Calls for responsible, visionary, and patriotic leadership echoed strongly yesterday, as the Abuja Leadership Centre, in collaboration with the TETFUND Centre of Excellence in Public Governance and Leadership, University of Abuja, hosted a one-day Youth Leaders’ Clinic at Dennis Osadebay University, Asaba.
The clinic, themed “Empowering the Next Generation Leaders”, brought together senior prefects and student leaders from across Delta, Edo, and Bayelsa states, with a focus on nurturing civic responsibility, accountability, and ethical leadership in young people.
Delivering a goodwill message on behalf of the Delta State Government, the Commissioner for Secondary Education, Mrs. Rose Ezewu, commended the organisers for what she described as a “timely and laudable initiative.”
“At a time when our nation is in need of responsible, visionary, and patriotic leaders, such engagements are crucial in shaping the character and mindset of our young people,” Ezewu said.
She urged student leaders to embrace service as the foundation of leadership and to carry lessons from the clinic back to their schools and communities.
On behalf of the Ministry, she reaffirmed Delta State’s commitment to programmes that build leadership capacity and civic consciousness among students.
Highlighting the pedigree of the Abuja Leadership Centre, its Director, Professor Philip Dahida, explained that the centre had become a hub for advanced leadership studies and policy research, producing graduates who now serve as political leaders, bureaucrats, and senior military officers.
He emphasized that the centre’s mission was not just academic but also geared toward finding practical solutions to Nigeria’s leadership and governance challenges.
He cited examples of graduates whose research tackled critical governance issues, including the need to hold both leaders and followers accountable for Nigeria’s development challenges.
“The centre is producing leaders who are not just certificated but capable of providing solutions to policy depletion, leadership quagmires, and governance bottlenecks,” he said.
In his remarks, retired Deputy Inspector General of Police, Marvel Akpoyibo, stressed that Nigeria’s underdevelopment was primarily a leadership problem.
He advocated for early training of young people in leadership values, saying: “We are catching them young to imbibe traits that will make them better citizens of our dear country. With good leadership, development will be rapid, and Nigeria can compete globally.”
Earlier, the Coordinator of the Abuja Leadership Centre for the Edo, Delta, and Bayelsa contingent, Mrs. Winifred Elikwu, explained that the programme was designed to establish the link between citizenship, participation, and leadership.
“Citizenship gives you the values, participation gives you the practice, while leadership is the result,” she said, stressing that true leadership is citizenship in action.
The clinic combined lectures, group deliberations, and feedback exercises to ensure participants internalized the lessons. Schools were also tasked to present what their student leaders had learned at their morning assemblies and submit recorded clips as part of feedback to the centre.
The one-day event, described by participants as highly impactful, ended with a renewed call for young leaders to embrace service, integrity, and civic responsibility as the building blocks of national development.
