Stakeholders seek platform to aid students’ creativity

Director and Convener, Hidden Treasure Discovery Initiative, Mrs Felicia Hinmikaiye, has called on relevant stakeholders to set up platform to discover students’ innate potential and improve their creativity so they can be more productive and beneficial to the society.

Speaking at the maiden edition of Hidden Treasure Discovery Initiative programme for select-secondary school students in Lagos, Hinmikaiye said the essence of the initiative is to help teenagers discover their hidden talents, nurture them and become self-employed after graduation. 

She said it was the recognition of the importance of talent discovery and appropriate honing that led to talent hunt competitions for the students by the organisation which, is non- political and non- governmental.   She said: “Every year, we have a focus. It could be debate, song, dance or fashion. So, this year being the maiden edition, our focus is drama. The theme is, ‘I have decided: Cyberbullying is not suicide.’ In recent years, the term ‘cyberbullying’ has become relatively common among teenagers and it is often cited as a contributor to several high-profile suicides of adolescents. So, we used the theme to educate our young ones about the menace and how to tackle it.

“Participating schools came up with beautiful concepts in their act where they also analytically proffered solutions to cyberbullying. At the end, representatives from Kings College, Lagos were adjudged the best act by the judges. Salem Heights College, Magboro, Ogun state, came second, while, Yeshua High School, Ojodu, clinched the third prize.”

Meanwhile, the guest speaker and Principal, Murtala Muhammad International Secondary School, Ikeja, Mrs Stella Otoide, in her remarks urged young ones not to submit to the pressure of bullies, stating that bullies most times are people with low-self esteem.

“Not only that, they have no ambition and they are mostly frustrated. They carry out repeated activity through social media or other electronic means with intent to cause you psychological torment. They can harassment you, spread rumours about you, impersonate, body shame or leak your secrets. In all, stand firm, stay focused and understand that nobody worth your life.”

Otoide who is also the founder of Teenstyle, a teenager’s outfit, urged the participants to be studious and determined in their academic pursuit, so as to become useful members of the society.