Emeka Moses
The Lagos Business School Alumni Association, LBSAA, has said its forthcoming Alumni Day Conference will bring together business leaders, policymakers, researchers and other stakeholders who will develop actionable policy recommendations to drive Nigeria’s one trillion economic transformation.
The association said the conference, scheduled for November 12 and 13, 2026, with the theme “Driving Nigeria’s Economic Transformation Through Leadership, Capital & AI-Driven Innovation,” will hold at Lagos Business School.
Speaking at a press briefing in Lagos on Monday, to announce the association’s Homecoming Weekend, LBSAA President and MD/CEO Neimeth Pharmaceuticals Plc, Valentine Okelu, said, “The conference was designed to move beyond discussions of Nigeria’s economic challenges and generate recommendations capable of influencing policy”.
According to him, the association brings together members and other stakeholders with the capacity to discuss and influence economic policies.
He said: “We use the Alumni Day conference as a platform to bring members of the alumni, friends and other key leaders in different sectors, even if they are not members of the Alumni Association, but are in positions to discuss and influence policies in our economy. We bring them together to discuss particular topics with the aim of coming up with blueprints that will influence the way the country is run.”
The conference will be chaired by Prof. Pat Utomi, while Chairman of Pan African Capital Ltd, Chris Oshiafi, will deliver the keynote address.
Other speakers include Professor of Economics at LBS, Prof. Bongo Adi, Africa Economist, Dr Rafiq Raji, CEO of United Capital Asset Management, Dr Odiri Oginni.
President of the host OMP40 class and Founder/Group CEO of Microware Solutions Limited, Michael Ekeagbara, said, “The three pillars of the conference, leadership, capital and AI were critical to Nigeria’s economic ambitions”.
He said: “There is no growth without leadership. Leadership is there to give vision and guide execution as we plan and work together towards growing Nigeria’s economy.
“Of course, capital is very crucial. We need capital to fuel whatever policies, whatever economic growth that we have planned as a country.”
On AI, Ekeagbara said, “Its adoption should be viewed as an opportunity to improve productivity rather than a threat to jobs. There was no economy with a serious future plan that could afford to ignore AI, adding that the conference would seek to translate discussions around the technology into practical recommendations”.
Ekeagbara said, “The association, with more than 11,000 members across the public and private sectors, wanted to use the experience of its members to contribute to national development.
“This is not just an event for LBS to come and discuss. It’s an event with the objective of giving back inputs that will help shape Nigeria’s policy towards economic growth,” he said.
Meanwhile, LBSAA Vice-President, Wole Abu, said, “The association’s growing membership and international chapters had expanded the reach of Lagos Business School beyond its physical campus”.
He said LBSAA now had chapters in the United Kingdom, United States and Canada, in addition to its regional chapters in Nigeria.
Abu also disclosed that more than 400 new alumni members were expected to join the association by December.
He said the association had previously used its conferences to engage political leaders on national issues, adding that it hoped this year’s discussions would also contribute to the national conversation ahead of the 2027 elections.
The Alumni Day Conference is the intellectual component of the association’s Homecoming Weekend, while the President’s Dinner, scheduled for November 13 at Harbour Point, Victoria Island, will provide an informal platform for networking and mentorship among alumni.
Chairperson of the dinner organising committee, Nkoli Okoli, said, “The dinner would bring together retired leaders, serving executives and younger professionals under the theme “Leadership and Resilience in the New Frontier.”
She said the gathering would allow participants to continue business conversations that may not have been concluded during the conference.
Okoli said: “It’s not just about good food. It’s all about leadership and getting people to interact.”
The President’s Dinner will also feature the inauguration of the association’s new executives.
