Panelists at a book launch in Lagos have called for documentation of achievements of leaders with integrity.
This, they argued, was necessary to raise a new generation of Nigerians who would lead the nation to greatness through hardwork and honesty.
The panelists spoke on Monday at the launch of a book written by Mr Babs Omotowa, former Managing Director/CEO of Nigeria LNG Ltd (NLNG) tittled “From Storeroom to Boardroom”.
Drawn oil and gas experts, three of them are also authors.
Mr Austin Avuru, the Founder and Executive Chairman of AA Holdings, one of the panelists, said that lack of lack of corporate governance structure was a reason for demise of several businesses in Nigeria.
He said that this was because young people did not have books from which to learn how to grow enterprises to last generations.
Another, Dr Phillip Mshelbila, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Ltd, spoke on Omotowa’s tenacity.
He enumerated reforms brought into the NLNG by Omotowa due to his resilience and tenacity.
Mshelbila said the author left solid foundation for continuity in the local content drive in the firm.
He, and other panelists, enumerated interventions of the author and other interactions that qualified him as role model whom the younger generation must emulate.
Other panelists include Dr Godswill Ihetu, former Managing Director, NLNG, and Mr Tonye Cole, Co-founder and former Group Executive Director of Sahara Group.
Also among them were Mr Isah Inuwa, a retiree of the NLNG and Dr Waziri Adio, former Executive Secretary of Nigeria Extractive Transparency Initiative (NEITI), who joined virtually.
The panelists said the nation needed role models who could point the way of how intergrity and courage could shape global businesses.
They called for value re-orientatation in the nation while reeling out success stories of Omotowa who rose from the lowest cadre of his career to the pinnacle.
The panelists said he rose through hard work, courage and integrity while shunning corruption.
They also shared their thoughts on how to resolve issues in the oil and gas industry, the Niger Delta issues as well as the steps to adopt towards energy transition.
Mr Aderemi Makanjuola, Chairman of Caverton Offshore Support Group Plc, giving a goodwill message, said the author gave selfless service.
He said that the younger generations needed this to correct negative perceptions about Nigeria while building lasting legacies.
Makanjuola said mentorship was important to raise upright leaders.
According to him, the younger generation cannot be”coerced”, hence, the need for real role models.
The Chairman, Governing Board, Nigerian University of Technology and Management.(NUTM), Dr Okechukwu Enelamah, was one of the book reviewers.
He said the book, listed on Amazon, presented a good context for the nation’s youths to courageously pursue entrepreneurship goals with honestly.
The reviewer described the book as an easy read that had great potential for global readership.
Enelamah said it contains several leadership lessons loaded with personal examples of Omotowa’s courage to surmount opposition to do things right.
He said the book documented step by step journey of the author from his humble background in Ile Ife.
The reviewer said it touched on the role of parents in inculcating the right values which helped Omotowa excel without compromising.
He said chapter two of the book is “quite empowering” and teaches how to prioritise goals, while not ignoring the power of sacrifices.
Enelamah said the book was “illuminating” on how the author handled employees without losing focus on integrity.
He said it revealed how the author adopted courage to remain incorruptible in the face of opposition in his journey from the”Storeroom to Boardroom”.
Another reviewer, Donu Kogbara, a columnist with the Vanguard Newspaper, commended the author for capturing his personal flaws and mistakes in the book.
She said that he did not pretend to be a saint or super human to conceal his errors.
Kogbara said he did not mince words in his fight against corruption, describing the book’s launch as timely.
She said that this was because young people did not have adequate books on best practices.
Speaking with journalists, Omotowa urged parents to inculcate the right values in their children early in life.
The author said that this would teach them contentment to make them incorruptible.
He said that the values of hard work, courage and integrity he picked up early in his life from his parents helped him to bring transformation in his career path from the bottom to top.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, was represented at the event by a Director, Mrs Amao Ayobami.
Discussion about this post