Quality leadership and good governance have described as the solution to challenges facing Nigeria.
This was stressed at the Governance and Leadership Summit (GLS) tagged ‘Good Governance’ held at the Main Auditorium of Federal University Lokoja on Saturday in Lokoja.
Guest speakers and panelists at the summit emphasized the need to have good leadership quality among the youth for the country’s better future.
Speaker of Kogi State House of Assembly, Rt Honorable Matthew Kolawole, who was one of the guest speakers, said one of the major challenges the country is facing to have good leadership at various position was corruption.
Represented by his Director of Protocol, Mr Olalekan Aiyenigba, the lawmaker said the good leadership breeds positive governance and also make the state and country grow faster in development.
He added that “All institutions of power and leadership must be open to criticism, opposition parties must be allowed to air their voice in the decision making of a state and corruption must be minimized so that effect of good governance could rub on everyone and all positions of power”.
Hon Abidemi Adeyemi, a former lawmaker in Kogi State House of Assembly, in his lecture opined that it is the character of those in involve in government that determine good governance.
He said Nigerian youths have been distracted from engaging in what is beneficial to their well being which was denying them to make a good leader.
“Our youths have been wasted, they don’t face things that matters most to them, it is affecting their characters.
“Any youth who wants to make a great leader must imbibe habit of reading and must be ready to read great books to build his or her character. It is character that defines greatness, the consequences of bad governance could result to civil war when the oppressed can no longer endure and keep quiet and reaction to issues depend on time and chance, if the youth are not ready to strife for positive change in leadership and governance of this country, things will continue to get worse and the future may be under threat,” he said.
In her lecture on same topic, Dr Erelu Ronke Bello, a Havard University alumnus, explained why lack of creativity and readiness to stand for what they were due has been denying them to make a good leader.
She also charged women to break the barriers of playing second fiddle and strife to attain leadership position.
“You cannot lead if you’ve not been leading yourself, leadership is not determined by how much money one has and you can only earn leadership not given. A good leader must be able to learn things to make him/her a good leader, unlearn the bad things that can denying him a good leader and keep learning. If any youth wants to be a good leader must be creative and ready to fight for your destiny.”
Earlier in his opening remarks, the convener of the summit, Ade-Yeye Sijuade said the aim of the summit was to prepare the youths in the state with what was expected of them when they attain a leadership status and also to enlighten the members of the public how to choose who to lead them.
There were presentation of awards to some outstanding individuals in honor of their support to human development.
One of them was Kogi State Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Mrs Rosemary Ojochenemi Osikoya.
