African
business leader and philanthropist, Mr. Tony O. Elumelu stated that the time
for leadership amongst Nigerian and African Youth is now. Elumelu, who
addressed the students of the Lagos State University, faculty members and
officials of the Lagos State government, whilst delivering the institution’s
1st Distinguished Lecture Series in Ojo, Lagos, spoke on the topics of
leadership and entrepreneurship.
According to Elumelu, leadership is demonstrated at all levels
of an institution and he gave short thrift to the idea that not only
Presidents, Governors and CEOs are leaders. “A leader is simply someone who
gets results” he said, challenging the students to embrace leadership, even at
this early stage in their lives, “whether you are leading a team of people, or
just yourself, your responsibility is to generate, secure or deliver results. I
believe you can be a leader at any stage in your life and career, and in any
career path you choose”.
Subverting
some of the often-held notions about leadership, the UBA Group Chairman stated
that leadership can be learned and it is important to keep learning and honing
one’s leadership skills. "Just as I seek to democratise luck, with the
work of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, so equally I believe every soldier carries
a general’s baton in his pack. The key is self-belief – and an environment that
enables" he said.
Unveiling
what it means to him to assist budding entrepreneurs across Africa, Elumelu
expressed his profound thoughts saying: “What value is wealth or
money in an individual’s bank
account if we cannot use it to positively impact society? The seeds we plant
today will help us move the needle as it
relates to the development of Nigeria and Africa. Embrace entrepreneurship,
develop yourselves as leaders. For your dreams to come true you need to
be courageous, optimistic and bold. There are no shortcuts," Elumelu
advised the over 1500 students in the auditorium.
Tony
Elumelu is the proponent of Africapitalism, and he had the opportunity to share
this economic philosophy that encourages the private sector to invest for the
long term, in sectors that advance the economic and social development of our
societies. Africapitalism underpins Elumelu's investments and his belief that
entrepreneurship is capable of helping to grow and develop the African
continent. It drives his decision to commit $100 million dollars to identify
and grow 10,000 entrepreneurs on the continent over a 10-year period.
“Through the Tony Elumelu Foundation’s Entrepreneurship
Programme which is in its second year, we will identify, train, mentor and seed
10,000 African businesses over the next 10 years, creating 1 million jobs and
$10 billion in additional revenues across the continent. “Your idea CAN transform Africa” he stated.
He
called on the students to embrace entrepreneurship as a career. According to
him, “If you pursue entrepreneurship, your options for advancement will not be
limited to just finding a job. You can create your own employment
opportunities and create jobs for others. You can help to transform
your communities, and the country,” he said.
The Governor
of Lagos State, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode who was represented at the event by Ms.
Toyin Ademuiya, the Director of Creativity of the Lagos State government, noted
that the choice of the guest speaker in Tony Elumelu and the topic he
discussed, underscores the thinking of his own administration in strengthening
the capacity of the University and supporting its mission to mould leaders out
of students. As he thanked Elumelu for sharing his knowledge on
entrepreneurship to the students, the Governor promised to
continue supporting the university. " Education is the bedrock of
Nigeria’s future" he asserted.
The
Chairman of the occasion and the Chancellor, of the University, Hon. Justice
Adesola Oguntade (Rtd) in his remarks buttressed this saying: as
he said "Entrepreneurship is an
essential topic of great essence given the current wave of youth unemployment.
The choice of the guest speaker demonstrates the university's passion and
commitment to excellence. Tony Elumelu is indeed an icon of success".
The Vice Chancellor,
Professor Lanre Fagbohun, urged the students to follow the advice of the Guest
Speaker, Tony Elumelu, who he described as a ‘serial investor and
quintessential philanthropist who has continuously impacted on the continent
through the creation of jobs and building young Africans in entrepreneurship’
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Society