The following was written by ASFL leader Oluleke Peter

On the 8th of November, 2014, 33 student leaders from 9 universities and 6 states within Nigeria gathered at Conference Centre, University of Ibadan for the African Students For Liberty Nigerian Leadership Forum. The forum shared best practices for pro-liberty student organizing: as discussions; brainstorming and lectures highlighted the need to establish a network of leaders who will work to make the country a stronghold for the pro-liberty student movement.

The forum commenced with a formal introduction by each participants. These participants were student leaders/representatives from University of Ibadan, Ibadan; Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta; Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso; Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife; Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago Iwoye; University of Ilorin, Ilorin; Mashood Abiola Polytechnic, Abeokuta; Kogi State University, Kogi state; and University of Abuja, Abuja.

Odunola Oladejo, an ASFL Executive Board Member led participants into the brainstorming session. Student leaders discussed their activities so far, history, membership status, challenges and way forward. At this session, it was gathered that speaking events and the creation of different meeting days had helped increase membership in student groups. Major challenges faced by student leaders are the inconsistency at the part of members, difficulty in getting staff advisers and school authorization, and lack of funds. Leaders were advised to fund-raise, engage members and be in consistency with its organisation’s value.

Olumayowa Okediran, the ASFL Programs Manager led an open session on how to persuade others for liberty. He emphasised how important it is to understand what liberty means before you can persuade others for liberty. He further stated that certain things should be avoided when persuading others for liberty. These are: unnecessary argument that pushes people away; getting in people’s faces; trying to change someone’s opinion in one talk; among others. Concluding this session, he encouraged leaders to spread the idea, ask questions, show examples and build a supportive community.

After the general session was the break up session. Here, participants were divided into six groups of four and visited each station for 20 minutes each in a clockwise direction. Facilitators did not only train but also allowed groups with strengths in a certain area to share their skills with others in need of assistance. The topics covered in the break-up session were leadership transition, events management, starting a student group for liberty, strategic action plan, elevator pitch, and development/fundraising. These were anchored by Kunle Okediran, Peter Oluleke, Ajibola Adigun, Moronfolu Adeniyi, Olumayowa Okediran, and Bunmi Fadiora respectively.

After about 7 hours of discussion, brainstorming and lectures, the forum ended with dinner and socials. Participants expressed their gratitude and were pleased that their expectations were met. They promised to implement all that had been learnt in the creation of student groups, speaking events and other student organizing.

The practical application of skills acquired at the forum into growing their respective liberty movements will not only strengthen the forum’s impact but also make the country a stronghold for the pro-liberty student movement.