The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), a group composed of all the 36 governors in Nigeria with the primary mandate to ensure seamless interaction among themselves and between the federating states and the Federal Government, convened yesterday in the Rwandan capital, Kigali. The visit to Kigali by the 19 serving state governors in Nigeria, who were all members of the NGF, was part of the NGF’s partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to convene a three-day executive leadership retreat for Nigerian governors at the behest of the Rwandan president, His Excellency Paul Kagame.
The retreat, the first of its kind by the NGF in Rwanda, was “dedicated to fostering dialogue on reimagining leadership and leveraging innovative technology, drawing inspiration from Rwanda’s transformative journey.”
The retreat, which was themed ‘Reimagining leadership in a fast-changing world’, was organized into sessions to effectively explore the many sides of Rwanda’s transformational success “in digital technology, urban planning, and socio-economic transformation, capping off with a candid private dialogue with President Kagame.”
In addition, the retreat will also focus on the critical requirements needed by leadership to fast-track development, such as insightful, thoughtful, and purposeful leadership, vision and innovation, planning, and commitment.
It will also involve “learning through dialogue—with sessions on rethinking leadership, leading systems, leading self, and leading to deliver—as well as learning through observation—with an interactive program exploring Rwanda’s emergence as an investment destination through visits and exchanges with innovation hub Norrsken House, the Rwanda Development Board, and the Mayor of the City of Kigali.”
Speaking about the reason behind the retreat, the Director General of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum Secretariat, Mr. Asishana Okauru, said that the “objective of fostering transformative leadership and facilitating honest, frank, and open dialogue to shape the discourse on these cross-cutting themes
The UNDP Resident Representative in Nigeria, Mohamed Yahya, said that the retreat is significant as it offers the Nigerian leadership the “opportunity to reimagine Nigeria’s leadership to achieve transformation and nationwide sustainable development.”
The retreat, which began on August 24, 2023, has been defined as enriching and engaging. His Excellency Oluseyi Abiodun Makinde, Governor of Oyo State and Vice Chair of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, said this while speaking about the accrued gains and insight the retreat offers.
In his words, “I am glad a significant number of governors are here to be part of it so that, together, we can use the knowledge acquired.”
“Our discussions have equipped us with adaptive leadership strategies and identified pathways to effective governance and nationwide sustainable development.”
The Director of the UNDP Regional Service Centre for Africa, Matthias Z. Naab, believed that global leadership in these times requires the ability to adapt.
According to him, “adaptive leaders possess the unique ability to not only acknowledge the challenges that come their way but to also harness them as opportunities for growth and innovation.”
The retreat is coming at a time in Nigeria when the failure of leadership has become a subject of concern to the citizens and questions about economic development and growth have become a major part of discourse across the country.
Over the years, Nigeria has been confronted with developmental issues caused by a lack of quality leadership. Nigeria’s poor growth and lack of vision have left the country in a ditch of underdevelopment.
Presently, Nigeria is faced with insurgency and incessant herder attacks, soaring unemployment, a mono-economic focus defined as an overreliance on oil, poverty, a high debt-to-GDP ratio crisis, and a weakening currency.
The retreat is expected to take place from August 24 to 26, 2023.
