Former governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi, among other leading professionals have called for a change of processes by individuals and businesses if they are to make progress post Covid-19.
Obi called for an urgent shift in the process of selection of leaders in the political space, adding that more than ever before, Nigerians need to have elected political officers who are competent and qualified to lead in this period.
Speaking on how to build with courage and resilience during the Covid-19 period, Obi, vice presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the 2019 presidential election, said Covid-19 offered Nigerians an opportunity to see the cumulative effects of leadership failure over the years in the health, infrastructure, education and economy.
According to him, “A situation where we have people in leadership who are incapable of learning new things has to change. Nigeria don’t need leadership who are trapped in the processes of yesterday, we want those who have something to offer for tomorrow”.
The former governor of Anambra State further said that from the political point of view, if Nigerian entrepreneurs, SMEs, businesses were to get their plans and processes right and fail to correct the political equation, then everything is wrong.
“In all our doing as a country, it is important we get our politics right. It is critical that the right sets of people are in governance.
“In a society where people have excelled, they have achieved such because they have being given an opportunity. When we are talking about the new normal, we also have to look at our environment. We need to start thin king differently about those that govern us also,” he said.
Ndidi Nwuneli, co-founder Sahel Consulting in her key note address at the Bridge leadership foundation careers day event says there is an urgent need for decisive action and broad based collaborations between government and private organisations to revamp early childhood education.
Nwuneli in her lead paper presentation titled: The global economy: adapting to the new normal Saturday, identified collaboration across key ministries and sectors, accountability, transparency and equity as the right approach to take in tackling the challenges the Coronavirus pandemic has presented.
According to her key drivers in the ecosystem are agile and transparent government, dynamic entrepreneurs, and skilled workforce with the requisite life and leadership skills.
Nwuneli opines that in order to achieve future skills development for resilient youth, there is need for self-leadership, entrepreneurship; remote working and vocational training must be prioritised.
She further noted that crisis such the Covid-19 is a terrible thing to waste for employers of labour, government across all levels, entrepreneurs adding that some of the key attributes and skills for leaders during crisis as exemplified by the Coronavirus pandemic include ecosystem solutions/ policy intervention and technology and innovation.
