Radio Lagos has held an empowerment ceremony aimed at widening career development opportunities for young Nigerians. The event, themed From Interns to Industry Leaders: Building Capacity for the Future of Nigeria, brought together current interns and serving youth corps members for a focused session on essential skills and professional growth. The initiative targets young corpers and university students who need work experience and guidance in navigating Nigeria’s challenging employment environment.
Speaking at the Oconnect Symposium and Trade Fair Season 4, the General Manager of Radio Lagos and Eko FM, Olajide Isiaka Lawal, described the programme as a major step in preparing young people for real industry challenges. He stated, “What the internship programme provides to the students are opportunities to learn about the actual operations of the industry, accumulate their work experience, and grasp a fuller picture of their life-planning paths.” Lawal praised the initiative as an “excellent example of enhancing resource integration” that offers young people access to high-quality internships and supports the station’s workforce development strategy. He also stressed the importance of “strengthening youth’s sense of national awareness.”
Lawal highlighted an inspiring message shared by a speaker at the event, saying, “How much you want your stars to shine depends on you.” Addressing the attendees, he encouraged them to take responsibility for shaping their futures. “How you want to shine depends on you in so many ways. It depends on how you want your life to be,” he said. He urged participants who were still in school to remain committed to their studies, reminding them to “take your studies seriously.”
He encouraged the youths to picture a confident and capable future version of themselves. “I want you to start to shine the lens of your future self. I implore you as a father, as a spirit, that you need to start shining your light. And if you shine your light in the right place, I will be very proud of you,” he told them. Lawal confirmed the ongoing commitment of the station, adding, “We will continue to expand participation opportunities and strengthen the program’s expertise to become a solid foundation for the growth of local youth.”
Bisi Omidire of the EKO FM Lagos O’CONNECT Radio Talk Show explained that the programme was helping participants gain “real-world experience and strengthening their job competencies.” She said interns were learning more about important local issues while also “cultivating invaluable practical skills.” Omidire noted that the programme offers a clear pathway to employment and long-term career growth. She urged the young attendees to fully engage with every learning opportunity, saying, “Internship is a pathway to success… I encourage you not to just hear, or to listen, not to listen alone, or to take notes, not to take notes, but to ask questions, to network, to feel, to draw, and of course, to act.”
Executive Assistant to the Lagos State Governor and Head of the Lagos State Office of Diaspora Affairs, Jermaine Sanwoolu, encouraged the youths to embrace technology and adopt innovative thinking to boost communication and achieve meaningful goals. He praised the organisers, saying, “This programme has been very, very insightful. Commendations to the GM of LGB, commendations to the GM of Eko FM Radio Lagos, and most especially, high praise to Double O, for doing such a great job, gathering people together, interns, and transferring knowledge to them, but also practical skills during the internship experience that they have with the station.”
Sanwoolu said today’s world demands new ways of thinking and working. “This is a new age, a new era, and it’s marked with tremendous insights, information, and innovation. We need to be able to leverage technology to optimise communication, either in business, in work, in life, generally,” he stated. He ended with an encouraging message for the youths: “I’ll encourage you to dream big about your goals, to dream big about the visions that you have. Do not think small. Now is the time to optimise technology, optimise all the resources around, to achieve great goals.”
