Experts task African leaders on people-oriented programmes

Experts have identified strategic and people oriented programmes as the only means for Africans to curtail and excel beyond the present turbulent times.

Speakers made the call in a virtual colloquium to mark the 63rd birthday organised in honour of the Minister of Interior and former Governor of Osun state, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola.

The online confab, with the theme: “Leadership in emergencies: Planning as foundation for national survival” was organised by Proumou Media Consulting, a Lagos-based media strategy firm.

Speaking during the event, a board member of the International Association of Political Consultants and a renowned political analyst, Mr. Kurtis Adigba, said being proactive is one of the critical qualities of good leadership.

Adigba said President Muhammadu Buhari’s ban on food importation and border closures might have attracted criticism, but the policies have proved to be proactive explaining.

“What would have been the situation if Nigeria was to be waiting for rice from other parts of the world if he had not banned rice importation?” he asked.

Also, another expeer, Dr. Rabiat Akande of Harvard University, who spoke on data and its importance to managing emergencies, advocated for proactive data collection as part of comprehensive planning for emergencies.

She challenged the National Assembly to legislate on data privacy and collection, just as she urged them to seek ways to make such laws native to the country.

Akande however, lauded Aregbesola for the introduction of the tablet of knowledge when he served as the governor, noting that it was a demonstration of foresight which leaders must always have.

Speaking further, Akande said that considering Aregbesola’s track record, she was convinced that service defines his work ethics.

Similarly, Dr. Alim Abubakar, a member, Advisory Board of London Business School Africa Society, contended that effective and strategic leadership remains the bane of the progress of the country.

He averred that there are four strands of leadership, namely; self, team, organisational and societal, and shared insights into how to enhance the leadership quotient across the four strands.

He articulated that to be an effective leader; one needs to embrace a growth mindset, citing Osun state as an excellent example of the visionary that Aregbesola was when he was the governor.

The academic added that a device which Aregbesola saw as critical to learning some eight years ago is a crucial device that is very useful, particularly in this unprecedented age of COVID-19.

The Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, while responding to one of the questions raised by participants, added that the tablet of knowledge is compulsory and should be encouraged by every head of government.

“Every head of government understands that tablet of knowledge is compulsory and has to be encou. It universalises education and process of it. It is the easiest way to make knowledge acquisition simpler and easier.

“It can be used by those who are not even in the conventional educational centres and those who are in conventional centres. That is the beauty of it.

“We cannot say it has reached the perfection level the tablet should be, but with the level, I took it to, it will serve several needs, but it is simply leadership. The more people that are involved in the usage of that device, the cheaper the cost.

“Besides the hardware which is continuously reduced per annum because what it cost to acquire a tablet some five years ago is costlier than what it is to acquire it today,” the minister stated.