Bridging the Gap: TheSIS empowers 30 young women in Oyo through ‘She Leads Aloud’ leadership training

By Bukola Hameed

In response to the growing absence of structured leadership development opportunities for young women in Oyo township, The School for Ignored Skills (TheSIS) on Saturday, December 20, 2025, organised a one-day leadership training programme titled She Leads Aloud.

The programme, which took place at Oyo Tech Hub, Idi-Ope, convened 30 young women between the ages of 15 and 30 for a full day of learning, reflection, and hands-on leadership and storytelling sessions. The initiative received support from S.A. Adewole Communications.

Opening the programme, Abass Abiola Abdul-Azeez, Lead Facilitator at TheSIS, explained that Oyo was deliberately selected as the host location due to the limited availability of leadership-focused initiatives for young women in the area.

“Oyo has a vibrant youth population, yet programmes dedicated to women’s leadership development are almost non-existent. This training is our response to that gap,” he stated.

The first session was delivered virtually from Adamawa by Kadwama Lazarus, co-founder of North East Women in Tech (NEWIT). Sharing her personal journey, she emphasised the importance of self-leadership, intentional living, and self-awareness as foundations for effective leadership.

“You cannot lead without understanding, not even yourself,” she told participants.

Kadwama recounted her non-traditional path into technology, including her decision to leave Chemical Engineering and enroll in Information Technology at the National Open University of Nigeria. She also spoke about how a small community initiative later evolved into a non-profit organisation empowering young women across North-Eastern Nigeria with technology skills. She cited resilience, faith, and commitment to excellence as values keeping her focused on the journey.

Another session featured Asmau Abdullahi, Executive Director of Slum Tech, who spoke on the role of volunteering in leadership growth. She encouraged participants to understand their worth, while remaining open to learning, noting that early, unpaid opportunities often provide valuable exposure and networks.

She advised participants to clearly communicate their skills and value when networking, especially when engaging public figures.

A key highlight of the programme was a storytelling workshop facilitated by Abass, where participants learned the SPARK storytelling framework and were guided to develop personal leadership narratives.

“Storytelling is about connecting the dots, but only those who create the dots while moving forward can connect them looking backwards,” he noted.

The event also featured an inter-generational panel on women’s leadership, bringing together voices from different life stages. Panelists included Mrs. Eniola Azeez, a lecturer at Emmanuel Alayande University of Education; Janet Bello, Lagos State Coordinator of the Young Global Leaders Network; Deborah Oladiti, a graduate of the Federal College of Education (Special), Oyo; and secondary school students Phebe Olatunbosun and Faith Orjieze from Best Legacy International Secondary School and SPED International Secondary School, respectively.

On the panel, Deborah Oladiti shared how she sat for her O’Level examination eight times before eventually having a complete result. She however went on to complete her NCE programme with maximum points of 15/15, encouraging participants not to allow earlier setbacks to define their future.

Faith Orjieze, a teenager, spoke on intentional leadership, revealing that she runs a Facebook page dedicated to inspiring women, while Phebe Olatunbosun challenged traditional gender roles that limit women’s aspirations.

Mrs. Azeez urged participants not to see their background as a limitation, noting that personal circumstances do not determine future outcomes.

The programme concluded with a session on emotional intelligence facilitated by Oluwaseun Ojo, Programmes Lead at TheSIS, and leadership role-playing exercises coordinated by Mariam Ojewande.

Organisers described She Leads Aloud as part of TheSIS’s broader mission to expand access to leadership and life-skills education for young people in underserved communities.

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