In a bid to ensure that the Nigerian youths are enlightened about the state of the nation and what part they can play to get it repositioned for a better future, the Junior Chamber International (JCI) Ikeja chapter organized a 1-day seminar tagged “Quality Leadership Value Seminar” with 6 panelist/discussants to inspire and motivate the youths by dissecting various germane issues that can help reposition the state of leadership in Nigeria.

This year’s Quality Leadership Value Seminar (QLV) which held on September 2, 2018 at Protea Hotel, GRA Ikeja, Lagos, was initiated over two decades ago by Past President Olumide Ajomale (JCI Senator) and has ever since been an impactful event to over 2000 young leaders with the right moral values and character for a better nation-building.

The National President of JCI Nigeria, JCIN Amb. Rasheed Adeniyi Balogun advised the youth present to surround themselves with the instrument of power and the right people. He reiterated that the government can’t do it all alone; we need various agencies to complement the effort of the government and proffer solutions to challenges in the society.

This year’s theme “The Nigeria Leadership State: Challenges & Opportunities”, had Dr. Joe Abah as the theme speaker. Abah trained as a Barrister in Nigeria and later worked on public sector reform programs for the U.K. Prime Minister’s Office before taking a post with the Government of Nigeria in 2013 as Head of the Bureau for Public Sector Reform before returning to DAI in 2017 to serve as Country Director for Nigeria, where he provides technical and strategic inputs to DAI’s existing portfolio of projects, in addition to supporting business development initiatives.

According to him, a country is made up of Minimal State, Social Democratic State and Developmental State.

In his keynote address, Dr Joe Abah noted that the only difference between the two countries he had worked is that “Nigeria Public Service lacks patriotism” compared to the United Kingdom.

The panel discussion had a five-man discussants; Mr. Sulaiman Aledeh; Host of “Political Stew” on TVC, Mr. Abiola Ogundeko; NACCIMA Youth Entrepreneur, Mrs. Juliet Kego; A Master-Certified Leadership/Development Consultant, Mrs. Jumoke Alawonde-James; Co-Host of “Your View” on TVC and Rasheed Adeniyi; National President of JCI Nigeria.

Mr. Sulaiman Aledeh on his part admonished youths to take positive action with the use of social media tool in propagating the right information. He encouraged users of the new media to avoid the fake news, follow verified handles, mirror the site, question source and always check with third party and sites.

In her presentation, Juliet KEGO was of the opinion that our DNA needs to be modified with good character and moral values. “The best way to achieve this is to go back to the formative stage of the learning process: Nursery and primary schools to instil the right DNA into the lives of the future leaders of tomorrow for a better society,” she said at the event.

According to Mr. Abiola Ogundeeko, a country needs Transformational leadership to excel. He believes a leader should work with teams to identify needed change, creating a vision to guide the change through inspiration, and execute the change in tandem with committed members of a group.

The moderator of the discussions, Jumoke Alawode-James encourages the active participation of women in politics and governance rather than restrict themselves to homes alone but take an active role in nation building wherever they find themselves.

Commenting on this year QLV, the Chapter President JCIN Amb. Oluwatosin Ligali said,”In line with our core values of excellence & professionalism, our Annual Quality Leadership Value Seminar is geared towards inculcating in participants essential leadership qualities needed as we reposition our country to take her rightful place in the comity of nations.

“I appreciate everyone for making out time to be part of 22nd edition of the Quality Leadership Value Seminar.”

He admonished every youth in the country to start leading from their immediate environment and make impact where necessary.

The organizing body, Junior Chamber International Ikeja is an affiliate of Junior Chamber International – a worldwide federation of young and active citizen.

The Mission of JCI Ikeja is to provide development opportunities that empower young people to create positive change’ and Vision to be the leading global network of young active citizens’. The Local Organisation was birthed in March 1984 in the boardroom of Pfizer Nigeria Limited with five foundation members namely: Femi Ogunsanwo, Bukola Ogun, Sina Sobanjo, Tunde Ojo and Foluso Philips (of the famous Phillip Consulting) to affect our immediate community- this is our 35th year of existence with a strong history of achievements and legacy builders that precedes us. From a humble beginning of 15 members, we have grown to over 700 with our members and alumni from all works of life.