Victor EzejaProfessor of Political Economy and Entrepreneurship, Pat Utomi, and two leading banking CEOs in Nigeria have charged young professionals to imbibe the right values to propel them to success and contribute to national development.
Prof. Utomi, the Group Managing Director, FBN Holdings, Nnamdi Okonkwo and founder/CEO of Globus Bank, Elias Igbinakenzua, spoke at the Role Model Forum, a monthly programme organised by the Centre for Values in Leadership (CVL) held during the weekend in Victoria Island, Lagos.
At the programme, Okonkwo and Igbinakensizua underscored the need for young professionals to understand some key drivers of personal success and national development.
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They indicated that young professionals are critical to reshaping the Nigerian economy, adding that entrepreneurship together with tenacity, integrity, strong values, perseverance and focus are critical to nation-building.
The RMF had participants drawn from young professionals, business leaders and university students.
Okonkwo and Igbinakenzua while speaking on the topic of The Mystery of Capital and Entrepreneurship in Finance, shared lessons from their careers and factors that drove them to the top.
Earlier in his opening remark, Prof Utomi, who is the founder of CVL, said the RMF has been going on for more than 10 years with it being used to provide leadership development schemes rooted in values for excellence. Utomi challenged young professionals to learn from the experiences of both Igbinakenzua and Okonkwo, adding that the word ‘impossible’ does not exist when there is passion, knowledge and ethics in what one is doing.
He further said that talent management experts have much to learn from how Okonkwo and Igbinakenzua achieved success in their professional careers.
The FBN Holdings and Globus Bank CEOs narrated how the power of networking and mentoring helped them become significant value creators as they navigated the world of organizational politics.
Both men served as Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen of the Chattered Institutes of Bankers Committee of Nigeria.
Among the participants in the programme were professionals in banking, students, entrepreneurs and expatriate managers.
Many participants expressed delight in the fact that the focus of both speakers was on the role of mentoring and networking in career development.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with six years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Masters degree in Mass Communication.
