Wiggins Toyin Phyllis - Her Story Matters

Wiggins Toyin Phyllis is the Founder of The Change Makers Leadership and Mentoring Initiative, a platform that empowers and provides supportive leadership for young emerging leaders. This initiative has grown into a network of 8000 + young leaders across the globe.

She is also the Co-founder of walking in the mission which cares for the Internally displaced persons, orphans, widows and less privileged people.

She is a Board member of various institutions and member of the Actor’s Guild of Nigeria. She is a Producer,Director,Actress and chaperone for beauty queens. Toyin is the producer of the First Face of Automobile industry in Nigeria.

She is Project coordinator for Advocacy for Widow’s Empowerment Foundation in Lagos. A recipient of Plateau Leadership award.

She is passionate about raising ethical leaders who will drive innovation and change their communities using the sustainable development goals. She is married and blessed with children.

I hail from the land labelled with the motto “Liberty and Service” Osun State. I was born in the mid 60’s to the family of Mr and Mrs Oyediran from Ikirun in Ifelodun Local Government area of Osun State.

I was born in the city of Kaduna in Northern Nigeria, the City of Learning, which houses one of the most prominent educational institutions in Nigeria, Ahmadu Bello University popularly known as ABU Zaria. The primal phase of my life was in Kaduna where I had my primary school education before proceeding to a state called Kogi for my secondary school education. Shortly after my secondary school education, I returned to Kaduna State to further my education. I went ahead to bag an academic strata in Spinning in the department of Textile Technology from Kaduna State Polytechnic.

When I was done with Polytechnic, I moved to a city located in middle belt Nigeria which has been over the years loved for its cool weather, Jos Plateau State. I have always loved to explore all my talents and hone my skills and the reason I studied TV/ Film Production in Jos.

Please tell us about the biggest challenge in your life and how you overcame.

Life throws several shades of challenges as we progress. How best we handle it determines the colour of the future we are planning or have already planned as the case may be.

My greatest challenge was taking a drastic decision to be with the wrong person, someone who didn’t want to be with me. The decision had a very heavy toll on me for a while. I am glad I was able to heal. So many who find themselves in such a position take a lifetime to heal. We grow and we learn. That is the beauty of life.

This was certifiably overwhelming for me, for a long time I couldn’t get my life together. It upended my progress and thrusted me on a downward spiral. Don’t fall under pressure to get into a relationship or get married to someone who is not meant for you. It comes with a lot of bitter experiences and life changing outcomes.

One day God spoke to me; that He was going to use what I love to heal me.

He said I should take my box and go to a studio to take pictures. I did just that and took 550 shots and divided them into 5 segments and laced each of them with “Music of the Masters”. Each day for 3 consecutive months I watched the video and continuously spoke life unto myself. It was a healing process and it took a while before I got healed and my life took a new turn for good. This was a drastic turning point for my life.

Let me reiterate that we must all have the God factor to sail through challenges of every sort. In my case Jesus held me tightly in His grips and turned my life around to showcase His glory.
Never be ashamed of your story, it has the power to heal others in similar situations.

What are you passionate about?

I am passionate about empowering the next generation, facilitating their personal development and enabling their voices to be heard so they can become persons of influence in their world. I am awed by the authenticity in the power of young people. We must help them use this power right.

To bring about such revival, I am open to mentoring young global leaders. I call them Change Makers, people who shun trends to tackle an enigma. It gives me so much joy to see the young ones lead. If we raise them well, they will do better!

What does ethical leadership look like to you?

Integrity is the core base of what ethical leadership should look like. It is the true mark of leadership coloured by trailblazers who are undaunted in saying the truth. I think a true leader must have integrity first before he or she can pick up quality values. Integrity is respecting yourself first, others and the image you hold dear which is of valuable status.

I believe that having a leader regardless of age, who is steadfast in keeping good values we all hold dear, will enable us to start changing mindset one person at a time. Don’t wait for support! We all have a part to play in effecting change. I think the major value for ethical leadership to be directed by is Integrity. If people can be true to themselves and people around them, we won’t have shady dealings either as leaders or followers. Transparency can only be effective where integrity is lord. Ethical leadership for me must be directed by integrity, character trust,charisma, respect and fairness. This will provide a strong personal foundation for what we believe in.

What are the biggest challenges you have observed that emerging leaders face?

The biggest challenges emerging leaders face is emotional intelligence, this is not only in emerging leaders but also leaders in position.

Emotional intelligence deals with studying emotions and handling your own emotions as a leader. Leaders especially need to understand that people will troll or disagree with them. Having emotional intelligence over your oppositions automatically changes the game for you without you speaking. I am not saying don’t speak, but only do that when necessary because as leaders people model your actions. Emotional intelligence is indeed a game changer.

What drives you?

The soothing notion that my actions and voice is influencing future generations gives me more focus to keep being an impact maker because change begins with me.

Most times at the brink of giving up, every leader is reminded of the passengers he has on the train, so many special destinies are sent to deliver a message. If the leader fails, he fails them as well. A leader is not just for himself or herself he shares in the burden of so many people who look up to them. This is why giving up is a future impossible tense. My Voice matters! My actions speak!

What legacy do you want to leave behind?

After this whole movie is over and the breath of life is sniffed out of my lungs, I Toyin Phyllis Wiggins would love to be remembered as a poured out wine, someone who spent her talents on others; someone who lived her life to the fullest as a beacon of light -guiding others to the truth
of their existence.

I believe that kindness can change lives and heal wounds we are not even aware of. By lending out my voice and spinning the philanthropic wheel in my capacity to so many people is also one of the things you want to be remembered for. All that matters is making a mark, even though you may not get popular doing that. The goal is not to get famous anyways but reach out to so many as well as impacting values in their lives.

If your mind is centred on popularity you might miss the baton of actually fulfilling destiny. Popularity fades, legacy remains. I choose legacy but, if it’s coming with popularity then it’s a double boxed gift! I am a Changemaker and change begins with me.