Former Minister of Education, Dr Oby Ezekwesili and the Founder of the Citadel School of Government, Pastor Tunde Bakare, have noted the need to groom a new generation of leaders who are grounded in values, equipped with the competencies to champion good governance, and are completely called to nation-building.
The duo made the call on Saturday at the official opening of the CSG and the onboarding of the pioneer class of its Advanced Diploma in Public Leadership and Statecraft program, organised in partnership with the University of Lagos Business School.
The event was held at the Citadel Multipurpose Hall, Oregun, Ikeja, Lagos.
Recall that the UNILAG Business School and the CSG signed a Memorandum of Agreement in June to launch a nine-month Advanced Diploma program in Public Leadership and Statecraft.
The MOA was signed by the UNILAG Vice-Chancellor and Registrar, Prof. Folasade Ogunsola, and Mrs. Victoria Wickliffe; and the Founder/Board Chairman of CSG, Pastor Tunde Bakare, and the Company Secretary, Mr Tope Adebayo.
Ezekwesili, who delivered the keynote lecture at Saturday’s opening ceremony, lamented what she described as the “democratisation of corruption” in Nigeria, noting that the country could not continue to pretend in the face of institutional decay.
She decried the ‘institutionalisation of corruption,’ noting the need to nurture an army of nation builders committed to nation-building and reversing the country’s failures.
She said, “We have no business to fail; failure is not our destiny. However, all existing institutions in our country are struggling. Corruption is corrosive. For years, people carried on as though they did not see what was happening until it festered and became systemic, democratised. Now everybody says, ‘If you can’t beat them, join them.’ Join who?
“We must stop normalising corruption. No matter how competent you are, if you lack character, you will go nowhere. Building Nigeria requires people who are restless about nation-building, people willing to take a stand when others choose compromise.”
On his part, Bakare said the programme was established to bridge the leadership gap in Nigeria’s public sector governance by equipping young people with the values and tools for effective governance.
Bakare said, “Our mission is to raise nation builders like you—leaders grounded in values and equipped with the competencies to champion a new philosophy of governance across diverse spheres of public leadership.
“With your admission into this programme, I am confident that Nigeria is about to experience a new wave of transformative leadership across sectors.
“With your induction into this program, I do not doubt that a new breed without greed, a radical opposition to corruption, and a cohort of changemakers is about to be equipped for high visibility and maximum impact.”
Bakare emphasised that the partnership with the University of Lagos would ensure that participants benefited from both academic rigour and practical exposure to governance.
“With the strategic deployment that will result from your participation in and conclusion of this program, I am convinced that the first fruit of a unique breed is about to emerge to begin to lead the change Nigeria needs at all levels, from the local to the subnational to the national to the continental to the global.
“By taking this initial step, we are on course to bridge the leadership gap in public sector governance in Nigeria, Africa, and, by extension, across the globe,” he said.
“We will do this by providing current public sector leaders with exposure to cutting-edge tools for continuous development and by facilitating the mobility of quality leadership from the private to the public sector.”
Bakare urged the participants to brace themselves for the vigorous nine months ahead.
“You have just accepted the call of destiny by joining this pioneer cohort. The road will not be easy, but the opportunities for service and leadership will present themselves both during and after this training,” Bakare said.
He commended the University of Lagos Business School and its leadership for collaborating with Citadel School of Government, saying the partnership was “a model of how the ivory tower can meet the policy roundtable to generate solutions.”
He added, “While the University of Lagos Business School offers you access to the highest cadre of academic competencies, we at Citadel School of Government bring you access to our rich public governance networks as well as our think tank operations, which have facilitated our nation-building engagements through the years.”
The Advanced Diploma in Public Leadership and Statecraft will combine classroom learning with field engagement, mentoring and policy simulation, aimed at producing leaders who can think globally and act locally.
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