In an era where connections often shape careers as much as competence, the Lagos Business School (LBS), through its MBA Student Conference, empowered a new generation of young leaders to harness the power of strategic networking.
LBS hosted its first MBA Student Conference on Friday, September 12, 2025, marking a significant milestone for the institution’s leadership development agenda.
Held at the LBS Pan-Atlantic University campus, the event represented a major collaboration between the MBA programme and the Lagos Business School Alumni Association (LBSAA).
The theme, “Execution as a Competitive Edge: Skills, Systems, and Partnerships,” framed discussions around the long-standing gap between strategy and delivery.
Speaking on behalf of Olayinka David-West, Dean of Lagos Business School, Henry Onukwuba, emphasised that the conference demonstrated the school’s values beyond the classroom.
He added that student-led initiatives such as the conference strengthen the institution’s culture of excellence, innovation, and leadership in practical contexts.
The inaugural MBA Student Conference was regarded as a forward-looking initiative, signalling LBS’s continued investment in cultivating responsible and execution-focused leaders.
The conference was convened by Sokaribo S. Senibo, an MMBA 7 student, who led the coordination efforts in partnership with the wider LBS community, including club presidents, class governors, and supporting businesses such as Flagscale PR, AboveSouvenirs, and others.
Delivering his keynote address, Peter Obi, 2023 presidential candidate and business leader highlighted the centrality of execution in achieving tangible results, noting that while ideas define vision, only disciplined and structured action produces measurable outcomes.
Drawing on his professional experience, he stressed the importance of accountability, strong systems, trust-based partnerships, and sustained consistency as pillars of effective leadership.
Obi added that responsible leadership requires competence, capacity, compassion, and unwavering commitment, insisting that progress cannot be intermittent. “It’s not something you can execute halfway,” he said. “A company or country that performs well one year and declines the next is not practising good leadership. Consistency makes the difference.”
The conference also featured a fireside chat with architect and leadership advocate Olajumoke Adenowo, who spoke on leading with clarity and excellence in uncertain times.
She encouraged participants to adopt structures, habits, and systems that ensure reliable and predictable performance, especially in periods of volatility.
Reinforcing its international outlook, the conference welcomed EMBA students from Cambridge Judge Business School. Their participation broadened the dialogue and strengthened the global learning exchange that LBS continues to build across its programmes.
