By Mary Longwa
As Nigeria awaits the new sets of elected leaders to take over the reins of the country for the next four years, stakeholders say it is never too early to start grooming youth for leadership roles.
This assertion was made by Dr. Ike Eliaku, who is Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Price for Leadership, when students of the Faculty of Management Sciences, University of Jos, visited him during a field trip to the organization.
Eliaku further pointed out that Nigeria has not invested in formal training and grooming of leaders, which according to him, will constitute a huge national disaster if the country does not begin to intentionally groom young people for leadership roles.
Speaking with the President of the Management Science Students Association (MASSA), UniJos Chapter, Samson Naantong observed that most leadership problems arise from a lack of fundamental knowledge of what leadership involves.
To him, this underscores the essence of the excursion as a means of concretizing students of management sciences who would become future leaders.
Vice President of the association, Blessing Rinret also noted that many mistakes from past leaders would be averted if young leaders are visionary and properly mentored in the art of leadership.
In a conversation with UniJos Echo, Sule Paulina Ada a 300l student from accounting appreciated the students association for the initiative and indicated that it will be a source of inspiration and reawakening for them to understand and employ standards in future leadership roles.
The Nigerian Prize for Leadership (NPL) is an organization that seeks to establish a new culture that promotes excellence in leadership and an institution that raises the bar for leaders.
Photo Credit: Mary Longwa
