Dr. Tony Orji, the President/ Founder, Success Tonics International, a platform for training young people to make a positive difference in their generation has trained students of the University of Nigeria Nsukka on impactful and transformative leadership.
The one-day Economics Leadership Summit (ECO Leadership Summit)
held on Monday at UNN with the theme “Making of a Transformative and Impactful Leader”.
Delivering a lecture on tthe theme of summit, Orji who is an Associate Professor Economics, at the Department of Economics UNN said that, Nigeria is in need of great and impactful leaders who would turn around the economic fortune of the country and change the society positively.
He said that the vision of the summit was to raise global transformative and impactful leaders with excellent mindset and characters and described leadership as the ability to know the way, show the way and go the way.
“I am inspired to convene this summit given that our country is in dire need of good leaders and one of the major problem we are facing as a country is poor leadership.
“If we have transformative leaders that have interest of the masses at heart some of the ill happenings in our communities, country and society now will not happen.
“Training young people on leadership roles is a way of catching them young that when they become an adult and take elective or appointment positions, or become managers and captains of industry they will be able to make transformational change.
” The level of decay, bribery and corruption that is prevalence in our society among some of our leaders will not make our country to among top economics in the world.
” We want to get it right in this formative years, we thought it wise that this is the right time to start sowing the good leadership seed so as to catch young.” he said.
The don explained that a good leader must demonstrate high level character, integrity and honesty, as a leader you must continually learn and grow as well as build strong relationship with people with effective communication skills.
“So, I urged you all to imbibe transformational leadership, which is inspirational, visionary, and innovative,” he said.
Orji listed Nelson Mandela of South Africa, Mahatma Gandhi of India, Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore, among others as some exemplary and transformational leaders who impacted their country and humanity positively.
Speaking, Mr Innocent Eleke, a Lead Pastor at Province of Grace Ministries International (PGMI), Nsukka said that a leader must be open to learning at all time since their decision would either make or mar in their leadership positions.
“A leader must be open to learning ready to sacrifice all time if he/she wants to be a servant leader, you must consider the people you are serving first before yourself especially when you want to make critical decisions.
“The problem with some of our leaders is that they sorround themselves with sycophants and a wrong people who will not tell them the truth because of what they are benefiting from them, ” he said.
Eleke, however, urged the participating students not to be discouraged by the myriad of societal ills in the country but they should prepare themselves as agents of change and better tomorrow through their leadership roles.
In a remark while declaring the summit open, Prof. Chidi Nzeadibe, Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences, UNN, described the convener (Orji) as not only being impactful to the department of economics but to students, faculty and the entire UNN.
Nzeadibe commended Orji for organising the leadership summit for students aimed at making them transformational and impactful leaders in whatever positions they may find themselves now and future so as to make a difference in society.
“I commend organiser of the summit for catching them young to imbibe excellent leadership qualities that will make them great leaders.
“I urge the students to avail themselves of this great opportunity to be transformative leaders who will lead by example and integrity in any position they find themselves,” Nzeadibe,” said.
Our correspondent reports that, the participants of the summit were draw from different departments in UNN.
Some students interviewed described the summit as a unique leadership training that have exposed them to the roles and qualities of a good leader.
They promised to share with other students in their departments on what they have learnt on how to be a good leader in society.
