How Centre LSD’s ILI Fellowship is Building Nigeria’s Next Generation of Transformational Leaders
Ughelli — The stories were deeply personal, the reflections profound, and the lessons impossible to miss. From Cross River to Bayelsa, Anambra to Abia, Fellows of Centre LSD’s Intersectional Leadership Incubator (ILI) Fellowship converged in Ughelli on Monday to recount how six months of transformative leadership training reshaped their understanding of service, advocacy, and community impact.
The session, themed “How ILI Changed Me,” marked the opening of the Fellowship’s close-out ceremony organised by the African Centre for Leadership, Strategy and Development (Centre LSD).
‘The Resilience in Me Increased’
Light Nwosu, who executed a gender-advocacy project across Lagos and Port Harcourt, reflected on her personal growth during the Fellowship.
“Advocacy has always been a part of me, but ILI made me stronger. The resilience in me increased,” she said with a soft smile.
She told PulseNets that during a sensitisation outreach to a secondary school, she confronted entrenched gender biases among pupils. “The boys couldn’t understand why girls should have a voice,” she recalled. “Convincing them made me realise how much work still lies ahead.”
Finding Courage in Community
From Abia State, Comrade Henry Okebugwu Nwaigwe shared how ILI’s leadership model gave him the courage to engage traditional authorities in his hometown.
“When I returned home, I discovered I had the confidence to face my people,” he said.
He narrated to PulseNets how addressing his Council of Chiefs became a defining moment. “My traditional ruler asked if I truly had this capacity. I said yes—and that moment earned me respect.”
Turning Knowledge into Action
For Chidubem Godfrey Nwachinemere from Anambra State, the Fellowship inspired an environmental awareness project that surpassed his expectations.
“We produced a book on composting,” he explained. “I didn’t think people would attend, but they came—children included—cutting cartons and learning with enthusiasm.”
He told PulseNets the excitement “kept me awake all night after I saw Centre LSD post my project online.”
Hope for the Excluded
Among the most touching accounts came from Grace Wilson of Akwa Ibom State, whose project spotlighted persons with disabilities for inclusion in the upcoming PIA Empowerment Programme.
“Two of them knelt and said, ‘No one has ever considered me for anything before,’” she recalled emotionally. “The joy and hope I saw in them gave me deep satisfaction.”
Changing Mindsets, Building Momentum
Several other Fellows shared similar moments of transformation. Joseph Anana from Cross River said he reconnected with rural women farmers, while Ogbogene Joy from Bayelsa explained that ILI changed her view of digital influence.
“Now, I see myself not just as a leader but as an agent of change,” she said.
From Edo State, Jennifer Godwin told PulseNets how lessons in transparency earned her credibility in a once-divided community.
“These days, whenever there’s a dispute, they say, ‘Call Mrs. Jennifer Godwin—she’ll speak the truth,’” she added with pride.
Beyond Titles, Toward Service
Grace Bassey from Cross River offered a thoughtful summary of what the Fellowship meant to her.
“Before now, I thought leadership was about position,” she admitted. “But I’ve realised it’s truly about service to humanity.”
Her consistent updates on social media about her farming project later caught the attention of the Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), which subsequently trained over 250 farmers in Bakassi on organic pesticide production—an outcome she described as “proof that visibility births opportunity.”
A Ripple of Change
Centre LSD’s Executive Director, Mr. Monday Osasah, told PulseNets that these reflections affirm the organisation’s mission of nurturing intersectional leaders who merge advocacy with actionable community impact.
Also Read: Centre LSD Holds Closeout Session for Inaugural Intersectional Leadership Fellows in Ughelli
“Each fellow becomes a multiplier, taking what was learned in Ughelli to villages, schools, and policy spaces across Nigeria,” he explained.
As Day 2 of the close-out ceremony continues, one message resounds: the ILI Fellowship did more than build projects—it built people.
