24 hours to go! The Future Awards Symposium for Young & Emerging Leaders holds tomorrow … aviation minister Stella Oduah joins speakers

by Lekan Olanrewaju

It’s finally here! The Future Awards Symposium on governance and leadership will be holding tomorrow – 19 March at the Shell Hall of the Muson Centre, Lagos. The Headline Speaker is Obiageli Ezekwesili, the World Bank Vice-President for Africa. The theme for the Symposium remains “The Challenge of Responsible Governance: How Can This Generation Do Better?”

The symposium will be a charged exchange of ideas and knowledge which will focus on leadership and governance

Discussions at will be driven by young leaders across the nation and different sectors but Lead-In speakers include Gov.Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers), Gov.Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti), Oronto Douglas, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai and Stella Oduah, minister of aviation.

There will also be a second day event; a special session hosted by EnoughisEnough (EiE) Nigeria – to review the recent calls across the country for a National Conference and profile the perspectives of young leaders across the country to these calls. Attendance is voluntary for participants.

“Underlying the recent insecurity in the country is the fundamental issue of citizenship vs ‘indigeneship’ and our perceptions of a Nigeria that we take from; not give to,” says ‘Yemi Adamolekun, who is executive director of EiE Nigeria, partners for the Symposium. “This dovetails into calls for a ‘Sovereign National Conference’, ‘National Dialogue’ or any other name to describe a meeting to discuss the rights, responsibilities and privileges of being a Nigerian citizen. The idea of a national dialogue driven by young people has been mooted on two points: (1) our demographic advantage – we should lead any conversation about the Nigeria that we’ll have to live in and (2) we have less baggage than our ‘elders’.”

To ensure that this is not an emotive dialogue, emphasis is being placed on reading and understanding the history that has brought us thus far.

Documents being compiled and that will be available for people to read are:

1) The 1960 Constitution

2) The Willink Commission Report – concerns of ethnic minorities in the lead up to independence

3) The 1963 Constitution (all four – one for federal, one for each region)

4) The alternative constitution authored by Olisa Agbakoba (SAN)

5) Constitutional Amendment Report delivered under the Olusegun Obasanjo administration

6) The Justice Mohammed Uwais Report

7) The Trouble with Nigeria by Chinua Achebe.

“This is only the first of a series of discussions on this and we are grateful to have the platform of The Nigeria Symposium to kick this off,” said Ms. Adamolekun. “Interested participants will be asked to stay behind to discuss what this national dialogue would look like – process of selection, term and key areas of focus or if at all Nigeria needs it.”

To reach the maximum number of Nigerians across the country and outside, the event will be broadcast live online on www.ynaija.com/live and with a recorded broadcast by Channels Television. Discussions can also be monitored on Twitter via the hashtag #TFASymposium.

“Obviously, this is an important, even urgent, conversation to have,” says Kayode Akintemi, who is General Manager in charge of Broadcast Operations for Channels TV. “We are excited to partner with young Nigerian leaders from across the country trying to chart a genuine course for leadership and for governance, and we are hopeful that this is truly a beginning for a more engaged generation.”

 

Leave a reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

cool good eh love2 cute confused notgood numb disgusting fail