Calling Forth Fresh Leaders

Calling Forth Fresh Leaders as Bakare and Ezekwesili call for nation builders

Amid ongoing insecurity, hardship and economic downturn, Founder of the Citadel School of Government (CSG), Pastor Tunde Bakare and former Minister of Education, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, propose the need to breed a new generation to pioneer good governance, whom are simply known as nation builders.

This statement was made on Saturday at the official opening of CSG and the induction of the pioneer class of its Advanced Diploma in Public Leadership and Strategic Programme, put in place in conjunction with the University of Lagos Business School.

The event took place at the Citadel Multipurpose Hall, Oregun in Ikeja, Lagos. We can recall that the UNILAG Business School and the CSG put pen to paper on Memorandum of Agreement in June of this year to host a nine-month Advanced Diploma programme in Public Leadership and Statecraft.

Calling Forth Fresh Leaders

The UNILAG Vice-Chancellor and Registrar, Professor Folasade Ogunsola and Mrs. Victoria Wickliffe; and the founder/Board Chairman of CSG, Pastor Tunde Bakare, and the Company Secretary, Mr. Tayo Adebayo, all signed the MOA in June, 2025.

Dr. Ezekwesili, who delivered the keynote lecture at opening ceremony yesterday, criticised what she called the “democratisation of corruption” in the country, highlighting the nation’s need to stop pretending in the face of decay and deterioration.

Calling Forth Fresh Leaders

She lamented the “institutionalisation of corruption,” highlighting the need to breed an army of nation builders who will be committed to nation-building and setting the country’s feet on the path of development and progress.

She said, “We have no business to fail; failure is not our destiny. However, all existing institutions in our country are struggling. Corruption is corrosive.

“For years, people carried on as though they did not see what was happening until it festered and became systemic, democratised. Now everybody says, ‘If you can’t beat them, join them.’ Join who?

“We must stop normalising corruption. No matter how competent you are, if you lack character, you will go nowhere. Building Nigeria requires people who are restless about nation-building, people willing to take a stand when others choose compromise.”

On the other hand, Pastor Bakare stated that the programme was created to connect the leadership gap in the country’s public sector by bringing in young people who have values and instruments for effectual governance which would yield development across the federation.

Calling Forth Fresh Leaders

“Our mission is to raise nation builders like you—leaders grounded in values and equipped with the competencies to champion a new philosophy of governance across diverse spheres of public leadership,” Bakare said.

Calling Forth Fresh Leaders

“With your admission into this programme, I am confident that Nigeria is about to experience a new wave of transformative leadership across sectors.

“With your induction into this program, I do not doubt that a new breed without greed, a radical opposition to corruption, and a cohort of changemakers is about to be equipped for high visibility and maximum impact.”

The clergyman also emphasised that the collaboration with the University of Lagos would ensure that all participants gained from both academic rigour and practical exposure to governance.

“With the strategic deployment that will result from your participation in and conclusion of this program, I am convinced that the first fruit of a unique breed is about to emerge to begin to lead the change Nigeria needs at all levels, from the local to the subnational to the national to the continental to the global.

“By taking this initial step, we are on course to bridge the leadership gap in public sector governance in Nigeria, Africa, and, by extension, across the globe,” he said.

“We will do this by providing current public sector leaders with exposure to cutting-edge tools for continuous development and by facilitating the mobility of quality leadership from the private to the public sector.”

Calling Forth Fresh Leaders

Mr. Tunde Bakare implored the participants to prepare themselves for the crucial night months ahead.

“You have just accepted the call of destiny by joining this pioneer cohort. The road will not be easy, but the opportunities for service and leadership will present themselves both during and after this training,” Bakare said.

He went on to praise the University of Lagos Business School and its leaders for partnering with Citadel School of Government, stating that the collaboration was “a model of how the ivory tower can meet the policy roundtable to generate solutions.”

“While the University of Lagos Business School offers you access to the highest cadre of academic competencies, we at Citadel School of Government bring you access to our rich public governance networks as well as our think tank operations, which have facilitated our nation-building engagements through the years,” he added.

The Advanced Diploma in Public Leadership and Statecraft will combine classroom learning with field engagement, mentoring and policy simulation, aimed at producing leaders who can think globally and act locally.

Truly, considering the present situation of the country, Nigeria is dying and requires well-meaning leaders who are ready to give their all in nation-building and reviving the begging economy.

Calling Forth Fresh Leaders

Reacting to the move by the public, so many social media users commended the clergyman and the former minister of education on their resilience to save the country from the hands of kleptomaniacs and other parasites disguising as leaders to loot national treasury, while others, in their distrust, stated their frustration and disbelief that it is just a ‘white elephant’ programme with no prospects of surviving beyond the four walls of the institutions.