Sanwo-Olu, Tijani, Fashola, others task Nigerian youths on leadership

Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu; Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Mr Bosun Tijani; Former Minister of Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola (SAN) and others, on Wednesday, charged Nigerian youths to brace up for leadership challenge.

The governor and others who featured as panelists at the maiden edition of the Lateef Jakande Leadership Academy (LJLA) gave this charge at the 2024 Lagos Leadership Summit, themed: “Leadership and Nigeria’s Future,” which took place at Lekki, Lagos

Topics discussed by the panelists include: “The Nigeria We Want,” “Youths in the Driver’s Seat: Fostering Leadership Capacities for Effective Governance,” among others.

The panelists, who also included the state deputy governor, Dr Obafemi Hamzat, all implored Nigerian youths to jettison the idea of getting rich at all cost syndrome.

Governor Sanwo-Olu, in his address, said the state government had been proactive in establishing the Lateef Jakande Leadership Academy to bring about innovative strategies to solve challenges and global issues, disclosing that 30 fellows of the academy would be going to India in August to get the mix of experience.

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Sanwo-Olu, however, presented two individuals with the Lateef Jakande Leadership Academy Award based on their innovation and how they were changing the environment, even as he announced the official opening of the portal to allow the next set of fellows to have access to the platform.

Fashola, Tijani and Hamzat, in their submissions, harped on the acquisition of necessary skills by the youths for them to fit into leadership space when they had the chance.

They equally charged the youths not to limit themselves to their immediate environment in searching for knowledge but to look beyond, to compete globally.

The Executive Secretary of LJLA, Ayisat Agbaje-Okunade, in her remark, said the

The 2024 Lagos Leadership Summit was aimed at providing an opportunity for youths to learn, advocate for a better nation and shape the trajectory of leadership in Nigeria’s future.

Also speaking, the lead speaker at the event, Jumoke Oduwole, maintained that leadership was a collective effort and responsibility, urging the youths to think of what they could do to make Nigeria great as, according to her, change starts with them.