By Suberu Salamah Orahachi and Olalusi Susan Ikeoluwaposi.
At the beginning of every LO year, JCIN University of Ibadan organises a leadership training exclusively for the board members known as the Officers’ Training School (OTS). The aim of this training is to equip board members with the necessary skill sets needed to navigate their respective directorate, and to also deepen the bond and familiarity between board members.
This year’s edition of OTS, themed: “Unlocking leadership excellence through innovative change and strategic collaboration”, took place at Valencia College, Oluyole, Ibadan from June 13th-15th.
In a bid to know the experience of this year’s OTS through the lens of the attendees, the Editorial Board JCIN UI reached out to some board members to know their views and opinions on the training. How would they rate the training? What were their favorite activities and memorable moments? How has the training impacted them? What recommendations do they have for the next planners of the program? Here’s what the board members have to say.
Gbemileke Eyitayo Onifade (King)- 38th Local Organisation President of the Junior Chamber International, Nigeria, University of Ibadan.
I would rate the program a 9. There’s always space for improvement. One, it would be nicer for the board members to have a lot more fun than we had. I’m not saying we didn’t have enough fun. I’m saying it could get better, especially on the closing ceremony night. Two, I have an opinion we could do better with time management also. Also, it would be exceedingly great if we could have all board members at the OTS, a feat no one seems to have accomplished yet. However, we’re progressing and some day, it will be accomplished, especially when people see the value it has to offer. Furthermore, the next organisers should prioritize fun activities and allocate enough time to them. As a dynamic organisation, it would also be great if we can somehow find a way that our activities remain in the time frame assigned to them. I enjoyed the fireside chat with PP (Engr.) Muyiwa Wilson, the aerobics and football match, the trainings and the valedictory service. My memorable moment was actually seeing my board members happy, and when they gave their speeches at the dinner. This training has prepared me more for the work ahead, and given a new insight to the way of doing things.
Alonge Ifeoluwa- Director of Socials and Welfare JCIN University of Ibadan
I would give it a 9 because it was really a wonderful experience and I’d love to attend again and again and again. It’s just the lateness in food and the trainers taking more time than what is allocated to them that’s taking the 1 away from the 9. I really don’t know how they do their food thing but I’m sure if more hands are on deck maybe it’ll be faster and the trainers should be told strictly not to use more than the time allotted to them. I enjoyed the training sessions, the games and the sport. I’ll say the games were really memorable for me because on the last night, we played a game till 3:30am �� and also, the movie night was really fun and the sporting activities too. The change I can see is that I’m now open and expressing some kind of likeness towards trainings and anything that looks like it, unlike before when I was not bothered and also, it exposed me to so many ways I can try to make my directorate a successful one.
Sa’ad Balogun Onaolapo- Director of Travels and Tours JCIN University of Ibadan.
I’ll give the OTS a 9, it was an amazing experience and it really set the bar high. Personally I feel time management could have been better, this could have been achieved by either a reduced amount of tutors and giving them enough time to pass across the insightful messages they had for us, or by increasing the number of days of the OTS to give space for value filled lectures without leaving the participants fatigued and saturated. To be honest, I enjoyed every part of the event but to be more specific, I enjoyed the wonderful lectures delivered by our knowledgeable tutors, the aerobics and morning exercise, and the moonlight talk too with the IPP of (I’m sorry I forgot his institution), the anonymous letters too were wholesome, valedictory service followed by the pictures session>>>. Also, Asiwaju’s lecture was definitely a memorable moment. I got to meet and bond with my fellow directors too and some of them are the cutest and best people ever with great personalities too, I think that’s memorable too and definitely the letters too, made me smile ��. I definitely learned a lot from our tutors, ways to communicate effectively with our team and methods of carrying out projects efficiently.
Being a leader and a great leader too and steps to achieve it.
Joshua Oludayo Oluwaseun- The Director of Content and Publicity, 2024 LO Year.
I expected the event to be a very packed one, with different training sessions and diverse speakers. I also expected it to be an avenue to meet and get to know other board members better, especially those who were on the board for the first time. I’m glad that my expectations were met. I rate the training a 9. I enjoyed the aerobics exercise and friendly football match. I also enjoyed unveiling the anonymous messages I got. Very beautiful messages. I enjoyed the training session by JCIN AMB. Ayodele Akinwande who spoke on leveraging Social Media and Branding. It was a training session that resonated greatly with my office and I am happy I was able to learn from him and also tap from his experience as Director of Communications, JCI Nigeria. Also, there were a few takeaways from the training. First, team work. I saw the importance of people with different skills coming together to achieve one goal. Second, bonding. As a group of people who would be working together for the next 8 months, it was really important that we got to bond and to relate with ourselves. Thanks to the training, I can say that I am an improved person. The teachings, the lessons will certainly help me improve.