A non-profit organisation, the Masterminds Community Foundation (MCF) has underscored the importance of teaching today’s youths emotional intelligence, saying it is a quality that would define leaders of this century.
Vivian Oghene, the Convener of the 2025 Smart Teens Workshop, made this known during the workshop, a one-day sensitisation for Lagos State Public Secondary Schools.
The sensitisation was organised in collaboration with the Lagos State Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education, Education District 6.
Oghene said that to truly succeed in life and leadership, humans, especially youths, needed Emotional Quotient (EQ) more than Intelligence Quotient (IQ).
She declared that in this era of Artificial Intelligence (AI), machines compute but they could not care, adding that emotional intelligence was what set future leaders apart in a human-centered world.
“However, few of us learned to manage emotions, solve conflicts, or understand ourselves and others. True education is not only about passing exams, rather it’s about building character, empathy, social awareness and how to be responsible leaders who will achieve purpose for life.
“Your emotions are not weaknesses. They are signals guiding you toward better decisions, wiser actions, and deeper understanding, note that self-awareness is an essential for leadership,” she said.
Oghene described issues around emotions as a critical learning factor in today’s world, noting that the knowledge would go a long way to help them resolve conflicts and navigate relationships with empathy and respect.
She explained that real learning included empathy, communication, and social awareness, being qualities essential to building meaningful relationships and stronger communities
Oghene added, “We have studied Mathematics, English and other subjects, but this workshop is targeting young leaders to become emotionally aware, socially responsible, and purpose-driven in an ever-changing world.
She stressed that the one-day event was to educate the students to understand their emotions, analyse it and know how to relate to the society.
The convener urged teens to explore real-life scenarios, learn to apply social skills beyond classrooms to bridge the gap between academic knowledge and emotional literacy for everyday challenges.
She urged participants to speak without offending, correct without shaming, and disagree without destroying core principles of social and emotional intelligence necessary for personal and leadership growth.
Oghene solicited for intentional investment in teens, for nurturing socially responsible and emotionally competent young people who would strengthen families, schools, and communities across Nigeria and beyond.
She added that investment should be made in emotional literacy for all, especially youths, who are tomorrow’s leaders.
The workshop had interactive activities including role-play and group discussions designed to boost empathy, communication, and conflict resolution, key competencies for the next generation of leaders.
Earlier in his remark, Mr Olalekan Omilade, Managing Director of Amber Insurance, spoke on the importance of guiding teens’ emotional growth in the technology era, urging parents and teachers to actively uphold responsible child upbringing.
“Parents and teachers must wake up and return to their responsibility of nurturing children’s emotional development, ensuring teens grow into responsible individuals capable of improving society in this technological age,” Omilade said.
Similarly, Mr Olumuyiwa Amodu, a retired Director of School Administration, Education District 6, pointed out that the students participants would gain self-awareness of their emotions, enabling them to positively influence others and achieve greater success beyond the classroom.