The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry and members of the Organised Private Sector are championing the creative sector and youth-led businesses as they prepare to host the 41st Omolayole Management Lecture Series.
President of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Gabriel Idahosa, represented by Deputy President of the LCCI, Leye Kupoluyi, said during a press conference in Lagos on Tuesday that young creators are the enablers of sustainable businesses and need to be coached to protect and monetise their work.
The organisers scheduled the lecture for September 25 and described the theme as a call to action.
“The theme of this year’s lecture, ‘Plotlines of Prosperity: African Stories, African Rights & African Returns’, is not only timely but profoundly transformative,” Idahosa said.
“By interrogating the plotlines of prosperity, we are committing ourselves to a deeper understanding of how narratives shape perception, how rights secure dignity, and how returns, economic, social, and cultural, must be maximised for the continent’s sustainable growth.”
Deputy President of the LCCI, Leye Kupoluyi, told journalists that the series will deliberately spotlight creativity and youth entrepreneurship, saying, “If you don’t tell a story, nobody will tell a story.”
He added that the lecture will build on past initiatives that inspired young Nigerians in Information and Communication Technology and other fields.
“Creativity nowadays is not just about acting on stage. It’s about so many things that drive the economy,” he said, urging young creators to learn how to protect and monetise their work.
President of the AIESEC Alumni Association, Marcel Mba, said the organisers intentionally invited a creative-sector speaker from Kenya to broaden the conversation across Africa.
“This year, we are having a speaker coming from Kenya,” Mba said, naming the author of ‘The Dragonfly Sea’, Yvonne Owuor, as one of the invited voices.
“Africa is now our country,” Mba added, arguing that cross-continental engagement will help Africans tell and own their stories and secure better returns for creators.
Meanwhile, the Director-General of LCCI, Dr Chinyere Almona, described the lecture as a development platform for young people. “This is a pivotal moment for the young ones and for the future of our nation and our continent,” said Almona, who encouraged stakeholders to attend the programme, noting it will be a day young people “will not forget”.
Registrar and Chief Executive of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria, Oluwatoyin Naiwo, framed the theme as a timely antidote to rising emigration.
“Africa Returns also represents the fact that we are promoting to the youths, especially in light of the relocation situation with Japa, that there is still a lot to offer in Nigeria,” Naiwo said. “We encourage our youths to look at the fact that Nigeria is great. Nigeria can be greater.”
In his formal invitation on behalf of the late Dr Michael Omolayole, Idahosa said, “I formally invite you to the 41st Omolayole Management Lecture to be held at Commerce House on Thursday, September 25, 2025.”
Speakers at the lecture will include business leaders, academics and creative-sector practitioners who, organisers say, will explore how African narratives, rights and returns can drive inclusive economic growth and ensure that creators and youth-led enterprises capture the value they generate.
