New Gen Leaders 2.0 with Adewumi Adeyemi: “Leaders of Character Needed – Avoid Political Apathy”
Honourable Adewumi Adeyemi Irekandu, the Lawmaker representing Obokun State Constituency at the 8th Osun State House of Assembly, has urged future leaders to build character.
He made this statement while addressing participants at the New Gen Leaders 2.0 with Adewumi Adeyemi, themed “Empowering the Next Generation of Leaders.”
New Gen Leader is an initiative by Adewumi Adeyemi aimed at developing leaders who are willing to overlook the hardship involved in facing the challenges required to become visionaries committed to nation-building.
New Gen Leaders 1.0, was held in April. Over 50 people applied and 33 future leaders who are now mentors to emerging leaders in their respective communities made it to the roundtable discussion.
During his session, addressing 40 future leaders, he highlighted the importance of character for those focused on nation-building. The session, conducted as a roundtable discussion, explored the question, “Are leaders born, made, or built”?
According to him, “Character is sacrosanct in attaining a better Nigeria as long as Nation-Building is the goal as future leaders. In other words, start building your character. He also advised that self examination of character, if your character is positive or negative as this will help you develop integrity, discipline, and establish a reputation for who you are, what you can do, and what you will never do. I advise you to start small.”
He further elaborated on his political journey, which began in secondary school when he wrote in his vision book that he would become the SUG president of any university he attended, a goal he achieved before stepping down in 2009.
He shared, “During and after NYSC, I started teaching pupils. In 2017, I made up my mind to focus on the people from my constituency, and that was when I got elected for my first term. In my first term, I won four wards, and in my second term, I won nine out of ten wards.”
However, Honourable Adewumi Adeyemi Irekandu also encouraged the participants of New Gen Leaders to avoid apathy in all its forms, emphasizing that it is incompatible with being a leader committed to nation-building.
