Building a New Nigeria
In partnership with America’s Yale University, Nigeria Leadership Initiative, a frontline non-profit public interest institution continues to create leaders with vision for a better country. Solomon Elusoji writes
In partnership with America’s Yale University, Nigeria Leadership Initiative, a frontline non-profit public interest institution continues to create leaders with vision for a better country.
The curse of bad leadership has been blamed for the delay in Nigeria’s development and progress. It has been an agelong conversation that many generations are now tired of. In his epochal book, There Was a Country, one of Nigeria’s finest men of letter, Chinua Achebe, underlined the need for strong, effective and honest leadership, if the country is going to ever move forward.
And with the general elections now over, many have continued to raise the germane question of whether it will be possible to have better leaders from the incoming government. That question and many others have been the reason for Nigeria Leadership Initiative’s tenacity in its work.
A public interest organisation with deliberate focus on raising leaders from one generation to the other, NLI recently gathered together some accomplished individuals from Nigeria for a training and conversation on leadership in the United States.
For NLI, it’s all about creating a growing, global network of credible, accomplished community-spirited Nigerian leaders who are committed to taking responsibility for driving positive change in the country and importantly to help solve the leadership conundrum.
Described as senior fellows, NLI’s new inductees are home-grown with successful career and credible names. For instance, Chidi Odinkalu, a professor of law and Chairman, National Human Rights Com- mission (NHRC), is one of the 14 inductees.
In 2012, when Odinkalu was appointed to lead the NHRC, he publicly declared his asset. He listed the two cars he owns as a Toyota RAV 4 he bought in 2004, and a Kia Rio purchased a year after. His two houses include a mortgaged 3-bedroom mid-terrace house in Edmonton, and another 4-bedroom semi-detached house in Lekki, Lagos.
According to reports, the NHRC chairman also said he had four accounts – two with Standard Chartered Bank in Nigeria with cash balances of N94,000 and $11,700 respectively. He operates the other two with Barclays Bank of the United Kingdom. The two accounts have cash balances of £7,752 and £4,562 respectively.
He was also said to have revealed that the other account he operates with Royal Bank of Scotland was overdrawn. Odinkalu also revealed that he has a personal pension plan, shares and stocks valued at about N3million in addition to a 27kva generator and a 7.5KVA inverter.
That act naturally increased the trust that people had in Odinkalu over the years. So showcasing such example for nation building is important to NLI.
On its website, the NLI defined its role as a “platform for credible, accomplished and uniquely patriotic Nigerians to develop and express values-based leadership skills with the aim of assuming a transformative role in the continuous development of Nigeria.”
Consequently, on April 25, along with Odinkalu, 13 other accomplished leaders from Nigeria were inducted into its class of senior fellows. The occasion was graced by the former Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, Justice Margaret Marshall, with the Permanent Representative of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to the United Nations, Ambassador Joy Ogwu as the special guest of honour. It was held at the Yale School of International Affairs, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut.
“It’s been a rewarding experience. It’s very unique to see how to play a more active role in Nigeria. We should not relent but be dogged and carry on to achieve our goals,” said John Momoh, one of the inducted senior fellows and Chief Executive Officer of Nigeria’s foremost television station, Channels Television.
Another inductee and Managing Director of JNC International, Mrs. Clare Omatseye noted that she “was humbled receiving this invitation. I wasn’t too sure of what to take out of the seminar initially but coming and looking round this table, I will congratulate NLI. We’ve built friendship because we share the Nigerian dream. The course has been very inspiring both with the choice of people and speakers. Yes, we’ve learnt a lot but the internal reflection has made me better people who realise the huge responsibility leadership demands of me”.
A public interest organisation with deliberate focus on raising leaders from one generation to the other, NLI recently gathered together some accomplished individuals from Nigeria for a training and conversation on leadership in the United States
‘It’s really inspirational. The last time l got into this kind of group was at College. I want to challenge this class with the number of projects we have to do. I want to also thank NLI. We are stuck together,” the President, Tri-State Cardiovascular Institute P.A. Wilmington, Delaware USA, Professor Kamar T. Adeleke, said. He was also inducted.
The induction was the zenith of a threeday long seminar which ran from April 23 to April 25, which was organised by the NLI, in collaboration with Yale University. Themed “From Success to Significance: Legacy”, 14 Nigerians participated in the seminar, and it focused on the ideals and ideas that make a good society as well as value creation for a good society.
The major objectives of the seminar, according to NLI included outlining “the importance of a good legacy through individual action; engage the participants to recognise the true picture of a good society; remind participants of their responsibility to lead with values in their various roles, encourage the participants to recognise that leadership is generational and transferable, therefore stimulating the desire to mentor the younger generation.
To be sure, each senior fellow’s class comprises a cohort of highly accomplished Nigerian leaders who bring to the table years of experience and qualification to share and learn from others, drawing from readings from historical and/or other successful leaders.
The seminar was moderated by highly respected academics and practitioners such as former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State and Former Director of National Intelligence, Ambassador John Negroponte; former U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria and National Intelligence Officer for Africa, Ambassador Johnnie Carson; Professor of Military and Naval History, Professor John Gaddis; Margaret Marshall, and David Caruso of the Yale Centre for Emotional Intelligence, among others.
NLI’s Chief Executive Officer, Yinka Oyinlola noted that the “seminars were very intensive and engaging through highly intellectual discussions and debates during which participants reflected on how they arrived at success, considered their strategy for success and the adjustments they have had to make in climbing the mountain; in retrospect, how they have planned for success.
“With insight, they reflected on what they wish to be remembered for; the individual actions they will undertake to create a good legacy and ‘pass on the baton’ to the next generation and concluded with making impact using NLI as a platform to contribute to a better Nigeria.
“After the Seminar, the participants unanimously reported that they were personally renewed, professionally refocused, and better prepared to continue their leadership journey while also leaving a legacy for the next generation.”
True, the Deputy Governor, Economic Policy, Central Bank of Nigeria and an inductee, Dr Sarah Alade, observed that there was always the need to step out of the office environment sometime to converge with people with same aspiration to explore ways to build the nation.
“When you are up there in government, it can be very lonely. This seminar has shown me there are people with the same vision and idea about how to build this nation. As we go through the process of NLI Institute, I appeal that we catch them young so that when they grow, they won’t depart from it. I also want to say that please shoot the elephant when you have to,” she said.
For Dr. Bola Soyombo, the Co-founder and Head of Dental Specialist MK, UK, it was “a good experience. I’m happy l could make it. Although l live in England, l have a great passion for Nigeria. I feel very humbled and l feel galvanised to do more’. The Inductees Numbering fourteen in total, the new inducted NLI Senior Fellows cut across all walks of life. However, they have one thing in common: a passion to see the Nigerian nation flourish in the comity of states. Below is a quick, pointed preview of each inductee:
Balarabe Mahmoud, a lawyer is presently the Managing Partner of Dikko and Mahmoud Solicitors and Advocates. Mr. Mahmoud was appointed Senior Advocate of Nigeria in the year 2001. He was a former Solicitor General, and Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice in Kano State. Another Inductee, Dr. Bola Soyombo is co-founder and head, Dental Specialist MK in the United Kingdom. Dr. Soyombo is a specialist in periodontics (completing her post-graduate training at the prestigious Eastman Institute of Dental Sciences London in 1995), and also completed a law degree (LLB) in 2012. And Professor Chidi Odinkalu, a human rights advocate who once served as the head for the Africa Programme of the Open Society Justice Initiative is the Chairman, Governing Council of Nigeria’s National Human Rights Commission. Clare Omatseye who is the Founder and Managing Director of the International Award Winning Company JNC International Limited, a turnkey medical equipment project company also made the list. Mrs. Clare was recently elected the pioneer President of the Healthcare Federation of Nigeria (HFN).
Of Course, Ms. Funke Opeke, the founder and Chief Executive Officer, Main One Cable Company, whose vast experience in relationship building and telecommunication is important to NLI’s drive from change, equally made the list.
Ms. Opeke who returned to Nigeria in 2005 as the Chief Technical Officer of MTN after a twenty-year career in the United States has been a good resource to big corporations in the country. Subsequent to MTN, Ms. Opeke advised Transcorp on the acquisition of NITEL and briefly served as the interim Chief Operating Officer, NITEL.
In the media sector, John Momoh, the Chairman and CEO of Channels Television, a renowned broadcast journalist with vast industry experience spanning over three and half decades was inducted. For Professor Kamar Adeleke, the President, Tri-State Cardiovascular Institute, P.A, Wilmington, Delaware, USA; Chair and Professor of Medicine, Division of Cardiovascular Diseases, Ben Carson School Of Medicine, Babcock University, Nigeria; and Chief, Division of Cardiac Catheterization and Interventional Laboratory, University College Hospital (UCH), Nigeria, his experience and leadership skills are the reasons NLI is making him good example to others as one of its senior fellows.
Also, Dr. Okey Enelamah, the Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder of African Capital Alliance ("ACA") whose leadership skills in growing equity investments in West Africa has been responsible for many success stories, made the list.
And as a visiting Professor at the Duke Global Health Institute in the United States, Dr. Muhammad Pate, a former minister needs no introduction. He served as Minister of State for Health of the Federal Republic of Nigeria from July 2011 to July 2013. He also served as member of the President’s Economic Management Team.
The Vice President, Development and Strategy, Babcock University, one of Nigeria’s foremost private educational institutions, Mr. Kunle Iyanda who was inducted along others also has extensive experience in designing financial and strategic direction for different kinds of organisations in achieving their goals.
Olu Obaro, the Head of Department of Radiology at King George Hospital, United Kingdom was joined the list is a consummate professional. Professor Obaro has developed other services such as Nuclear Medicine and Magnetic Resonance within the department.
And Mrs. Sarah Alade, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Financial Market Dealers Quotation- Over the Counter (FMDQ-OTC), the African Finance Corporation (AFC) and the Nigerian Export Import Bank (NEXIM), has been the Deputy Governor (Economic Policy) Central Bank of Nigeria since 2007.
Others include Sola David-Borha, who is the Chief Executive Officer of Stanbic IBTC Holdings plc and Tunji Olaopa, a seasoned public servant is the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Communication Technology.
With insight, they reflected on what they wish to be remembered for; the individual actions they will undertake to create a good legacy and ‘pass on the baton’ to the next generation and concluded with making impact using NLI as a platform to contribute to a better Nigeria