The President of the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Comrade Oluwatosin Awelewa has admonished fellow students to understand the purpose of leadership.
President Awelewa gave the advice while delivering a keynote address at the recently hosted comprehensive and insightful Career Day event, themed “Discovering Purpose in Leadership.”
The event was organized to equip students with the knowledge, skills, and inspiration necessary to become effective leaders in their chosen fields.
In his remarks, Awelewa highlighted the struggles of many young professionals who, despite their immense talent, resources, and potential, fail to make a meaningful impact in their industries due to a lack of strong leadership.
He stressed that effective leadership begins with leading oneself, and it requires mastery of essential qualities such as self-control and continuous learning for excellence in one’s field.
Awelewa urged students to prioritize these qualities as they are essential for becoming purpose-driven leaders who can inspire, motivate, and guide others towards achieving their goals.
His words: “Leadership begins with leading oneself, because it is a personal responsibility and anyone aspiring to be a leader must first master self-control, continuous learning and how to excel in his field.”
The president further encouraged students to learn from leaders who have made positive impact via positive strategies.
The event also featured presentations by several distinguished guests, including Mr. Mayowa Owolabi, an international business facilitator with extensive experience in empowering entrepreneurs and business leaders.
Owolabi spoke on the need for visionary leadership, emphasizing the importance of having a clear vision, mission, and purpose to drive success in any endeavor.
The business facilitator said: “the attraction that can keep you relevant is you having a vision, once there is a vision, there will be a voice.”
Owolabi further introduced the concept of “Air of Business,” an acronym representing Awareness, Income activity, and Retention activity, and encouraged students to adopt this approach to break free from financial limitations, achieve their goals, and make a positive impact in their communities.
Owolabi also advised the student to capitalize on the rise of social media tools for the exposure of their qualities. He, however, cautioned against early exposure with little or nothing to offer.
Owolabi said: “Don’t make noise on social media without having a product to sell, have an income generating activity.”
Furthermore, Mr. Gboyega Akosile, Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the Lagos State government, delivered a lecture titled “Combining Journalism with Content Creation.”
In his lecture, Akosile highlighted the evolving nature of journalism in the age of artificial intelligence (AI) and emphasized the need for students to develop skills in utilizing AI tools to remain relevant in the field.
He said: “It is those who can make good use of A.I tools that will survive.”
Akosile also stressed the importance of prioritizing accuracy, credibility, and truthfulness in journalism, reminding students that these values are essential for building trust and maintaining a strong reputation in the industry.
The event also had the presence of alumni and one of such is an entrepreneur and the CEO of Owambe groups, Mr. Femi Ola- Abraham.
Femi challenged the students on the need to be diligent and dare to expose themselves to profitable tasks.
“Industries usually ask you if you possess five years of experience because they want to know what you can offer. To lead in any sector, you must have what others don’t have,” Femi declared.
Another notable alumnus at the event is an investigative reporter in the person of Mr Sunday Ehigator.
Sunday reemphasized to the students that journalism is not a profession to amass wealth, but a call to service.
“You can make money from journalism, but your priority is to change the narratives by providing service to the people. But in the process, don’t forget to protect your name and your face, because these are your identity and valuable tools in the journalism profession,” Sunday explained.
The Local Government Chairman of Ifako Ijaye, Prince Usman Akanbi Hamzat and Mr Rasheed Jimoh, a cloud security expert, also graced the occasion.
They inspired the students to become better versions of themselves.
However, the event also featured a variety session, which added color to the show.
The event which was organized by the student representative council, headed by Comrade Awelewa, in collaboration with the management and staff of the Nigerian Institute of Journalism brought the students week activities for the 2023/2024 session to a climax with the theme- Loud Am!
