Amid multiple leadership challenges currently overwhelming the country, Lagos state government through the Lateef Jakande Academy has commenced the process of preparing 30 youths for leadership roles in the country.
At the commencement of the fellowship programme in the state, the Lagos State Head of Service, Mr. Hakeem Muri-Okunola said that Nigerian youths should deliberately be equipped with leadership skills, abilities and capabilities so that when they are called upon for leadership roles, they would have be equipped with relevant skills to excel in those roles.
Muri-Okunola while interacting with the 30 fellows of the Lateef Jakande Academy at their camp said the fellowship, which is a 12-month long programme, is aimed at helping the youth fill the leadership deficit in Lagos and by extension Nigeria.
Muri-Okunola called on the youths to imbibe the spirit of public service, togetherness, team spirit, keeping the eyes on the ball and remaining focussed as they journey through life.
“This academy is one of the babies of Governor Sanwo-Olu to engage the youths to imbibe the spirit of public sector service. It is an intense and rigorous 12-month programme for the fellows to go round the entire public service, shadowing cabinet members and body of permanent secretaries to understudy the workings of the public service, workings of government and its hierarchical and bureaucratic nature.”
He added that the fellows are also expected to go on international tours to see how public service is rendered in other climes, disclosing that the fellows will be going to Singapore to study the public service in Singapore.
“This is to see what they can learn and bring back home.
The Executive Secretary of the academy, Mrs. Ayisat Agbaje-Okunade, said that the target is to ensure that the fellows become better versions of themselves and ultimately be change agents for the country.
“One of our biggest challenges is the challenge of leadership and we hope that we are building people in order to fill that gap of leadership through tutoring them in the process of leadership and how they can take up those roles to be effective Nigerians and be change agents in everything they do.
“We want the next generation of young people to be serious agents. It is important for the youths to put their energy into good use,” Agbaje-Okunade said.
She noted that the selection process was based on merits, to bridge the gap of leadership as youths, make them a better version of themselves and to change Agents in the Society as they take up leadership roles.
On his part, the Permanent Secretary, Lands, Bode Agoro who commended Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s administration for providing a conducive environment for the Fellows of the academy to learn, urged them to embrace the great opportunity offered to them in the Civil Service to learn about leadership and governance.
Some of the Fellows of the Academy expressed their gratitude to the Lagos State government and their readiness to explore the opportunity given them to make a positive impact in leadership.
The fellows who are vibrant youths, cut across different professions, including Teaching, Engineering, Medicine, Creative Industry, Data Analyst, Economist, among others and they are expected to be mentored for a period of twelve months.