchored by Victor Mathias, Tolulope Balogun and Osikhena Dirisu. Victor declared the role of the leaders and the media, being divergent. He also stated the invention of the social media being a blessing and a curse, frowned at the idea of voting once in four years, as he thinks it is not just the vote that counts, but what happens after voting. Tolulope emphasised on strategy change and approach to solving problems in our country, discarding the old, which has refused to help. Osikhena raised a call for the legitimacy of stories by bloggers and reporters, to strive to report the exact situations that they appear. Also, that these reporters give their opinions while reporting, which i feel would be impossible; for their profession is a liberal art. Kate Henshaw, Lola Shoneyin, Arinola Giwa, had a discussion on 'Gender and Identity, Turning Barriers to leadership opportunities'." She went futher to say that "Kate defined gender to be male and female. She made a profound and simplistic definition of gender equality, away from it's misconstrued meaning to mean having same or equal opportunities. The question, is patriarchy the women's or men's fault?. It was posed by one of the attendees. After reflecting, I reminisced the saying, what a man can do, a woman can do better; I have come to deem it wrong, an axiom of strife and a sheer competitive statement. I have come to believe more in the reform made to that axiom which says: a woman was born to do what a man cannot do. With the distinction and truism in it, I say patriarchy is the fault of whoever believes in it.
Lola Shoneyin, with her striking and interesting rejoinder, "the level of a woman's education determines how beautiful her kitchen will look" to the saying, a woman's place is in the kitchen.
As a rational woman, i asked myself "what have I gained from this program?" and "what has it impacted in me?". With an addition to my enlightenment, and wherefrom I speak, I can now impact on others, as was to me, and do wonderfully more."
Jennifer Umeh also shared her experience with us. She said "I felt really good to have my servant leadership recognised. I felt elated being selected to participate in the one day Leadership and Team building conference at Oriental Hotel lagos, Nigeria . It showed how relevant I can be. It was a delight to have benefited from this Leadership training. The Conference has done well in improving my leadership skills".
During the conference, Educate a girl scholars were able to
learn, engage in and reflect on issues related to community service, social justice and
leadership.
Some key Notes of the conference are The Importance of Visionary Leadership on the Economic Development of Nigeria
(Mr Laolu Akande, Senior Special Assistant (Media & Publicity) to Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo)
Other Distinguished Speakers/PanellistsPanel Discussion 1: Politics and Journalism, Lessons from the Last Decade/Lessons for Future Leaders (Osikhena Dirisu, Tolu Adeleru Balogun and Victor Mathias) Panel Discussion 2: Gender and Identity,
Turning Barriers to Leadership
Opportunities (Kate Henshaw, Lola Shoneyin and Arinola Giwa)
Panel Discussion 3: Politics and Governance, how Young People can make a Difference (Gbenga Olorunpomi, Nnamdi
Anekwe, Demola Olarewanju, Oluseun Akinrinoye and Ibilola Essien)
