Oscar Kambona
Pastor-in-Charge and founder, Living Waters Unlimited Church, Rev Ladi Thompson has said that for Nigeria to survive from its present quagmire there is a need for synergy of leadership across its generation.
This is as the regional representative of Ford Foundation for West Africa; Innocent Chukwuma also advocated for the creation of effective business partnerships among professionals as part of the solution to take the country out of the brink.
Both speakers made their positions known at the 2nd Annual Lecture of The Niche Newspaper in Lagos on Tuesday.
The duo were among the discussants on the paper presented by the eminent Guest speaker, Prof. Anya O. Anya on the theme: Business and Accountability Governance: The Obligation of Leadership.
Ladi expressed worry that Nigeria has been bedeviled with leadership failure and harped on the need for a synergy of leadership across its different generations so as to transfer leadership lessons.
He argued against the alleged vision of the nation’s founding fathers, insisting that Nigeria never had founding fathers but liberation fathers while the onus is on the young generation to take charge in the direction of leadership.
The versatile clergy also observed that the war against corruption in Nigeria was dead on arrival, with the devaluation of human worth on the increase.
“There is an urgent need for synergy across generations of Nigerians so as to transfer leadership lessons to the younger youth who will take the country to where it is expected to be. The truth is that we never had founding fathers rather liberation fathers.
“For me, the much talked about the war on corruption is dead on arrival because what we have is the devaluation of human worth that is worse than corruption and will drive corruption. We do not have an acculturation programme for a Nigerian leader that will emerge rather we have different ethnic acculturation, Igbo, Yoruban Hausa, Efik name them. There is a need to search for active talents and empower them for the leadership of the 21st-century demands which is knowledge-driven”.
But Innocent Chukwu, while bringing to bear other world examples that took place, for instance in New York, South Africa among other countries harped on the need for effective business partnership among the high-profile business class for intervention, so as to salvage the country towards its south movement.
