• Obasanjo, Akinwunmi, others to address Africa’s leadership crisis

Former President Goodluck Jonathan has led the West African Elders Forum (WAEF) to Senegal on a mediation mission ahead of the country’s presidential election tomorrow.

The information was in a statement issued yesterday in Yenagoa by the Communications Officer of Goodluck Jonathan Foundation, Wealth Ominabo.

Jonathan, who is also chairperson of WAEF, with other members of the forum, left Abuja for Dakar, yesterday, and will be there till Wednesday.

The statement named ex-Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel, Dr. Mohamed Ibn Chambas, as a team member.

The delegation would meet with key stakeholders, including outgoing President Macky Sall, opposition leaders, civil groups, security authorities and the country’s electoral commission.

The statement quoted the foundation’s Executive Director and Head of WAEF Secretariat, Ann Iyonu, as noting that the WAEF was a “forum primed for mediation.”

According to her, the forum is to perform advisory and conflict resolution roles to reduce election-related conflicts to the barest minimum in the sub-region.

She described the forum as a composition of former presidents and statesmen that has volunteered to deploy their enormous leadership experience and wisdom towards promoting peace and progress in West Africa.

Besides, Nigeria’s ex-leader, Olusegun Obasanjo, President of African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, and other distinguished African figures are to offer solutions to the leadership deficit in Africa.

CEO of GOTNI Leadership Centre, Linus Okorie, at a press briefing, yesterday in Abuja, said Obasanjo, Adesina and others willould deliver life-changing addresses at the inaugural Africa Leadership Conference (ALC).

Other speakers include a Federal High Court judge, Justice Mabel Segun Bello, Chairman and CEO of FraserNet Inc., George Fraser, and Prof. P.LO. Lumumba.

Okorie observed that the perennial leadership gap has robbed the continent of development.

“As the most populous black nation in the world and Africa’s giant, Nigeria recognises the urgency to collaborate with other African countries in charting a new course for a transformed continent,” he stated.

Okorie said the conference aims to bring together thought leaders, policymakers, business moguls and change-makers from across Africa and the Diaspora to discuss strategies for nurturing a new generation of visionary leaders.

Former House of Representatives member, Shina Peller, reflected on the significance of the event, noting: “From the outset, we stand united in the belief that Africa was not destined to fail. Africa is rich in human and natural resources, yet it is widely acknowledged that a dearth of effective leadership has led to stagnation.”

He spotlighted the nexus between entrepreneurship and leadership.

“Entrepreneurship entails taking responsibility, and intrapreneurship is an act of leadership. The solutions to Africa’s challenges rest in the hands of visionary leaders and entrepreneurs,” Peller submitted.

According to him, the conference is a rallying point for Africans at home and in the Diaspora to collaboratively forge a new path for the continent.

About 200 CEOs from Nigeria and 300 from across Africa are to convene in Accra, Ghana between May 17 and 18 for the transformative event, themed, ‘Transformational Leadership, the Panacea for Africa’s Rising’.