GOTNI announces conference to address leadership deficit in Africa

The deficit of leadership capital in Africa has been a longstanding challenge, contributing to the continent’s stagnation and underdevelopment.

It is against this backdrop that the GOTNI Leadership Centre has announced the first edition of the Africa Leadership Conference (ALC), slated to take place on the 17th and 18th of May 2024, at the prestigious Kempinski Hotel, Accra, Ghana.

Themed “Transformational Leadership: The Panacea for Africa’s Transformation,” the conference seeks to address pivotal challenges surrounding leadership development and management that have long hindered the progress of the African continent.

With Africa’s burgeoning youth population and vast resources, the imperative to reposition the continent for sustainable growth has never been more pressing.

“As the most populous black nation in the world and Africa’s giant, Nigeria recognizes the urgency to collaborate with other African countries in charting a new course for a transformed Africa,” said Linus Okorie, Chief Executive Officer of the GOTNI Leadership Centre.

He said the conference would set an agenda for the rise of the African continent.

“For quite a long time, Africa has experienced a deficit of leadership capital. And this deficit of leadership capital in the continent has cost us great shame, poverty, and disgrace.

“All over the continent, with all the resources that we have, we have not been able to make as much progress as we should.

“It is as a result of that we are beginning to have a rethink; instead of complaining, it is time that progressive leaders across Africa come together to say let us begin to create a forum, a system that will enable leadership to become a subject matter that will be discussed across the continent, with much focus on the concept of transforming our leadership,” Okorie noted.

The Africa Leadership Conference also aims to convene thought leaders, policymakers, business moguls, and changemakers from across Africa and the diaspora to deliberate on strategies for nurturing a new generation of visionary leaders.

Through keynote speeches, interactive panel discussions, and immersive workshops, the conference will explore key dimensions of leadership, including business and entrepreneurial leadership, political leadership, healthcare leadership, educational leadership, and leveraging technology for development.

Characterized as a gathering of thought leaders, this conference boasts a lineup of keynote speakers, including former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Linus Okorie, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank, Hon. Justice Mabel Segun Bello, Judge of the Federal High Court of Nigeria, George C. Fraser, Chairman and CEO of FraserNet, Inc., and Prof. P.LO. Lumumba, Chairman of The PLO Lumumba Foundation, among other luminaries.

“Our goal is to inspire a new generation of leaders for Africa, bridge the gap between Africans at home and abroad, and establish a new leadership culture that fosters socioeconomic development across the continent,” added Sam Hart, MNI, Chief Operating Officer of the GOTNI Leadership Centre.