Sahara to Nurture Future Communication Leaders at UNILAG

Global energy and infrastructure conglomerate, Sahara Group has reinforced its dedication to nurturing future communication leaders, emphasising the human advantage over AI at the #MADWITHCOMMS forum at the University of Lagos (UNILAG).

The #MADWITHCCOMMS, an acronym for ‘Making A Difference with Communications’, is a Sahara Group thought leadership initiative geared towards supporting, steering and shaping young professionals for impactful careers in communications. 

This year’s theme, “Code vs. Conversation: The Human Edge in a Digital World,” challenged Mass Communication students at UNILAG to develop and deepen their indispensable advantage human skills, while leveraging unfolding technological advancements.

Sharing insights on the theme, Head, Corporate Communications at Sahara Group, Bethel Obioma, said it was imperative for comms professionals to master AI as a tool for efficiency, data, and insight, but layer over these, their unique human capabilities.

Obioma noted that contextual interpretation, emotional intelligence, ethical judgment, and empathetic communication, among others, provide the human advantage that can be the “career differentiator”.

“Within minutes, you can input some prompts and AI can help you access historical data, generate reports, and insights that inform compelling narratives. But communication is much more than data. Everyone is looking to you for the human touch that will make your output genuine, unique and impactful,” he said.

He emphasised that rather than seeing AI as a threat, young professionals should embrace it as a tool that enhances but does not replace the human edge. 

“Your ability to interpret context, understand nuances, feel the emotion behind stories, and communicate with empathy is what will set you apart,” he added. “If you can harness this human advantage, you will not only make a difference, you will also ascend beyond the zenith of your career.”The event featured engaging breakout sessions where participants were grouped into teams to examine case studies in media ethics, crisis management, advertising biases, and responsible AI implementation. They were tasked with identifying flaws in the sample materials and proposing versions that emphasized ethical, creative and engaging storytelling, and most importantly, the human edge.