Foundation, Education Stakeholders Seek Stronger Systems To Empower Girls For Leadership

A non-governmental organisation, The Opekete Foundation, has organised the 2025 Florence Bamidele Makanjuola (FBM) Roundtable Forum in its quest to create the needed awareness on the need to educate the girl child for leadership and global impact,

The forum, which was held virtually, brought together 200 senior educators, development leaders, philanthropists, academics, and young women to interrogate a central question: what must education deliver to truly empower the girl child for leadership and global impact.

The event was held on what would have been the 104th birthday of its founder, the late Mrs Florence Bamidele Makanjuola.

Hence, the forum was anchored on the belief that education must move beyond access and enrolment to prepare girls for confidence, agency, and leadership in an increasingly complex world.

In her opening remarks, chairman of the Opekete Foundation, Dame Omolara Euler-Ajayi, underscored the Foundation’s focus on translating legacy into impact.

She noted that educating girls remains one of the most powerful levers for social progress, with effects that extend beyond individuals to families, communities, and institutions.

The keynote address was delivered by Professor Folasade Tolulope Ogunsola, Vice Chancellor of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), who framed girls’ education as a strategic investment in national development.

She challenged institutions to move beyond expanding access to schooling and instead focus on preparing girls for responsibility, leadership, and complexity. As she noted, “education must do more than produce graduates; it must develop women who can think critically, act ethically, and lead with confidence in a rapidly changing world.”

The first panel, Education, Leadership, and Systems Change, was moderated by Gbenga Olatunji, a healthcare and life sciences professional with IQVIA UK, who guided a rigorous discussion on the structural gaps between education and opportunity.

Panelists examined the limitations of systems that prioritise credentials over capability, calling for education that builds life skills, confidence, identity, and voice as foundations for Dr Hadiza Abdurahman, CEO of the ACT Foundation, Osayi Alile, highlighted the disconnect between formal curricula and real-world leadership demands, while Foluso Gbadamosi, Vice President, Development at Junior Achievement Africa, stressed the catalytic role of confidence in expanding girls’ aspirations.

From an academic perspective, Senior Lecturer at the University of Lincoln, UK, Dr Hadiza Abdurahman, urged institutions to move beyond narrow societal expectations and recognise girls as full intellectual and leadership actors.

The second panel, The Power of Opportunity: Voices of Change, centred the lived experiences of Florence Scholars—young women supported by the Foundation. Their reflections illustrated how access to education, combined with mentorship and exposure, can transform opportunity from survival into service, leadership, and impact.

The Roundtable concluded with reflections from Trustee and Legacy Steward of the Opekete Foundation, Aishah N. Ahmad, speaking in honour of her grandmother, she noted that “education was never an end in itself, but a pathway to dignity, self-determination, and service.” She reaffirmed the Foundation’s commitment to translating Florence Makanjuola’s legacy into sustained, measurable impact for girls and young women.

The 2025 FBM Roundtable reinforced a shared conclusion: empowering the girl child requires intentional systems that connect education to confidence, leadership, and opportunity. Access alone is insufficient. What is required is an ecosystem of mentorship, institutions, and enabling systems that allows girls to translate learning into lasting influence within their communities and beyond.

MMeanwhile, the highlight of the forum featured a short documentary, The Opekete Foundation: A Living Legacy, which traced the late Mrs Makanjuola’s inspirational life story, the Foundation’s origins, and its enduring commitment to education as a pathway to dignity, service, and societal contribution.