Lagos State Is Advancing Purposeful Leadership For Young Nigerians Through The Lateef Jakande Leadership Academy

Femi Isaac

We are witnessing a significant change in the political consciousness of the Nigerian youth. More than a third of Nigeria’s 93.4 million registered voters are young people. They constitute the highest number of registered voters in the 2023 general election, after years of low turnouts.

Accompanying this change, is a growing number of young bright minds who are interested in attaining purposeful leadership positions as change agents for development. Aware of their vantage position in the country’s demography, young people in Nigeria are showing great signs that they are primed, ready and hungry to lead, but how can our society leverage this commendable willingness, for remarkable growth and prosperity for all?

In Lagos, the State Government, under the leadership of Governor Babajide Sanwoolu is sustaining a leadership development programme for young Nigerians to further develop their leadership skills in public administration and governance, through the Lateef Jakande Leadership Academy.

The idea is simple but profound. To provide an opportunity for bright minds, helping them to increase knowledge and participate in the processes of policymaking at the local, state and federal levels. On an increasing scale, the academy is consistently identifying, training and motivating a cadre of leaders who will continue to position the state as a leader, while also developing the workforce. But how credible is the platform?

For one thing, Alhaji Lateef Jakande, in whose memory the leadership academy was named, is a rare breed, a purposeful leader and an exemplary politician. In his tenure as the first Civilian Governor between 1999 and 1983, the Lagos State Secretariat, the Lagos State House of Assembly complex, Lagos State Television, the Lagos State University, among others, were all established. In describing the visionary leader, President Muhammadu Buhari once remarked that Alhaji Lateef Jakande’s imprint on the commercial nerve center of the country, Lagos and contributions to the growth of democracy and good governance would remain across generations.

By establishing the Lateef Jakande Leadership Academy, what the Lagos State Government has done is to show that good governance and leadership is solidly in its agenda and there is a conscious effort to get the youth on board and very well involved. This may be connected to the fact that the challenge of leadership and governance has plagued this country for several years and only a deliberate and organized provision can set the tone for an even greater leadership system going forward.

On a deeper insight, in conceiving the Academy Fellowship Programme, it is believed that the programme will support the immediate operational needs of the public sector and prepare the government collectively for the sector’s longer-term transformation. What this means is that the program is completely equipped to provide leadership talents that will impact greatly on public service values, practices and outcomes.

The focus on raising transformational leaders for public service and governance in Africa is what makes the vision of the Lateef Jakande Leadership Academy, especially appealing and different from all other fellowship programmes in the country. Never has there been a greater need for capable leaders who can improve the delivery of sustainable public services in Nigeria and across the continent than now.

In 2019, investments in leadership training were estimated to be $370.3 billion globally. This significant attention on capacity building is also reflected in the Nigerian system where the private sector spends millions annually developing the leadership competencies of their people. The huge gap between leadership development efforts in the private sector and public sector is worrying and it is to this end, that the academy is committed to raising leaders that will be positioned to serve the people and to transformation agents in public parastatals across the nation.

Across advanced societies, it has been proven that training and capacity development initiatives around leadership, governance and public sector administration are essential factors required for the growth and development of the public sector. This model is what the Lateef Jakande Leadership Academy seeks to explore. When properly leveraged, the Public Sector will be enriched by products of the Academy who will greatly help to drive its development and cause transformation in its processes.
About 3,312 applications were received on the academy’s website, from bright minds who have the state’s best interest at heart, when the initiative launched. All applicants were taken through a series of thorough and rigorous screening and selection process, carried out by an independent consultant adjudged to be one of the best in the industry.
The essence of the screening exercise is to ensure that only the best candidates are identified and admitted into the fellowship programme. At the end of the process only 30 candidates made it through, representing fewer than 10 per cent of the candidates that applied. Upon completion of the one-year fellowship programme, it is expected that fellows would have been able to identify their preferred leadership style and sense of purpose to serve the nation at any capacity.
They would have also gained considerable and intensive experience in leadership and governance through sessions with assigned mentors and leadership coaches, alongside one-on-one interactions with private and public sector leaders. Today, Nigerian youths are thriving globally in sports, music and even movies. It is important for this impressive global acceptance to also reflect on leadership capabilities locally and in the diaspora.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu is very passionate about the Lateef Jakande Leadership Academy, as an initiative that he takes great personal interest in. Stakeholders across the public sector are looking forward to the significant transformation that will take place, when the first set of young leaders finally emerge to take their place across diverse positions of service in the state and the country.
Femi Isaac is a communications consultant and social commentator. He writes from lagos and can be reached at olatunjiolufemi45@gmail.com