Senator Izunaso laments a growing presence of untrained leaders in politics
Today, at the official launch of Leadership 365: Daily Reflection for Effective Leadership, a book authored by Dr Linus Okorie, President of the GOTNI Leadership Centre, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Capital Markets, and representative of Imo West Senatorial District, raised a concern on what he described as the growing presence of untrained and ill-prepared individuals occupying political offices across the country, warning that leadership is being mistaken for mere occupancy of power.
Speaking at the event, the lawmaker stressed that leadership goes beyond holding political office, noting that many Nigerians wrongly equate authority with leadership.
Izunaso also decried the absence of deliberate leadership training in the country, arguing that political actors are often allowed to assume leadership roles without the discipline, conduct and values expected of leaders.
"In this country, we do not train leaders. We just assemble people, and people start talking as if they are leaders. There must be a way leaders should talk. A leader doesn’t talk or walk anyhow because people are watching you, he said.
"Dr Okorie has demonstrated deep thought and some leadership ideas in his book. Leadership is part of our everyday life. But oftentimes people misunderstood leadership to mean only those who occupy political positions, which is not correct.
"The fact that you occupy an office does not make you a leader. Most times leaders are born, most times leaders emerge. If you have 12 children in a class, watch them carefully. Watch their mannerism—the leader among them will emerge. Leadership is not about occupying a high position," he added.
Continuing, Izunaso also advised young Nigerians to shun the culture of quick wealth and instead seek out positive role models whose lives and values are worthy of emulation.
In his remarks, the author of the book, Dr Linus Okorie, emphasised that sustainable national development depends largely on intentional investment in leadership development rather than reliance on technology alone, adding that countries which have recorded significant progress did so by consciously grooming successive generations of leaders.
"Today, there is nothing as powerful as grooming, intentionally, the next generation of leaders for any nation.
"Nations of the world that made great progress are the ones that invested heavily in the leadership capital of our citizens."
Explaining the motivation behind the book, he said that it was written with the future in mind and designed to inspire daily leadership reflection among individuals determined to make a difference.
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