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The Mandela Washington fellowship (MWF) in collaboration with the US Consulate General Lagos recently tasked Nigeria Youths to develop more of their leadership skills and be more proactive rather than reactive in order to be lead the country forward and make it more attractive for international investors.
Speaking at the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) nationwide mentorship and networking skills Event
attendance of top alummi of Mandela Washington Fellowship among the keynote speakers, national secretary of Yali (Nigeria Chapter), Deborah Ugomma says a good leader must always identify its weakness and behaviour first before deciding to influence his followers positively.
She encouraged the audience to build the right leadership skills such as being articulate, competent, self-confidence, extrovert and ambitious in order to be highly influential and different from their contemporaries.
At the event, solid discussions were held over the quality of leaders that will lead the country forward and move it in the right direction.
Also, Onyedikachi Ekwenike, founder of PSN Africa gave a presentation on Emotional Intelligence and Personal Mastery Training; he tasked the youthful audience to develop their emotional intelligence skills by having empathy and always build a strong relationship with the right people.
According to Ekwenike, “Emotional intelligence is understanding the emotions as they happen and knowing the cost of emotions of other people.”
“Emotional Intelligence involves handling emotions in relationship well and accurately reading social situations and networks; interacting smoothly; using these skills to persuade and lead, negotiate and settle disputes, for cooperation and teamwork.”
“It refers to the degree to which persons are able to identify their feelings and understand their cause. It includes attention to one’s internal state, as well as thoughts or feelings about that state.”
He concluded by tasking the audience to keep negative emotions and impulsive behaviour under control, stay calm and unflappable even under stressful situations, maintain a clear and focused mind directed on accomplishing a task.
Ajoke Omoware-Adeola founder Reel Foundation who gave a presentation on conflict resolution and management, started her talk with a short interactive section where everybody agreed that some conflicts are necessary for an organisation to perform effectively.
Ajoke Omoware-Adeola says Conflict happens when you have a situation in which your concerns, desires, preferences, and or goals differ from those of another person.
“Conflict is a daily reality. Whether at home or at work, our needs and values come into opposition with those of others; however it can be positive or negative.”
“Conflict is positive when it is used to solve a problem. It can also help enhance one’s strengths, clarify your purpose and encourage action.”
She however concluded that there are no universal best way in handling a conflict, each style is useful in some situations and each style has its drawbacks, the skill is to analyse each situation and then determine the appropriate action.
The event was sponsored by the United States Consulate with the co-operation of the President Barack Obama Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI Network Face2Face) and the Mandela Washington Fellowship Alumni in Nigeria.
Former President of USA Barack Obama launched YALI as a vehicle to support an emerging generation of African leaders.
In 2014, the program was expanded to include 500 young African leaders from sub-Saharan Africa. In 2016, 1,000 young Africans participated in the fellowship.
Since its inception, 186 young Nigerians have participated in the fellowship, and over 45,000 young professionals in Nigeria have joined the YALI network.
