Ahead of the September 2025 take off of the Maxwell Leadership Foundation’s program for secondary school students in Oyo state, called iLead, over five hundred educators across eleven local governments within Ibadan have been trained on the mandate of the program.
The educationists including public and private school principals, vice principals, inspectors of education at the local and zonal levels as well as teachers in the state were intimated on the aims, impacts and success stories of the programme in schools where it has been operational in some states of the federation.
Speaking at the stakeholders’ meeting held at the International Conference Centre, University of Ibadan, the national coordinator, NextGen iLead Nigeria, Mr. Gbenga Samuel said the training programme was designed to inculcate and build leadership ability and character of the youths, catching them young from secondary schools.
Mr. Samuel said the iLead initiative desire that students should not only be academically driven but be sound in character, compassion, patience and be committed to making positive impact after the going through the John Maxwell leadership core values.
He said “I will like to quote from Aristotle and Theodore Roosevelt which say, “Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all”. The second quote says, “To educate a person in mind and not in morals is to educate a menace to society.” So in essence, we want to lay a foundation for these young leaders that are still in our schools”.
“John Maxwell says that the foundation for good leadership is good values, in these students, we would lay for them a solid foundation of values we are sure we have given them a true and important heritage they can utilize.”
In an address of welcome, the Oyo state lead, iLead leadership program, Mr. Ope Oyeniyi said the training is presently running in over 120 countries, 12 states in Nigeria with over 60,000 students and 2,154 students in Oyo state.
Mr. Oyeniyi who led participants through a practical session of how the programme runs, said the iLead leadership program is extending to 250 secondary schools in Oyo state at the resumption of new session by September 2025
He urged the teachers to provide an enabling environment for the program to thrive in their schools.
Addressing the gathering, permanent secretary, Inspectorate General of Education, Zone 1, Ibadan, Mr. Kareem L. A challenged the participants to also put to practice and allow the values, morals, character build and leadership skills in the training manual to reflect in the discharge of their duties.
The permanent secretary who described the stakeholders’ engagement as worthwhile, commended the initiative, saying it would go a long way in shaping the future of students in Oyo state.
“All John Maxwell leadership values will not only give us good life, it will help us to get the grace of God and have eternal life”
In a goodwill address, the founder and president, Seyi Adisa Development Initiative, SADI, Hon. Seyi Adisa believed that leadership is not a future ambition but a present responsibility that must be imparted over time.
Hon. Adisa, represented by Mr. Ola Jimoh said SADI is committed to building capacity and empowering students with more skills and values that last a lifetime.
“We know that the success of any leadership development initiative rest heavily on the shoulders of our teachers. They are the main architects of character, resilience and vision in the life of the students. With your collaboration with partners like iLead team, Seyi Adisa Development Initiative, it is not just helpful, it is essential. When educators and development partners work hand-in-hand, the result is a well rounded child prepared to lead in academic, civic life and beyond”.
The event featured a presentation of certificates of recognition to teachers who are coordinators in schools where iLead is operating at the moment, for their commitment to the program in their various schools.
