…As WYBF installs Adegbesan 4th chairman
Sam Aboyeji, general overseer, Foursquare Gospel Church, Nigeria, has urged religious leaders across the country to cultivate the habit of preparing people, especially young Nigerians, for leadership positions.
“So, our religious leaders need to start the work of cultivating people into leadership. Gaining leadership, gaining service, and gaining nation, as soon as possible,” he said during the 2025 Wilson and Yinka Badejo Memorial Lecture, held in Lagos.
Themed, ‘Leadership Reimagined: Framework for Empowering the Next Generation of Nation Builders,’ Aboyeji said that leadership is the same in either the political or religious sphere. According to him, the leadership principles being used in the secular world today were all gotten from the Bible.
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“Leadership in the Bible is about selflessness, and Jesus typified it. He said: Whoever among you wants to be the master, let him be your servant. So, there’s no difference at all. And I think, I’ve been saying it, you know, the Bible says, judgment will begin from the house of the Lord,” he said.
The clergyman said many Nigerians do not have the needed value system to lead. “What would make a man take what he cannot even finish spending? His generation cannot finish spending. What would make a man take wealth from people to go and dump it somewhere? Its value,” Aboyeji said.
Fela Durotoye, leadership coach and keynote speaker, said it is impossible to build Nigeria without building Nigerians. According to him, leadership is not about age, position, and has nothing to do with wealth. “Leaders don’t try, they do; they deliver.”
Durotoye said that Nigeria must make leaders out of her over 200 million population at all levels to build the nation. According to him, great nations have shared values.
Femi Badejo, vice chairman, board of trustees (BOT) Wilson & Yinka Badejo Foundation, earlier in his welcome address, the lecture, being the 18th edition of the annual flagship event for the foundation, is more than a tradition.
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According to him, the annual lecture is a sacred moment for reflection, recommitment, and vision casting that honours the extraordinary lives of the founder and co-founder, Wilson Badejo and Yinka Badejo. “Though they both left us just four years ago, their passion, principles, and pursuit of human dignity still echo loudly in the foundation’s core mission.”
Cecilia Ibru, former managing director of Oceanic Bank and mother of the day, said parents have to speak to their children regularly about values and leadership. According to her, leadership is not about domination or control. “We must reinforce the passion of mentorship by intentionally investing in the younger generation. Let us be that generation that rises and lifts others up.”
Adedimeji Adegbesan, a pastor and financial professional, was installed as the 4th chairman of the Wilson & Yinka Badejo Foundation (WYBF). As incoming chairman of the WYBF board of trustees, Adegbesan is expected to bring his visionary oversight, deep institutional and a heart of service to governance and organisational priorities of the foundation.
