Today's Skills For Tomorrow's Wealth

Imoleoluwa Tomiwa Adeleke, Mrs M.O. Morafa and Bashit Ashaye On the 29th of September 2021, Michael Adéwálé Adesanya, in collaboration with the Sustainable Economic Development Initiative For African Communities, held the Maiden Edition of Adéwálé Students' Conference (ASC) with the theme: Beyond the Walls at the Ogun State Multipurpose Hall, Sagamu. It was a three-in-one event that included motivational speeches from guest speakers, an academic competition, and the official release of Adéwálé's memoir, Adéwálé My Mother's Son.

ASC witnessed the gathering of great young scholars from Ogun state's Sagamu town. Both private and public schools were represented. It was a day of empowerment, rekindling hope for young people to succeed, and knowledge sharing. It was the first of its kind in the heart of education in Ogun State.

The event emanated from the host's desire to change the face of education beginning in his hometown. It provided students with powerful motivation to dare to be successful. Mrs. M.O. Morafa, the former principal of Mayflower Public School, gave the opening speech. In her speech, she urged great minds (students) to practice discipline because it is the only way to grow in a fast-paced world. Referencing her school days, she stated that there are changes now with the advent of social media and technological advancement and that this should be channelled towards positive growth and tremendous societal influence.

In the same vein, Evangelist Ifede, chairman of the Ogun State Teaching Service Commission, delivered excellent nuggets on his topic "The Winning Attitude Beyond The Walls." Throughout his speech, he emphasised the indispensability of good leadership and charged the teachers to embrace devotion and dedication to their cause. With the ASC Interschool Competition, the host was able to recreate the academic competition he participated in as a student. National competitions such as Mobil/STAN, NNPC, and JETS, as well as local interschool competitions. To him, reviving such an activity as a way to foster healthy competition and the resilience spirit to push forward, just as each contestant thrives to win, is a dream come true.

The Competition diverged from the traditional paper and pen format. It was done in a technological fashion with the an app in which each contestant was equipped with a tablet. The quiz coordinator, Stephanie Adesanya, monitored from her laptop while the results were displayed on the screen for all audience members to see on a leaderboard. It was both entertaining and educational because the students were constantly checking to see if they were still winning. Remo Secondary School bagged first place, followed by Advanced Breed College, Omolola High School, Mayflower Public School, and Divine Life College. The representative of the winning school received a whopping scholarship prize of N100,000, while the other finalists received consolation prizes. The host compensated the finalists’ teachers for a job well done.

Michael Adesanya

Toyin Taiwo, Mr M Mrs M.O. Morafa, Michael Adesanya, Evang. Ifede and Alabi Oluwakemi

On the last wing of the event, Michael Adéwálé Adesanya launched his memoir Adéwálé My Mother’s Son by engaging in a conversation with his childhood friends (Toyin Taiwo and Oluwakemi Alaba) from the story. They reminisced about their school days (about 20 years ago) and how they survived, excelled, and remained friends. They all now hold respected positions in their respective fields of expertise. It was a conference full of lessons and a call to action for a brighter future. The future, as they say, begins now. The host's vision is to empower the next generation and align their thoughts with excellence. To reshape the face of education, reestablish the foundation for healthy competition, encourage the next generation to work hard, and assist them in thriving outside the classroom walls. This would allow every child to thrive in any field outside the four walls of a school. The vision is that one day, any Nigerian child will be able to compete anywhere in the world and win.

A group photo of people at the event.