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‘Nigerian Youths Want Change And Better Opportunities’

By Editor
04 April 2015   |   1:16 am
Association international des etudiants en sciences economiques et commerciales (AIESEC) is the world’s largest student-run organization in the world. It has its international headquarters in the Netherlands. AIESEC’s operations are global and it has representation in 124 countries.  It has been in existence for over 65 years internationally and for over 40 years in Lagos, Nigeria.  
It provides both undergraduate students and young graduates the platform to develop themselves, gain skills and  competencies within and  outside of  the school,  and  also exposes them to  international  work experience that  would position  them to  become worthy leaders in their respective fields. DEBO OLADIMEJI spoke to Miss Eyewuene Murphy-Akpieyi, president of AIESEC in Lagos on their 40th anniversary on April 18.

Eyewuene-Murphy-Akpieyi-4-4-15---CopyAssociation international des etudiants en sciences economiques et commerciales (AIESEC) is the world’s largest student-run organization in the world. It has its international headquarters in the Netherlands. AIESEC’s operations are global and it has representation in 124 countries.  It has been in existence for over 65 years internationally and for over 40 years in Lagos, Nigeria.  
It provides both undergraduate students and young graduates the platform to develop themselves, gain skills and  competencies within and  outside of  the school,  and  also exposes them to  international  work experience that  would position  them to  become worthy leaders in their respective fields. DEBO OLADIMEJI spoke to Miss Eyewuene Murphy-Akpieyi, president of AIESEC in Lagos on their 40th anniversary on April 18.

How did you come into contact with AIESEC?

I DISCOVERED AIESEC in my first year in school. I am the inquisitive type. I noticed the AIESEC Office in school so many times as I passed by, so one day my friend and I decided to go in there and then we were told what AIESEC is all about. I said I would join the second year and I did.

What is AIESEC all about?

AIESEC was originally a French acronym for Association international des etudiants en sciences economiques et commerciales (English: International Association of Students in Economic and Commercial Sciences). However, the full name is no longer officially used as members can now come from any university background. AIESEC is the largest student-run organization. We are a not for profit organisation, and we don’t discriminate on any basis. We are also not political. AIESEC builds, has built and continues to build world leaders. Our record of Alumni will attest to this. We provide youths with a platform to learn skills, out of school experience that is needed after school.  In summary, we are known for two main things: providing youths, that is, both undergraduates and fresh graduates, with leadership opportunities and internships.

Youths in Nigeria want change and better opportunities in terms of education, jobs etc from what they are being offered. It’s a fact that the common Nigerian graduate is not up to par with graduates from other countries, and thus finds it hard to find a good job. Employers complain about the skills and expertise of our graduates. AIESEC as an organisation can be seen as a finishing school for Nigerian youths. The fact that in just six weeks a Nigerian youth can travel to another country and work to better improve his or herself is amazing, and the government should tap into this.

How many are your members in UNILAG and in Nigeria?

AIESEC in Lagos is growing with a database of over 200 members; we are dominant in UNILAG but growing into other tertiary institutions in Nigeria. AIESEC in Nigeria which is the national body can attest to over 1,000 volunteers.

Do you relate with yourselves locally and internationally?
Yes we do.

How do you do that?

AIESEC  is in over 124 countries. One amazing thing about AIESEC is that fact that we provide our members and partners with an international platform to network, relate and interact. We do this through our conferences, international internships. And for our internship partners, by providing them with youths that have different skills and experience to come and work in their companies. So also for partners who don’t take in our interns, the fact that we can bring youths together to relate, think and express themselves in different ways is another way AIESEC as an organisation relates.

What are the benefits of being a member?

There are so many benefits. I tell people that you would have to experience AIESEC for yourself before you can understand the immense benefits.  But just to name a few, our internship platform for both undergraduates and graduates is a major benefit for our members, but this is also available for non-members. Furthermore, as a member, you have the opportunity to go for international conferences, sponsored workshops by companies, relate with the growing database of alumni which are in different sectors as CEOs, MDs, founders of organisations etc. Also, the different leadership opportunities that you can enjoy. You can also figure out any good idea and implement it as project, initiative or event.  AIESEC is learning by doing, we have no lecturers or teachers, professors. All we do and know is taught either by the executive board, or individuals on the national board, and these individuals are students and fresh graduates.

How do you recruit new members?

We have a recruitment process which is well structured, and a bit rigorous like corporate organisations. We place out adverts, make new recruits take tests, then there is the interview process. After all this, we choose who we want based on the set criteria by the executive board. There is also the exchange process of recruitment which is the internships. Since most people can’t get in through the normal recruitment process, we suggest to them to go on an AIESEC internship. There are two types of internships: the paid internships known as the Global Internship Programme (GIP) for graduates, and the volunteer internships for students. This lasts for six weeks and the former lasts for three months to a year.

What are your plans for the anniversary?

We are 40, this is the wisdom age. As people would say, a fool at 40 is a fool forever. We are planning to have a youth to business forum and a 40th anniversary dinner (for Alumni, partners). This is set to attract all possible Alumni of AIESEC Lagos or any organization that has partnered with us.

What is the Youth to Business Forum all about?

This is a platform designed by AIESEC International. It is a forum that brings together youths and business personnel together. It is run in three tracks: the Inspire stage (which is where keynote speakers invited would speak to the delegates on the set topic/theme); the Engage part (which is the aspect where organised workshops, conversations and idea generation space comes up), then the final part is the Act (The youths take their learning and insights from the day into a space  where they generate ideas, and ask challenging questions).
Lagos Youth to Business Forum is set to host over 300 delegates, and we are running workshops around four themes: ‘Entrepreneurships, Sustainability and Innovation, ICT/Technology, Youth leadership.

Having existed for 40 years, what are the achievements of AIESEC?

AIESEC Lagos since its birth 40 years ago has grown from the number of incredible experiences it has given its volunteers, alumni and leaders in different sectors of the economy .The number of leaders we have produced is enough to show that we are achieving our vision as an organisation.

What do you think about the status of the youths in Nigeria?

Youths in Nigeria want change and better opportunities in terms of education, jobs etc from what they are being offered. It’s a fact that the common Nigerian graduate is not up to par with graduates from other countries, and thus finds it hard to find a good job. Employers complain about the skills and expertise of our graduates. AIESEC as an organisation can be seen as a finishing school for Nigerian youths. The fact that in just six weeks a Nigerian youth can travel to another country and work to better improve his or herself is amazing, and the government should tap into this. Also, the fact that right now every organisation wants a diversified cultural base in its organisation, and AIESEC is that one stop shop to providing this, our interns come from different parts of the world to work in different companies in Nigeria. It is amazing.

How do you think youths can be empowered?

By providing them with a platform like AIESEC to self-train themselves. I have heard comments from youths like, ‘I wish I heard about AIESEC while in school.’ If the government can partner with AIESEC, other organisations similar to AIESEC can key into our vision  and what our long-term goal and aim is. This can actually help the Education Ministry.

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