..Says govs more prepared now for governance
Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde has described the leadership retreat organised by the Nigeria Governors Forum in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme as a means of deepening governance across the sub-national level.
Makinde who doubles as the Vice Chairman of the NGF stated this in Kigali, the Rwandan capital on Sunday following the conclusion of a three-day training on executive leadership.
Attended by 19 Nigerian State Governors at the invitation of the Rwandan President, Mr Paul Kagame; the retreat was dedicated to fostering dialogue on reimagining leadership and leveraging innovative technology, drawing inspiration from Rwanda’s transformative journey.
Themed ‘Reimagining leadership in a fast-changing world’, the participants engaged in sessions that explored Rwanda’s successful investment destination transformation in digital technology, urban planning, and socio-economic transformation, and concluded with a private dialogue with President Kagame.
A statement jointly signed by Abdulrazaque Bello-Barkindo, Director of Media at the NGF, and Christabel Chanda-Ginsberg, Head, Public Engagement, Outreach and Partnership Lead, UNDP Nigeria, quoted Gov Makinde as saying, “It has been an engaging retreat. I am glad a significant number of governors are here to be part of it so that, together, we can use the knowledge acquired.
“Our discussions have equipped us with adaptive leadership strategies and identifying pathways to effective governance and nationwide sustainable development.”
Speaking on the aim of the retreat, NGF Director General, Asishana Okauru said, “As a non-partisan organisation and policy arm, the NGF organised this gathering with the objective of fostering transformative leadership and facilitating honest, frank and open dialogue to shape the discourse on these cross-cutting themes.”
Aware of the challenges of governance and aligned to UNDP’s mandate as the lead UN agency on development, Mohamed Yahya, UNDP’s Resident Representative in Nigeria, said the gathering “Offers an opportunity to reimagine Nigeria’s leadership to achieve transformation and nationwide sustainable development.”
The retreat also focused on learning through dialogue – with sessions on rethinking leadership, leading systems, leading self, and leading to delivering, as well as learning through observation – with an interactive program exploring Rwanda’s emergence as an investment destination through visits and exchanges with innovation hub Norrsken House, the Rwanda Development Board and the Mayor of the City of Kigali.
“There is a high demand for effective leadership in Africa with recent political challenges and socio-economic crises continuing to adversely impact qualitative advancements toward the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals and the realization of the African Union’s Agenda 2063, which aspires toward a peaceful, stable, and prosperous Africa.
“Adaptability in leadership has never been so urgent, globally and in Africa. Adaptive leaders possess the unique ability to not only acknowledge the challenges that come their way but to also harness them as opportunities for growth and innovation,” the statement quoted UNDP Director of Regional Service Centre, Matthias Naab as saying.
