Airtel Partners Lagos on Youth Leadership Devt Project

Sunday Okobi

In line with its commitment to empower young Nigerians as well as create a credible platform for youths in Lagos State to leverage on, Airtel Nigeria has partnered the Lagos State Ministry of Youth Development to organise an intensive capacity building workshop for selected, exceptional youths across the state.

The one-week long training exercise, which climaxed at a presentation ceremony at the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) orientation camp in Lagos recently, offered many youths a rare privilege to hone their leadership skills, network, brainstorm, initiate and implement specific programmes to accelerate their personal development as well as personal effectiveness.

The highlight of the closing ceremony was the emergence of Lana Promise Elijah as the new state ambassador for youths. He emerged winner among the top five participants from the week-long intensive training.

The new youth ambassador, who was presented with a brand new laptop by Airtel Nigeria, was charged by the telco to lead by example and set a good standard for all youths in the state and beyond.

The other top four finalists who emerged the best participants at the grand finale were each awarded with an Apple iPad from Airtel Nigeria and recognised as Lagos State Youth Ambassadors for their respective divisions.

In the first leg of the programme, a total of 500 participants went through a five-day intensive training exercise held at designated youth centres located in the five administrative divisions of the state.

Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Airtel, Mr. Segun Ogunsanya, who was represented by the Director for Enterprise Business, Tawa Bolarin, noted that as a youth-centric brand, Airtel strongly believes in empowering, nurturing and inspiring young Nigerians to achieve their potential.

Ten outstanding participants from each centre were then selected for the leadership camp where they acquired leadership skills, group management skills and partook in various outdoor activities.

Participants in the IBILE initiative are required to have minimum qualification of SSCE/WASC and the Lagos State Residents Registration Agency (LASRRA) card in order to register for the programme. Registrations forms were made available at designated Youth Centres across the state.

Speaking at the ceremony, the Lagos State Commissioner for Youth, Mrs. Uzamat Akinbile-Yusuf, hailed Airtel for its commitment towards the development and empowerment of youths in the state.

“Airtel Nigeria has demonstrated commitment to helping and empowering young Nigerians to achieve their dreams. The Lagos State government will continue to find innovative ways through which we can collaborate more with Airtel to empower many more young Nigerians,” Akinbile-Yusuf stated.