The Director-General of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Prof. Ayo Omotayo, has charged senior public officers, military and paramilitary personnel to subordinate personal and sectional interests to the collective good of the nation.

Omotayo gave the charge in a keynote address at the National Values and Leadership Course, Batch 7, held at the Institute’s permanent site in Kuru, Jos, Plateau State. The programme was organised by the National Orientation Agency (NOA) in collaboration with Tomruk iHub Multiverse and the Dakrisbenic Foundation for Unity and Development in Africa (DAFUDA), and drew 39 participants from ministries, departments, agencies and paramilitary organisations.

The D-G, who was represented by Prof. Musa Umar, Director of Research at the Institute, said Nigeria stood at a turning point where the character of its leaders, and not infrastructure or policy alone, would determine the country’s direction.

“Every nation that has risen to global prominence has done so through leaders who placed values above convenience and long-term national interest above short-term gain,” he said, describing the course as a timely intervention that offered participants a chance to recommit to ethical governance, unity and sustainable development.

Omotayo argued that Nigeria’s problem has never been a shortage of talent but a lack, at critical moments, of a unified commitment to shared values.

“Leadership was not a title that conferred influence but influence that conferred direction,” he said. “Nigeria needs leaders who rise above the logic of ethnic suspicion, leaders who reject the culture of impunity, and leaders who see public office as an opportunity to solve problems rather than a platform to acquire privilege.”

He called for value-based performance systems across public and private institutions, with integrity, transparency and accountability built into internal processes, clear ethical standards, consequences for misconduct, and rewards for exemplary conduct.

On practical follow-through, Omotayo urged participants to draw up organisational “values action plans” carrying three to five commitments tied to integrity, unity, excellence, inclusivity and environmental care, backed by quarterly review meetings and mentorship channels to help younger officers internalise ethical standards.

“Leadership becomes transformative when ideas are converted into systems, and systems are supported by consistent practice,” he said, adding that national transformation “was not a sprint but a long journey requiring patience, determination, cooperation and the courage to confront [leaders’] own limitations.”

Earlier, in his welcome address, the Director-General of the National Orientation Agency, represented by David Akoji, Director of Special Duties/States Operations, told participants that the strength of a nation lies not in military capability, economic wealth or technology, but in “the strength of its values and the character of its leadership.”

He said national values were, for the Agency, “not abstract ideals” but “practical instruments for nation-building” — a moral compass guiding public service, strengthening institutions and fostering unity in diversity.

Akoji did not mince words on the cost of failure: “Leadership without values breeds impunity. Authority without accountability weakens trust. Power without patriotism undermines national cohesion.”

He outlined the course’s objectives as reaffirming Nigeria’s foundational values, examining the ethical obligations of senior officers, strengthening value-based leadership across MDAs and the security sector, and promoting integrity, discipline, transparency and service to the public good — anchored on the National Values Charter’s five pillars: integrity and accountability; respect for the rule of law; discipline and excellence; patriotism and national unity; and service above self.

“History teaches us that societies that ignore values eventually face institutional decay,” Akoji said. “But nations that deliberately cultivate ethical leadership experience stability, growth, and lasting prosperity.”

He urged participants not to treat the course as routine. “Let it be a turning point where we renew our commitment to ethical leadership and national rebirth.”

Returning to Omotayo’s address, the NIPSS D-G described Nigeria’s cultural and demographic diversity as a resource that could unlock innovation and resilience if leaders promoted inclusion in recruitment, representation and decision-making. He also urged ministries, corporations and communities to build environmental responsibility into their operations through waste management, responsible energy use and protection of natural resources.

He called for a revival of civic responsibility through deliberate citizen engagement and urged leaders to invest in civic education that strengthens trust in institutions and inspires young people to see national service as an honourable path.

Omotayo commended the National Orientation Agency, Tomruk iHub Multiverse and DAFUDA for creating the platform, and the 39 participants for choosing to invest in values and leadership, expressing hope that they would leave with “the wisdom to lead with courage, the humility to learn and the clarity to place Nigeria above personal or sectional interests.”

Tomruk iHub Multiverse, the Abuja-based institutional capacity firm that served as an implementation partner, with DAFUDA, on the course, delivered one of several sessions built on case studies and case methods. Among them was a session on vision, purpose, mission and goals led by its Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Job Mwadkon Dachungyang.

Opening with the image of an unstruck match, Job told participants that potential means nothing without direction. “You are the match. The fire is your potential,” he said. “This morning we settle one question: which building are you lighting?”

He challenged officers to stop deferring their identity to some future appointment or promotion. “The present is the vision,” he said. “Vision is not a distant event you are waiting for. Vision is who you are being right now, on the way there.”

On turning intention into something measurable, Job was direct: “Without goals, a mission remains a beautiful intention. With goals, that mission becomes a journey you can walk, measure and finish.”