Motivational speakers have urged Nigerian youths to see themselves as leaders of today and not tomorrow.

They should also not use the failure of past and present leaders as a reason to stop their personnel learning and development. Rather, they should strive towards financial and spiritual independent by building on their potentials and becoming useful members of the society.

These were the admonitions of speakers at the Re-definers Leadership Symposium held in Lagos. Organised by the youth group of the Place of Refuge parish of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Oshodi, Lagos, the event focused on “Leadership, Building Values and the Role of Youths in Nation Building.” Speakers included Pastor Femi Emmanuel, Convener of Youth Arise for Change Conference; Mrs Oluwaseun Owikoh, writer and song composer; and Holiness Ekpe, Founder of Lions Den Academy, a leadership training institute. Others were Mrs Loretta Udemba, a life coach and change management specialist; and David Oluwafemi Atere, Convener of the Re-definers Platform.

Emmanuel said that the youths would become influential if they worked on developing their potentials rather than build only their credentials. He charged them to aim at taking over the Nigerian economy the way they had controlled the entertainment industry. In his words: “The youths have the potentials to lead Nigeria to the promise land. They only require a push.”

He identified three major problems of youth development as unpreparedness for leadership, greed and wrong values. He said that the advent of technology had made personal development more possible now than in the past. “Change will always give something to you and you should consider what you would give in return,” Emmanuel admonished.

On her part, Owikoh said that leaders should be part of the solution by positively affecting the economy and creating an effective work plan to encourage the youths to realise their full potentials. In her words: “We need to look into our performance management and reward system. A lot of organisations don’t take coaching and mentoring seriously. Training is very important, whether the times are good or bad.”

Ekpe said that the youths must be empowered in order to achieve success in nation building. “And for this to be done, we have to reset the foundation, build values and instil moral consciousness and discipline among our youths, then create an enabling environment for self-actualisation through various skills acquisition programmes,” he explained.

For Atere, the youths should think globally and build locally to attain leadership position.

The Re-definers is a platform to raise the consciousness of the youths to be spiritually, morally and financially independent. The forum encourages young talents to be agents of change who can have positive impact on the society.

•Photo shows, L-R; Pastor Femi Emmanuel, Convener of Youth Arise for Change Conference; Mrs Oluwaseun Owikoh, writer and song composer; David Oluwafemi Atere, Convener of the Re-definers Platform; Mrs Loretta Udemba, a life coach and change management specialist; and Holiness Ekpe, Founder of Lions Den Academy; at the Re-definers Leadership Symposium organised by the youth group of the Place of Refuge parish of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Oshodi, Lagos.

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