TheCable

John Momoh, chairman and CEO Channels TV, and Funke Amobi, country head, Human Capital, Stanbic IBTC, will be speaking at the second edition of the Chevening Nigeria Alumni Leadership Summit.

The summit, which is billed for Friday, December 7, 2018, will be held at Four Points by Sheraton, Lagos, Nigeria at 7:30am through 1:30pm.

The second Chevening Nigeria Alumni Leadership Summit also doubles as a celebration of 35 years since Chevening awarded its first scholarship in the country.

Also speaking at the summit are leading lights of the Chevening Nigeria network, including; Valentine Ozigbo CEO/MD Transcorp Hotels Plc;  Kenneth Amaeshi, international business chair, Edinburgh University; Raheemat Momodu, head, Drug Control and Civil Society, ECOWAS Commission; Udo Okonjo, CEO, Fine and Country West Africa.

Laure Beaufils, British deputy high commissioner, who doubles as the co-host for the event, will also be engaging Chevening alumni and guest on the summit theme: “Partnerships for Equipping Nigerian Youths for Work and Innovation in the Digital Age”.

This is in line with global calls for Nigeria to shore up its investment in human capital in order to reduce poverty and employment in the country.

According to the 2017 Goalkeepers Report, nearly 60 percent of Africans are under the age of 25 compared to 27 percent of Europeans, highlight a youthful population which can be harnessed for growth or abandoned  to unemployment and insecurity.

With over 50 percent of low and medium-skilled jobs expected to be lost to machines within the next decade, Chevening Nigeria alumni believe there is a need to prioritize human capital development to achieve sustainable development 2019.

This is why the summit is bringing together policy-makers and thought leaders from across the government, academia, industry, non-profit and international communities to debate some of the challenges and proffer solutions.

Dipo Faulkner, Country General Manager, IBM Nigeria; Osayi Alile, CEO, ACT Foundation; Folasade Ogunsola, deputy vice chancellor (Academics), University of Lagos; Bunmi Akinyemiju, CEO, Venture Garden Group and Vibranium Valley; and Abosede Alimi, Director (Strategy, Funding and Stakeholder Engagement), Lagos State Employment Trust Fund, will also be proffering solutions at the summit.

Chevening Scholarships are the UK Government’s global scholarship program aimed at individuals with strong academic and leadership potentials, to network extensively and study for a fully-funded Master’s programme in the UK.

Chevening aims to empower and forge lasting relationships with future leaders towards the mutual prosperity of the UK Nigeria.

Nigeria currently boasts of an alumni base of over 1,200 Nigerian intellectuals across several fields since 1983.