Youth urged to embrace self-discovery, leadership at Paradigm Shift conference

The second edition of the Paradigm Shift Conference, held on Saturday in Lagos, brought together thought leaders, entrepreneurs, and international speakers to challenge Nigerian youth to embrace self-discovery, develop leadership capacity, and pursue sustainable pathways to prosperity.

Stephen Oshoke Enike-Matthew, convener of the conference, said the initiative was designed to “help as many young people who are finding it tough to find themselves, discover their purpose, career, vision, dream, and an entire life fulfilment.”

He noted that the programme aims to address rising depression, unemployment and governance challenges.

“We want to, through this conference, help young people avoid suicide, help young people avoid depression, help as many business people find a way to scale up their business, to build the enterprise, and to also ensure that they are able to achieve meaningful success in their lives,” he said.

Enike-Matthew also warned of a looming leadership vacuum if Africa fails to prepare its next generation. “One problem we have in Africa is that the current crop of leaders focus on the next election. They are not focusing on the next generation,” he stressed. “If we don’t pay attention in building their capacity for leadership, they will do twice worse than what these current leaders are doing.”

For Maureen Ikeji, CEO of Aggregate Codes Nigeria and a speaker, the focus must be on rethinking how Nigerians build human capital and national identity.

“The capacity that I’m talking about is not a get-rich-quick scheme. It’s really about the way you see, the way you think,” she said.

She challenged young people to expand their horizons, leverage education, including online resources, and develop industries that can lift the nation.

The conference also featured voices from outside Nigeria, including Ahmed Tahir Chauhan, a Pakistani firefighter, emergency responder and director at the Fire Protection Association of Pakistan, who flew in from the UAE to share his experience.

Chauhan’s message centred on self-discovery as the foundation for meaningful wealth creation. “Everyone is running after money. Everyone is running after wealth. But once you understand your self-discovery, once you discover yourself, the money will come automatically. If you run after money without discovering yourself, it will not come,” he explained.

He likened personal growth to “planting a seed that will become a well-rooted tree tomorrow,” drawing from his 20-year journey from emergency response to public speaking. He also cautioned young people against over-reliance on artificial intelligence without mentorship.

U.M. Ogechi, an invited guest, emphasised patriotism, responsibility, and security as part of youth development.

“I encourage the youth to be more courageous, to face their educations, face their careers, be more positive and represent the country better, shunning social vices and crime,” he said.

He added that “security business is everybody’s business. So we should all put hands together to make sure that the country is secured.”

Beyond inspiration, the conference highlighted concrete outcomes through testimonies from beneficiaries like Oluwatomisi Innie, founder of Real Line Foods. She said the platform has provided grants that helped formalise and expand her company.

“We won a N500,000 grant earlier this year from Dr. Matthew, which helped us to register about three of our products with NAFDAC. And last month in August, we won another N500,000 grant that is helping to fund our solar dreams,” she said.

The conference, themed “Building Organic Wealth Through Self-Discovery,” drew entrepreneurs, business leaders, students and international guests. Participants and speakers agreed that by unlocking the youth factor, Nigeria can secure its future prosperity and leadership.

Taofeek Oyedokun

Taofeek Oyedokun is a correspondent at BusinessDay with years of experience reporting on political economy, public policy, migration, environment/climate change, and social justice. A graduate of Political Science from the University of Lagos, he has also earned multiple professional certificates in journalism and media-related training. Known for his clear, data-driven reporting, Oyedokun covers a wide range of national and international socioeconomic issues, bringing depth, balance, and public-interest focus to his work.