A visually impaired student, Okeoghene Jane Akpaeva, has graduated with distinction from the QHSES Leadership Academy, highlighting the institution’s efforts to expand access to professional education for people with disabilities. Akpaeva was among 719 students who graduated at the academy’s fifth convocation and anniversary ceremony held in Lagos.
The tuition-free academy said it had graduated 1,966 students since its maiden class in 2022, with its human-capacity development programme aimed at removing economic and physical barriers to professional training.
Founder of the academy, Jamiu Badmos, an engineer, said the institution was established to identify potential and create opportunities for people who might otherwise be excluded from professional development.
‘Our philosophy is simple yet profound: when opportunity meets potential, lives are transformed, leaders are developed, and the future is strengthened,’ Badmos said.
He said the academy’s commitment to inclusion extended beyond admitting people with disabilities to creating an environment where they could develop their skills and compete with other students on merit.
‘There is ability in disability,’ Badmos said, urging employers to look beyond physical conditions when assessing qualified candidates.
The academy’s inclusion programme has expanded alongside its growth. In 2023, 10 visually impaired persons were among its 272 graduates.
For Akpaeva, graduating with distinction represented a significant personal achievement despite the challenges associated with visual impairment.
‘As a visually impaired student, now a graduate, my journey has not been easy,’ she said, adding that her achievement demonstrated that limitations should not determine a person’s destiny.
The 2026 graduating class also produced another milestone, with Oderemi Olufunke Mary emerging as the academy’s first female overall best graduating student in five years.
Mary, a mother of twins, combined the leadership programme with a master’s degree in biomedical engineering at the University of Ilorin.
She attributed her achievement to discipline, persistence and making the most of opportunities for personal development.
Prof. Simeon Adebayo Oladipo, immediate past Dean of the Faculty of Education, University of Lagos, and convocation lecturer, said institutions such as the academy could contribute to national development by producing competent professionals.
‘Without competence capital, good character has good intentions but no means of execution,’ Oladipo said, stressing that national transformation required citizens who were both trustworthy and competent.
Also speaking, Agomeze Saint Chukwuemeka, known as Saint of Africa and National Leader for Gen Z in Nigeria, challenged the graduates to use the opportunities they had received to contribute to national development.
He urged them to shift from asking what Nigeria could offer them to considering what they could contribute to the country.
The academy said its training model combines professional skills with critical thinking, character development, social responsibility, innovation and leadership, with the goal of preparing graduates to create impact in their workplaces and communities.
More than N5 million in cash prizes were also presented to outstanding graduates at the convocation through contributions from sponsors and well-wishers.
The academy said the latest graduation reinforced its belief that investment in human capital could generate benefits beyond individual graduates by strengthening families, communities and industries.