The Ekiti State governor, Mr Biodun Oyebanji has advocated for basic leadership training and education for Nigerian school children.
The governor said such with their innate traits equipped, prepared them and made them suitable for the positions of authority in the future.
Oyebanji, who spoke in Ado Ekiti at the grand opening of the Domfas International Leadership Academy, founded by Dr. Tunji Arowolo, said Nigeria has long continued to gamble with leadership selection through a trial-by-error system.
He decried a significant problem with leadership recruitment in Nigeria: People sometimes find themselves in leadership positions without the right aptitude and attitude.
He said, “Good leadership is one of the most commonly identified challenges, which many view as our major problem. The late legendary literary giant China Achebe once famously remarked in one of his books that the trouble with Nigeria is a failure of leadership.
“However, whereas we have rightly identified the problem leadership, only a few people have identified the solution to this problem.
“It is my pleasure to thank this academy, the president, and the vice president for showing the rest of us the way out. It is often said that if you want to change a society, teach it what you want it to change.
“Yet, the best leaders are those who have been trained, tested, and exposed to the nitty-gritty of leadership, as well as instability.
“For people to succeed today, real and special training in the art and science of leadership is necessary. I, therefore, subscribed to the argument that people should, of necessity, first go through an institute of leadership like the one being commissioned today before they can lead at certain levels of society.
“The vision of DOMFAS must be commended as it will further complement our continued efforts to prepare Ekiti with a league of future leaders who have been well exposed and trained on the roles and responsibilities of a leader.
“Our strategy as a state was to evolve a curriculum that prepares our future leaders for leadership competence right from the primary school”.
Addressing the gathering, the president and founder of the academy, Dr Arowolo, aligned with the governor on the challenge of leadership, saying that it is the reason for the establishment of the academy, which offers a blended scheme of the American and Nigerian curriculum in Ado Ekiti, so that we can begin to teach the basic tenets of quality leadership.
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