Rinsola Abiola, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Citizenship and Leadership, has urged young entrepreneurs to embrace ethical leadership and social responsibility and commit to continuous learning to build enduring enterprises that inspire positive change.
This, she said, in a keynote address she delivered at the 2023 Junior Chamber International (JCI) Unity Convention in Abuja last weekend.
Commending JCI for uniting young leaders dedicated to collective growth and advancement, Ms. Abiola emphasized the importance of collective responsibility, especially in a youth-dominated country like Nigeria.
“Encouraging young people to take responsibility and act is an important obligation without which we cannot achieve our national goals. In Nigeria today, young people have emerged as catalysts for change, introducing innovations and establishing enterprises, both small and large, to address societal challenges.
“These ventures hold the promise of transforming the way we live and work, offering solutions that shape a better future.”
She, however, noted the tendency of some enterprises, including those founded and led by young people, to falter over time due to a lack of adherence to essential ethics and principles. To remedy this, Ms. Abiola outlined key principles for sustainable leadership, notably visionary leadership and adaptability.
“Sustainable leadership requires a visionary approach. Successful leaders, particularly in the realm of entrepreneurship, possess a clear vision of their enterprise’s purpose and impact on society. This may sound like a cliché, but its importance cannot be overstated. Vision guides decision-making, motivates teams, and sustains the enterprise through challenges.”
She cited Dr. Bosun Tijani as an example, highlighting the success of the Co-Creation Hub he established in Lagos at the dawn of the digital age in the country and its impact in making Nigeria a relevant actor on the tech scene.
“Consider the example of Dr. Bosun Tijani, the Honorable Minister of Communications, Innovation, and the Digital Economy. In 2011, he co-founded the Co-Creation Hub. His vision was ambitious but clear: he foresaw a Nigeria that not only embraces the digital age but leads it.
“It was an unprecedented effort. We were only just becoming familiar with the changes brought about by the introduction of the GSM. Yet, this man believed that Nigeria could become a source of digital solutions with an impact that transcends our borders.
“Driven by that vision, Dr. Tijani and his team made decisions that distinguished CC Hub as the epicenter of Nigeria’s most innovative startups. These choices, many of them made without a guidebook from the past, set in motion a chain of events that resulted in Dr. Tijani’s elevation to the federal cabinet today”, she said.