Keynote Address Presented by Ms. Evelyn Onyilo, President/Founder, Initiative for Women’s Accelerated Development in Africa (INWOAD) and Publisher, Phenomenal People Magazine.
Hello everyone, and good morning! I’m honored to be here today at the Capacity Building Workshop on Eye-Health and Its Relevance to Effective Journalism, organized by the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Headquarters Chapel, Abuja.
I must commend the NUJ NAN Chapel for organizing this all-important workshop. In the challenging world of journalism, taking the time to focus on professional capacity building through the lens of physical health is an act of genuine, strategic leadership. Indeed, health is wealth, and this workshop underscores that reality for every journalist.
The theme of this workshop, “Healthy Eyes for Effective Journalism,” is profound. In a world where vision often means an aspiration for the future, for journalists, vision also has a very literal, fundamental meaning. Your ability to see and clearly perceive the world is essential to your role as storytellers, truth-seekers, and chroniclers of our time.
In my address today, I want to bridge these two powerful concepts—the physical vision that keeps you healthy and the professional vision that makes you an effective leader in your field—by discussing the power of vision, leadership, and habit.
Leadership, Vision, and Habits
Leadership, at its core, is influence. You, as journalists, are leaders in your communities because you influence thought, policy, and public consciousness. Leadership requires a guiding vision—a clear, future-oriented, aspirational image of what you aim to accomplish. It’s the dream of the future that acts as the guiding principle for your actions and habits.
The Power of Vision
What is a vision? It is:
· An ideal that reflects the shared values to which an organization should aspire.
· A projected mental image of what we want to achieve.
· An internal compass that provides direction and a sense of purpose.
· Something that energizes and motivates you toward the future.
A great vision should be clear, future-oriented, and possess the ability to inspire. It’s the fuel that allows you to persist in the face of setbacks. As Steve Jobs once said, “ If you are working on something exciting that you really care about, you don’t have to be pushed. The vision pulls you.” For you as journalists, your vision might be to champion a cause, expose injustice, or simply deliver the most accurate news possible. Whatever it is, that vision is what should shape your actions.
Transforming Vision into Habit
A strong leader doesn’t just have a vision; they consistently act in ways that move their team towards that shared vision. This is where habits come into play. A habit is an action performed over and over again until it is done without conscious thought. Habits are the practical, daily engine that transforms your long-term vision into reality. They lie at the intersection of your Knowledge, Skill, and Attitude (KSA). Your leadership vision influences your habits in several powerful ways:
· Vision Guides Decision-Making: It helps you prioritize tasks and encourages clarity in your daily actions. You focus on what matters.
· Vision Establishes Consistency: It shapes regular practices that reinforce your overall objectives.
· Vision Drives Motivation and Resilience: It inspires habits of perseverance and optimism. Staying focused on your end goal helps you overcome challenges and setbacks.
Habits of Excellence
Consider the lessons from experts on success and excellence. John Maxwell’s keys to excellence include:
· Value excellence.
· Pay attention to detail.
· Display integrity and sound ethics.
· Go the extra mile.
· Never stop improving.
· Make excellence a lifestyle and habit.
Stephen Covey’s Seven Habits of Highly Effective People also provide a strong framework for your daily professional life:
1. Be Proactive: Take responsibility and initiative.
2. Begin with the end in mind: Envision your future so you can work toward it.
3. Put first things first: Evaluate the importance and urgency of each task.
4. Think Win/Win: Seek mutually beneficial solutions.
5. Seek first to understand, then to be understood: Practice empathy and effective listening.
6. Synergise: Work as a team, knowing the sum of the parts is greater than any individual member alone.
7. Sharpen the saw (Balanced self-renewal): Take care of your physical, social/emotional, spiritual, and mental well-being.
Connecting Vision, Habit, and Eye Health
Your vision, both professional and physical, is the foundation of your effectiveness. Your profession demands long hours staring at screens, pouring over documents, and keenly observing the world around you. Your personal hygiene habits must include regular check-ups. Just as you commit to learning daily and never stop improving, you must commit to maintaining your physical health.
The workshop’s offer of eye-health care services and free eye glasses is a tangible opportunity to embody the habit of excellence and self-renewal.
Do more than see, perceive. Do more than exist, live. By adopting the habits of excellence and protecting your literal vision, you empower your professional vision. You are creating the future you want to have.
I encourage all of you to not only attend the sessions on eye health but also to reflect on your habits. Ask yourselves: How are your daily habits aligned with your professional and personal vision?
Start today, Build the habits that bring your vision to life.In closing, since this workshop is fundamentally about vision and action, let me leave you with the powerful words of Tony Robbins,
“Create a vision and never let the environment, other peoples beliefs or the limits of what has been done in the past shape your decisions”
Before I end my speech, I seize this opportunity to appeal to our media organisations to ensure that journalists welfare is paramount. Their safety at their work places and the beats they cover should be top notch. Special salary schemes should be in place for them due to the hazardous nature of their work. Every journalist’s life matters.
Thank you!
Evelyn Onyilo
Abuja
15th October 2025