Be role models to younger generation, Buhari charges leaders

President Muhammadu Buhari has charged corporate leaders to demonstrate good leadership qualities and act as role models to the younger generation.

He made the call in Lagos, yesterday, at the opening ceremony of the 2022 Institute of Directors’ Conference, with the theme, ‘Corporate Governance and Digital Transformation: Leading Purposely for Growth and Sustainability’.

Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, represented Buhari at the occasion, according to a statement issued by Dr. Umar Jibrilu Gwandu, Special Assistant on Media and Public Relations, Office of the AGF.

According to the statement, the President called on leaders to encourage the younger generation on innovation, capacity building and technological advancement.

He also reiterated commitment of the administration to fight corruption and ensure public discipline, while promoting good business environment through transparency in procurement and implementing policies that ensure ease of doing business in Nigeria.

“If Nigeria is to come out of its economic challenges, all hands must be on deck to ensure policies of government are implemented in the overall interest of the nation,” he said.

He said it was on this regard that the National Development Plan (NDP) 2021–2025 was developed to unlock potentials in all sectors of the economy for a sustainable, holistic and inclusive national development.

The Plan, he said, was developed by different facets of the private sector, sub-national government, civil society organisations, and is facilitated by the Federal Government.

He maintained that one of the major objectives of the NDP is to develop strong and sustainable governance structures, efficient institutions that promote citizen protection, ensure accountability, and drive productivity for sustained growth.

The President noted that critical factors, in this regard, should include equitable and efficient service delivery by public institutions.

He said, in order to achieve objectives of the NDP, the private sector has been identified as major driver of the economy, while the public sector develops the required institutional framework and enabling environment.

“It is, therefore, pertinent for both private and public sectors to continue to collaborate in the overall interest of the nation,” he added.

In his remarks, Obi of Onitsha, Nnaemeka Alfred Achebe, said the theme of the conference was apposite to current global and national circumstances, vis-à-vis the general insecurity affecting most parts of the country and serious concerns about prevailing macroeconomic framework.

The foregoing picture, one way or the other, he said, defines the situation that leaders and directors of the productive sector are grappling with to sustain businesses. He said the situation would, very likely, persist beyond the short term.

Noting that the country has significant scope for growth and enhancement, he said: “Nigeria’s digital penetration currently stands at 51 per cent of the population, ranking 15th in Africa and 45th in the world. That places us behind such fellow African countries as Ghana (53.0 per cent), South Africa (68.2 per cent), Egypt (71.9 per cent) and Morocco (84.1 per cent).”