“I want to identify with your vision as young CEOs especially because you have ascribed to yourself, a role that is critical to success. What is the conception of a CEO? A CEO is someone who is in charge, someone who has all the information, somebody who has all that is needed to be a leader. Someone who can choose a career, business or enterprise and succeed but also somebody who is willing to learn.”
With this submission, the Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare, on Tuesday, welcomed the Young CEOs who paid him a courtesy visit at his office in Abuja.
The Young CEOs delegation led by its Chairman, Fife Banks whilst expressing gratitude to the Minister for granting the group audience, stated that the forum is an initiative of the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry, established to create programmes that will benefit entrepreneurs, young people and inspire young business leaders.
Banks seized the occasion to intimate the Minister about the forum’s forthcoming maiden edition of the Young CEOs Summit and Honours which he stated the group would be honoured to have the Minister chair.
“We have seen what you have done as the Honourable Minister of Youth and Sports Development and how you have carried everybody along. We have seen the wisdom during the End SARS imbroglio, we are always following your activities and are impressed about your giant strides, that is why we thought no other dignitary fits the bill of chairing our maiden summit, than you,” Banks emphasised.
The Minister in his response noted that Nigerian Youth are the leaders of today, not tomorrow, as leaders and CEOs from tech to music to entertainment achieving tremendous success are Youth, adding that what is needed is to make sure they go through the necessary right of passage in mentoring, leadership, business management and ethics, asserting that such requisite skills needed to effectively lead cannot be substituted with money.
Speaking further, Dare affirmed that as Youth Minister, the Youth is his constituency, stating he carries that message to all Ministers that the business of the Youth is everybody’s business.
“The business of the Youth is everybody’s business, in our homes, in our offices, in our places of work, schools, we all have the youth, we wake up everyday to engage with the youth, so the business of the Youth is everybody’s business,” he added.
The Minister admonished the delegation to continue to make conscious effort to learn and acquire more knowledge.
“As a CEO you must seek to break barriers, conquer territories, improve on your business, to become not just a self-employed person, but to create employment for other Youth. I think the greatest satisfaction comes with employing other Youth, forming a team, then you can grow,” Dare asserted.
On efforts of the Ministry on Youth Development, Dare said that programmes like the N75bn Nigeria Youth Investment Fund (NYIF) had been conceptualised before the End SARS protests while others like Digital Entrepreneurship and Employability Leadership (DEEL) Initiative – an amalgam of programmes on digital skills and leadership training amongst others have impacted hundreds of thousands across the country. He charged the Young CEOs to stay abreast of information about Government Youth empowerment programmes, and assist in sensitising the Youth about it.
The Minister promised to mark the date of the Young CEOs Summit in his calendar, expressing his resolve to be in attendance to motivate and encourage greater milestones of budding Young CEOs.
Signed
Olayemi John-Mensah
ACCI, Media/Strategy Officer
