At Rwanda Retreat, Nigerian Governors Declare Effective Leadership in High Demand in Africa

After a three-day retreat in Kigali, Rwanda, for the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), facilitated by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Nigerian governors said effective leadership was in high demand in Africa.

They acknowledged that Nigeria was battling a huge trust deficit, saying there is need for dialogue to find a lasting solution to the problem. The governors also said they were ready to understudy Rwanda’s post-war development programmes as a critical takeaway.
Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani, a first timer, who spoke on the imperatives of the programme, noted that Rwandan President Paul Kagame’s tips on how to manage diversity in an increasingly complex and fractious world were useful.

Similarly, Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, a second term governor, said discussions at the retreat had equipped them with adaptive leadership and development strategies.

The communique from the retreat, signed by NGF Director of Media, Abdulrazaque-Bello Barkindo, Christabel Chanda-Ginsberg, and Michelle Mendi Muita, both of UNDP, identified Nigeria’s challenges as a complex web.

It stated, “Nigeria faces a complex web of interconnected development challenges stemming from a huge trust deficit, an economy highly dependent on oil exports, a job crisis and growing youth population, rising insecurity and separatist agitations, and a growing number of multi-dimensionally poor.”
Director General of NGF, Asishana Okauru, in the same statement, explained, “As a non-partisan organisation and policy arm, the Nigeria Governors’ Forum organised this gathering with the objective of fostering transformative leadership and facilitating honest, frank and open dialogue to shape the discourse on these cross-cutting themes.”

The three-day retreat, with the theme, “Re-imagining leadership in a fast-changing world,” was attended by 19 governors. They engaged in sessions that explored Rwanda’s successful investment destination, transformation in digital technology, urban planning, and socio-economic transformation, capping off with a private dialogue with Kagame.

UNDP Resident Representative in Nigeria, Mohamed Yahya, stated that the retreat “offers an opportunity to reimagine Nigeria’s leadership to achieve transformation and nationwide sustainable development”.

The communiqué stated, “In Africa, effective leadership is in high demand, with recent political challenges and socio-economic crises continuing to adversely impact qualitative advancements toward the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the realisation of the African Union’s Agenda 2063, which aspires toward a peaceful, stable and prosperous Africa.”

Quoting the opening remarks of Director of the UNDP Regional Service Centre for Africa, Matthias Z. Naab, the communique said, “Adaptability in leadership has never been so urgent, globally and in Africa.
“Adaptive leaders possess the unique ability to not only acknowledge the challenges that come their way, but to also harness them as opportunities for growth and innovation.”

Quoting Norrsken House, the Rwanda Development Board and the Mayor of the City of Kigali, the communiqué stated that the retreat also focused on learning through dialogue – with sessions on rethinking leadership, leading systems, leading self and leading to deliver, as well as learning through observation. It was an interactive programme exploring Rwanda’s emergence as an investment destination through visits and exchanges with the innovation hub.
In addition, the communique noted that the NGF had become a major link between government, development partners, and private organisations as they sought to reach all the 36 states in Nigeria.

It said in previous years, the level of cooperation had increased significantly as regards relations between the states and the federal government, particularly, on collaborative pathways to overcoming commonly shared development challenges.
Sani, in his comments, stated, “After a deeply insightful and engaging retreat, we were hosted to a closing dinner by the Rwandan President, His Excellency, Paul Kagame.

“The closing dinner afforded us the opportunity of sharing ideas with His Excellency on a wide range of issues and concerns on Africa, our developmental and security challenges, and the pathway to a prosperous future for our continent. We thank President Kagame for giving us tips on how to manage diversity in an increasingly complex and fractious world.

Sani further said of the retreat, “I used the retreat to showcase and market Kaduna State to Africa and the world. I held meetings with investors and got commitments from them to prioritise Kaduna State in their investment decisions.”

The communique also quoted one of the governors, the deputy chairman of NGF, Makinde, as saying, “It has been an engaging retreat. I am glad a significant number of governors are here to be part of it so that, together, we can use the knowledge acquired.”

Makinde further said, “Our discussions have equipped us with adaptive leadership strategies and pathways to effective governance and nationwide sustainable development.”

The three-day Executive Leadership Retreat was on the invitation of Kagame. The retreat was dedicated to fostering dialogue on reimagining leadership and leveraging innovative technology, drawing inspiration from Rwanda’s transformative journey.

Building on the Rwandan success story, the executive leadership retreat aimed to provide the incoming governors with new strategies for tackling development challenges within their states.

Chuks Okocha in Abuja

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