Nigerian Youths have been urged to rise up to the responsibility of taking positions of leadership in the country and not allow themselves to be intimidated by the elders. This formed the major crux of decision reached at a recent webinar organized by the Catholic Young Adults Association, Lagos Archdiocese. Speaking at the event, Sir Leo Okafor, a legal practitioner, urged members and leaders of Church organizations and societies to always conduct their affairs with utmost diligence and accountability .
He advocated that some of the provisions in the nation’s code of corporate governance be introduced in formulating operational guidelines for use by those occupying leadership positions in the Church. Sir Okafor identified fiscal oversight and financial management as two critical practices which drive the application of corporate governance in society activities.
He likened fiscal oversight to the Parish Finance Council structure made up of parishioners with good accounting and finance background. He stressed the need for parishes to put in place a budget and an implementation plan. He equally advocated for internal control mechanisms which include subjecting collected funds and expenditures to periodic audits for purposes of accountability, fairness, transparency and responsibility. In his own paper titled, The Challenges of Contemporary Leadership and the Way to go for the Next Generation, Mr. Olaemma Opara-Signature a growth Strategist said that the Church remains a model for good leadership. Distinguishing between leadership and rulership, he said it was the responsibility of the leader to create the enabling environment for its members.
The leader, he noted, needs the people in order to validate the vision of the organization. Only recently, former President Olusegun Obasanjo advised African youth to be deliberate about taking over leadership positions from the older generations. He told the youth to actively participate in political activities with a view to take over its structure rather than being tools in the hands of their aged leaders. “Unless you squeeze out those who are in office and those who want to remain in office perpetually, some after the age of 80, unless you squeeze them out, they will not want to be out.
Similarly, Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State said that leaders in the country of various capacities have failed the coming generation, Vanguard reports. Ortom particularly mentioned that leaders have terribly failed to uphold equality and fairness as legacies for the youths to follow. The governor said that it is failure on the part of the leadership when the rule of law is selective and some politicians are regarded as sacred cows that cannot be touched, making them powerful enough to steal billions of naira without being questioned or probed.
