News & Events

Dare Oladipupo Shares On Keys To Successful Entrepreneurship

An emerging Business and Human Resource Catalyst; Mr. Dare Oladipupo, was the speaker at Salimo-Wits youth Leadership training held at the Events Place Ajah, Lagos on Saturday 12th December, 2015. The speaker commenced his presentation by conducting a 10 minute entrepreneurship IQ test for the participants to give them in-sight into the qualities of an entrepreneur. He described entrepreneurship as “Living few years of your life like most people won’t so you can spend the rest of your life like most people can’t.”

According to him, “Capital is not always about money.” He defined capital as that force that raises the productivity of labour, increases outcome and creates wealth. He stressed that energy, passion, knowledge and skill, time, effort, resilience, creativity and innovation as well as networks and connections are key requirements to becoming a successful entrepreneur. He said, “Creativity is the root of entrepreneurship. Creativity is an attitude. It is the thin line that demarcates those that succeed as entrepreneurs and those that don’t.”

Mr. Dare Oladipupo charged the participants to persevere and to think outside the box. He rounded-off his talk with this statement: “No Capital and No Collateral. No Problem. Start with what you have.” The participants won recharge cards, free books and other gifts as they answered questions on Leadership and Nigeria during the ‘Leadership Game’ session. Finally, the December edition of the Salimo-Wits Youth Leadership training was rounded-off with rendition of the club anthem and group photographs.

Olamide Opeyemi Speaks On ‘The Seed’ At Salimo Leadership Youth Training

Members of Salimo–Wits Leadership Initiative gathered on Saturday 22nd August 2015 for the Youth Leadership Club event at the organization’s national office in Yaba, Lagos. This was the first meeting since the last leadership training programme which was held on August 30th, 2014 in commemoration of the international youth day. The guest speaker and lead consultant, Living Templates Mr. olamide Opeyemi spoke on the seed as the foundation for personal, social, metaphysical and governmental greatness.

According to olamide Opeyemi a seed is something you use to buy the future. Every potential is a seed and every potential has the capacity for greatness. Life is a cycle and every time is a time to sow towards the future. He explained that everything in life runs on principles. He outlined the four cardinal seed principles as the principle of self-discovery, the principle of economy, the principle of environment and the principle of delayed gratification.

The speaker explained that the destiny of a seed determines the appropriate environment for it to be planted, to germinate, to function and to grow into a massive tree of greatness that serves humanity. Olamide Opeyemi conclude his insightful and inspirational session with this statement: “Your life is not about pleasing yourself; it is about love, sacrifice and service. Sacrifice is the shortest route to greatness; refusal to sacrifice makes the journey a very tedious trek.”

The meeting also featured a presentation by an upcoming young entrepreneur, Nonni Michaels (CEO) Learned Creators Limited who spoke about his experiences as a shoe maker and designer during the ‘Sharing of Entrepreneurship Experience’ segment. The training was concluded at 4.10pm with a musical performance by Abikoye Damilola (Dammy Sax). Salimo-Wits Leadership Initiative which is committed to raising visionary and servant leaders organizes inspirational leadership trainings for young Nigerians passionate for national transformation and global impact.

Salimo-Wits Rewards Winners Of Book Review Competition

Salimo-Wits Leadership Initiative rewarded winners of the first Edition of its National book review Competition in an award ceremony held at Ikorodu, Lagos State yesterday with three youths smiling home with different prizes. Patrick Ofori Enoch emerged winner, carting away a brand new laptop and Ipad. Other winners included Williams Iniobong who emerged first runner-up and Orimogunje Samuel who emerged as the second runner-up. They were rewarded with an Ipad and smart phone respectively.

Speaking at the award ceremony, Dan Ekoko Founder and President of Salimo-Wits Foundation commended the winners for their efforts. While praising the quality of entries received for the competition, he congratulated all the finalists. He said that Foundation takes pride in the Book Review competition because it encourages healthy reading culture and stimulates intellectual competition amongst the youths. “The competition is part of the foundation’s contribution towards youth development and increasing the intellectual capacity of Nigerian students and youths. You should be happy you made it to this point because it shows that the quality of your entry was good.”

He stressed the continuous commitment of the organization to youth development and leadership re-orientation. “We are proud and truly inspired to see that Salimo vision and work is starting to spark a new generation, impact mindsets as well as make a difference in the lives of the youths. We remain dedicated to identifying, harnessing and maximizing the potentials of young people” he said. Mr. Dan Ekoko challenged the winners/awardees to be good ambassadors of the non-profit organization.

The Salimo-Wits Book Review Competition is open to youths between the ages of 18 and 35. The competition aims to provide a competitive platform to develop the intellectual and writing abilities of young Nigerians

Mental Health Matters: Nathaniel Ayodeji addressing Club SLI members

In the spirit of the International Youth Day which was celebrated around the world on August 12, Salimo-Wits Leadership Initiative hosted her third leadership training and youth forum for the year on 30th August, 2014 with the theme ‘Youth and Mental Health.’ The event commenced a few minutes after 2:00pm with members of Club SLI introducing themselves and stating two unique attributes of themselves. An interactive discussion ensued on the heroism and patriotism of Dr Ameyo Stella Adadevoh the senior consultant at the First Consultants Hospital, Obalende, Lagos who treated Liberian-American Ebola patient Patrick Sawyer. The 20 minutes documentary of armless American motivational speaker, life coach and pilot; Jessica Cox was the focus of the video session. The documentary highlighted the challenges, courage and determination of Jessica Cox to make the best of her condition and challenges.

The featured speaker Mr. Nathaniel Ayodeji (a Health Psychologist) defined mental health as a psychological state of well-being in which an individual realizes his own ability, can cope with normal stress of life, work productively and is able to make meaningful contribution to the community. He also described mental health as a state when one is comfortable with others, one’s environment and is able to meet-up with daily demands. The speaker described the factors affecting mental health and wellbeing as biological, environmental, and sociocultural.

He linked productivity and the realization of one’s life goals and aspirations to good mental health. Mr. Nathaniel Ayodeji concluded the discussion session with the statement, “In every disability there is still ability to learn and stand out if you are willing and determined.” He fielded questions from SLI members. Amongst the factors discussed were childhood experiences, abuse of alcohol or drugs, ethical and moral upbringing, genetic predisposition, traumatic experiences and tragedy.

One of the SLI coordinators Owoyemi Emmanuel spoke on the importance of positive mental health to building leaders and transforming society. He stressed the need for the members of Club SLI to serve as conduits of information, to spread the right message about mental health to their friends and communities. Finally, the August edition of Club SLI forum and training came to an end at 3.40pm with closing prayers from the Founder and President of Salimo-Wits Foundation – Dan Ekoko and rendition of the Club SLI Anthem.

Salimo-Wits Leadership Initiative organizes inspirational leadership meetings and trainings to galvanize young Nigerians passionate for national transformation and a new Nigeria.

Salimo-Wits take the message of ‘Say No To Drugs’ to the Youths of Ibeju- Lekki Communities of Lagos State

Global societies are witnessing an upsurge of issues for example drug abuse, human trafficking, HIV/AIDS, environment degradation and pollution etc. Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, is the patterned use of a substance (drug) in which the user consumes the substance in amounts or with methods neither approved nor supervised by medical professionals. Drug abuse constitute a major public health problem all over the world and  in the recent time, there has been an alarming increase in many countries around the worldespecially amongst young adults, with no exclusion to Nigeria. According to the Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), the use and abuse of drugs by adolescents have become one of the most disturbing health related phenomena in Nigeria.

Gone are the days when drug use was regarded as a stigma, with drug users generally hiding to indulge in the act. Nowadays, drug abuse, addiction and peddling are gaining more ground in our society and more fashionable to young people. Several types of drugs are susceptible to abuse by youth. These drugs range from most common and less expensive such as cigarettes and alcohol to expensive and more deadly such as cocaine and heroin. Though the use of illicit drugs is not a new trend, it is growing at a worrisome rate with more ‘leaders of tomorrow’ embracing drug abuse due to poverty and unemployment, deteriorating family values, negative peer pressure, societal influence and decadence among others. The menace of drug abuse has eaten deep into the fabrics of our society; however, with the intensification of anti-drug campaigns, re-orientation and awareness programmes, the government and other relevant authorities can curb the spread of this scourge amongst our youths.

Based on the desire to re-orientate and build a new generation of young Nigerians towards a drug-free society, Salimo-Wits Foundation in collaboration with the Divine Treasurers and Prisoners’ Rehabilitations And Welfare Action (PRAWA)  on 11th April 2014,organized a one day Youth Empowerment Workshop for the nine (9) communities of Ibeju-Lekki, Local Government Area, Lagos State, Nigeria. The sensitization workshop which took place in Dongo Community and themed: “Implication of Substance Abuse on the Future of the Youth” was attended by over 130 participants including childrenfrom Dongo and adjoining Communities.  Arrival and registration at the venue of the event started at 11:00 am. The programme commenced with an opening prayer, the Nigerian National Anthem, as well as a keynote address by the president and founder of the Salimo-Wits Foundation and Divine Treasurers, Ambassador Dan Ekoko. He opened his inspirational speech with a definition of the term, ‘Youth’. Dan Ekoko described ‘Youth’ as the period from puberty to the attainment of full growth. According to him, in 1998 the United Nations predicted that by year 2010, the number of young people around the world would grow to more than 1.2 billion. Currently, half of the world’s population is under the age of 25. In Nigeria, one third of the population comprises of young people between the ages of 10 and 24.

He underlined drug abuse as one of the major distracters of Nigerian youths in the pursuit of their dreams for relevance, impact and greatness in life. He stated that when a person has no personal vision or goals, drug abuse and irresponsible living become almost inevitable. He spoke further that youth is the best time to prepare, plan, dream and strategize for the future. Youth is not a time for alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking, and marijuana use, participating in cult activities or other wasteful ventures. Using highly influential people in Nigeria and around the world as references, he explained that a person’s socio-economic background should not be the determinant of his or her future. He advised the participants to maximize the time of youth appropriately and wisely since everyone can be a youth only once in a lifetime. In conclusion, he declared the workshop open

The first workshop session was anchored by Pharm. Nonso Maduka (PRAWA), the Program Officer of Prisoners’ Rehabilitation and Welfare Action (PRAWA). He began his presentation by listing three major drugs – Alcohol, Cigarette and Marijuana which he referred to as the gateway drugs. The speaker debunked stories and popular myths associated with substance abuse such as the statement that “Alcohol is harmless.” He linked alcohol use and abuse to increase in the level of mental illness and mental disorder. He explained that peer pressure, imitation of role models, experimentation, the desire to feel grown up and dysfunctional families as some of the major reasons why young people start using and abusing drugs.  Pharmacist Nonso Maduka concluded his presentation with the statement that staying drug free is the safest strategy to staying alive. He also responded several questions from the participants.The second workshop session titled:  “Drugs to Wealth” was anchored by Ambassador Sunny Ikhioya – a trained sociologist, human capital development expert and writer. He explained to the participants the need for self-discovery, entrepreneurship, self-reliance, taking responsibility, skill acquisition and talent development. He closed his presentation with emphasis on resourcefulness, hard-work, perseverance, patience and determination as the key to success.

The empowerment and sensitization Workshop was concluded with the sharing of life experiences by ex-drug users and former cultists, as well as vote of thanks by the Baale of Dongo community and other elders of the participating communities.

Personal Growth Discussed at Salimo-Wits Leadership club Meeting

Members of the Club SLI gathered on Saturday 12th July 2014 for their July Leadership meeting at the Emotional Development Academy training center in Yaba, Lagos. The focus of the training was ‘Building Personality.’ One of the Salimo-Wits Executive coordinators, Sunny Ikhioya spoke on the need to build and maintain a good personality. He defined the term ‘Personality’ as a combination of our natural attributes and learned skills. According to Ikhioya, personality building is a continuous exercise throughout our lifetime because of environmental and situational factors. Ikhioya went on to highlight ten ways to build personality which included being a good listener, meeting new people, reading more and expanding one’s interest, having a positive outlook, respecting others and being supportive of others.

The training also featured the introduction of the first edition Salimo-Wits book review competition. The book review and public speaking competition based on Stephen R. Covey’s international bestseller: “The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People” further demonstrates the organization’s commitment to youth development and nation building. A presentation on Book Review techniques was anchored by Ambassador Roland Eyetu. The speaker presented the audience with a simple step by step method for writing the review and the guidelines for the competition. He fielded questions from SLI members before the meeting came to an end at 3.30pm.

Salimo-Wits Leadership Initiative organizes inspirational leadership meetings and trainings to galvanize young Nigerians passionate for national transformation and a new Nigeria. The next forum with the theme ‘Leadership and Relationship’ holds on Saturday 16th August 2014.

Roland Eyetu Inpires SLI Club Members

Salimo-Wits hosted the first Leadership club meeting and training for the year on Saturday 22nd February, 2014 in Yaba, Lagos. The focus of the meeting was on goal setting and mentoring. The speakers were ambassador Roland Eyetu  – a quantity surveyor par excellence  and  ambassador Kingsley Ewere – Pastor, author and motivational speaker.

Arrival and registration of participants at the venue started about 12.45pm. The forum moderated by Dare Oladipupo commenced shortly after 1:00 pm with an interactive video session which examined the life of Nelson Mandela ~ his unique leadership qualities, his imprisonment, fight for freedom and eventual enthronement as the present of South Africa. The programme continued with members introducing themselves and telling others what lessons they have learned from the life and achievements of Nelson Mandela. A thrilling chat session on the topic ‘Is Everyone A Leader?’ drew insightful contributions, and comments from the audience and the facilitators.

The first training session titled ‘7 Little known Goal-Setting Tricks’ commenced at 2:45pm, with the facilitator Roland Eyetu outlining the importance of specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time-bound goals in the life of any youth that desires academic and career success. He guided the participants through seven vital tips and rules that would help them set and realize their short-term and long-term objectives. Also, he advised the youths to dream real big but devise small steps and that would lead to the fulfillment of the dream. He rounded off his session with this statement, “Successful people are very dynamic. They don’t sit on the fence or stand on the sidelines folding their hands and waiting for their circumstances to change. They are not daydreamers. They are risk-takers and action-takers.”

The next presentation on ‘Understanding The Mentor/Mentee Relationship’ was delivered by Ambassador Kingsley Ewere. He spoke extensively on the importance and benefits of mentoring. He defined a mentor as a wise and trusted counselor, a friend, an experienced adviser and role model. He described a mentee as a person who is guided and protected by a more prominent and influential person. Also, he enumerated the different types of mentees or protégées as passive protégée, parasite protégée, prodigal protégée and productive protégée. To wrap up the training session, Ambassador Ewere inspired the audience with these words, “Ordinary teachers teach, but a mentor inspires you to become all that you have the in-built capacity to be.”

The second stanza of Nigerian National anthem was unveiled as the official anthem of the Salimo-Wits Leadership club. In a closing charge, the founder and president of the Salimo~Wits Foundation Dan Ekoko encouraged the youths of Club SLI with these words “The journey of a thousand miles begins with one single step. Don’t be in a hurry to realize the goals you set for yourself. There will always be difficult challenges on the road but don’t give up. You will get there. The life story of Joseph in the Bible is instructive to every youth. The Nigerian youth of today must know that small dreamers can only occupy a small place in the world. Therefore, dream big. See beyond yourself. Envision a big, better and brighter future for yourself. Be patient like Joseph and in the end, you will achieve it.”

Salimo-Wits Leadership Initiative which is committed to raising visionary, sacrificial and servant leaders organizes inspirational leadership meetings and trainings to re-orientate and re-engineer the mindset of Nigerian youths. The next forum with the theme: ‘Personal Growth’ is scheduled for June 2014 alongside other activities.

Femi Bandele Trains SLI Youths On Goal-Setting

Salimo-Wits Leadership Initiative hosted her third and concluding club forum and training for the year on Saturday, December 14th, 2013 with the theme: “Create the Future”.  A total number of 15 youths attended the training program which was designed to enable participants appreciate the power of goal setting and its impact on success as well as learn how to set appropriate short-term and long-term goals. At the end of the training, participants were expected to create personal mission and vision statements in order to increase the likelihood of their achieving success in their life pursuits. Arrival and registration of participants at the training venue started at about 12.40pm. The forum officially commenced at 1:00pm with rendition of the Nigerian national anthem. The program officer for Salimo-Wits Leadership Initiative Mr. Akin Adelakun, in his opening remark welcomed attendees and briefly extolled the qualities and leadership lessons in the life of the late former South African president and leadership icon Nelson Mandela.

The training session on ‘Goal-Setting’ was facilitated by Ambassador Femi Bandele. He commenced the training with a quotation from Jim Collins, “We cannot predict the future, but we can create it.” He underlined preparation and self-development as the key to success in life. The speaker clarified the difference between vision, mission, goals and objectives. He described a goal as a broad target. He said objectives are time bound, measurable, specific; realistic and should lead to the realization of goals. He defined a vision as a design, description and expectation of the future in the mind’s eye. In the words of the facilitator/trainer, “Your mission is your philosophy of operation. It is what separates and differentiates you from the crowd. Your objectives and your goals should be the ladder towards achieving your vision.” He guided the participants through a session on SWOT analysis. He stressed the need to identify one’s strength, weakness, opportunities and treats. The interactive and practical training session was concluded with the separation of the participants into four different work groups in order to utilize the new knowledge gained to create their goals, objectives as well as vision and mission statements. Each work group delivered presentations following the end of the group session.

The facilitators emphasized values, integrity and skill acquisition as being keys to being a transformational leader and change agent in the society. They further admonished participants to transfer whatever knowledge acquired during the training to others. The December edition of Salimo-Wits Leadership Club forum was concluded with closing prayers and group photographs.

The Salimo-Wits Leadership club forum aims at providing a social network and inspirational platform for members to learn, discover, develop and deploy their leadership skills and talents for personal and societal benefits. This is in line with the organization’s mission to raise visionary, sacrificial and servant leaders for national transformation, national advancement and global impact. The Leadership club’s next meeting in February 2014 will be a follow up training on Goal Setting and Mentoring.

Salimo-Wits Launches Leadership Club in Lagos

Salimo-Wits Leadership Initiative launched the Salimo-Wits Leadership club on Saturday 13th of July, 2013. The maiden club meeting which was held at the organization’s office in Yaba, Lagos started at about 1:40pm with a short inspirational video clip on the life story and accomplishments of the globally respected African-American neuro-surgeon ; Dr. Ben Carson.

Delivering the welcome address and opening remarks for the event; Roland Eyetu and Kingsley Ewere both Executive Coordinators of Salimo-Wits Leadership Initiative reiterated the need to grow a new generation of innovative and dynamic leaders in Nigeria. They also enlightened the participants on the importance of self-development and maximizing the potentials of youth. One of the highlights of the inaugural meeting was the interactive session titled: ‘My Leadership Model.’ During this session participants talked about their favourite leaders and discussed various personal definitions of leadership.

The focal point of the training was the launching of the Salimo-Wits leadership club coordinated by the founder and president of the foundation, Dan Ekoko. While introducing the club to the participants; the founder said that aside being an empowerment and network platform for bonding young Nigerians that are passionate for personal improvement and national transformation; Salimo-Wits leadership club would also serve as a forum for accessing leadership information, mentoring, training and counseling.

The president also stated that the club’s programs and activities would be extended to secondary schools and higher institutions across the country. Closing his speech; Dan Ekoko re-echoed the commitment and determination of Salimo-Wits Leadership Initiative to raise a new generation of nation-builders and nation-changers. The inauguration of the Salimo-Wits Leadership Club was finally concluded with the presentation of certificates to participants.