APPBN: Akewusola to Groom Upcoming Generation as He Takes up Leadership

Mary Ekah
As Mr. Waisu Akewusola takes up the mantle of leadership at the Association of Professional Bodies of Nigeria (APBN) Lagos Chapter with an investiture held in his honour as the 4th Chairman of the professional body last Tuesday, his main focus, he said would be on the development of upcoming generation of professionals in Lagos State.

Speaking during the investiture held at the LCCI Conference and Exhibition Centre, Alausa, Lagos, Akewusola, who is currently the General Manager/Chief Executive Officer, Lagos State New Towns Development Authority, said that apart from the usual programmes of the association such as public lecture, annual Lagos professional week and so on, he would be paying more attention to the tertiary students who are already in the process of becoming professionals as well as secondary school students who are yet to choose careers.

“We shall make sure that we catch them young by way of organising structured career programmes for them in order to assist them in choosing careers that will assist the country in general and the individual students in particular in the near future,” he noted.

Akewusola who said that current war against corruption has opened cans of worm that affect all facets of the nation’s economy, revealed that the association has started a collaborative visit to media houses to address the issue, adding that the reason for this new strategy by APBN, is to have a full synergy with the fourth realm of the government. He stressed further that, “The war against corruption by the federal government cannot be fought alone unless the professionals and the press are involved. “

The importance of the profession, the APBN boss said cannot be overemphasised in any society, adding, “For an emerging economy like Nigeria in this recession, the professionals hold the ace for specialised ideas which will lead to sustainable development.

Akewusola, a proud professional who has contributed a lot to Nigerian professional bodies in general and construction industry in particular, noted that the evolvement of knowledge-based economy makes it imperative that professionals should take the lead in the economic development and governance of the nation, adding that the Nigerian government stands to benefit more in tapping from the abundant experts in all professional areas especially for policy formulation and development of strategies and implementation of policies and programmes of the government. He therefore called on Nigerians to collaborate with the government and APBN in developmental process of the nation as well as in the “great war against corruption”.

APBN is the umbrella body for all the recognised professionals in Nigeria; The Lagos chapter of the body comprised about 40 per cent of the professionals in Nigeria. Thus the professionals whose skills are available for socio-economic development of the state have been actively involved at various levels of the development of the state. These experts are found in sectors like finance, medical, construction industry, administration and other statutorily recognised fields contributing specialised knowledge for improved living condition of the people of Lagos State.