2023: Cleric Sets Agenda for Next President, Others on Youth Devt

Peter Uzoho

Founder and Lead Pastor of Lagos-based David Christian Centre (DCC), Kingsley Okonkwo, has charged the next Nigerian leaders, including the president, governors and other political office holders, to make education and development of young people, a major part of their agenda.

He decried the deficiency in Nigeria’s leadership, saying the time had come for the country to get better leadership that would transform the country.

Okonkwo spoke in Lagos, weekend, at the Myles Leadership University’s 2022 Convocation, where he was conferred with honorary Doctor of Philosophy in Transformational Leadership, in recognition of his outstanding contribution in the areas of youth development, spiritual leadership, mentorship, leadership, and philanthropy. 

While noting that Nigeria and Africa has been backward in the area of education, he said the situation should be a wake-up call for everyone to pay attention to education as the bedrock of human and national transformation.

“Definitely, Nigeria has been a bit deficient in the leadership arena. But I believe we are at the turn of the season, when leadership could get better, thank God for schools like Myles Leadership University and other institutions that are helping to build leadership. I believe we are at the turn of the season, when leadership will become better and better in Nigeria and in Africa as a whole.

“We have been a bit backward educationally as a continent. So, I think it’s just a wake-up call that we should pay attention to education, because that is how you build people’s mind and it’s those minds that will now build the country.

“So, we definitely have not paid much attention to education and I think it’s high time we paid attention to that. Whoever is the next government coming in has to put priority on developing minds of young people,” he said.

Noting that Nigeria’s problem had gone beyond just leadership failure  in government, the cleric noted that, leaders come from families and therefore,  there was need to work through the families and help people become better human beings that would ultimately translate into good leaders.