NASENI Boss wins 2011 Kwame Nkrumeh Leadership Award

Kwame Nkrumeh

NASENI Boss wins 2011 Kwame Nkrumeh Leadership Award

The Director General of Nigeria 's National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), Professor Olusegun Adewoye, has advised young people to look for creative solutions from outside the usual thinking patterns.

Adewoye gave the advice in NASENI’s Abuja office while receiving the 2011 Kwame Nkrumah Leadership Award, an honour initiated thirteen years ago by the All African Students Union (AASU), to promote good leadership in Africa .

Adewoye urged youths not to be deterred by societal constraints while encouraging them to find new ways of doing things and solving the continent's problems.

“So you must think out of the box. You must try to rise above tribalism, regionalism, gender and others. Ensure you climb a new mountain every day, if there are no new mountains create one. You must keep challenging yourself for that is how you can get a paradigm shift,” he said.

Challenge to do more

Earlier, the leader of the All African Students Union delegation, Yinka Gbadebo, stressed that the award was to recognize leaders with outstanding visions.

He said: “Bearing in mind that the African Continent is presently faced with the challenges of leadership, the aim of the prize, awarded annually by AASU is to promote all forms of good leadership and construct the African culture of leadership with integrity in the minds of men.”

“It is also targeted at rewarding outstanding leaders with vision towards the development of Africa, with the purpose of serving as role models for younger generations, in consonance with the constitution and charter of AASU and in the spirit of Pan-Africanism of the late great leader of Africa, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.”

He challenged the NASENI boss to see the award as a challenge to do more.

“The challenges of leadership are enormous but we want you to see this honour as a propeller and catalyst to double your efforts as an exemplary leader in your bid to make positive changes in Nigeria and to this great African continent of ours”.

The student leader urged other government officials take a cue from Adewoye whom he described as a silent achiever and strategist.

“This, we believe is one of the rare and pragmatic qualities of a good leader. We in AASU believe that there is urgent need for the present crop of African leaders and aspiring leaders in all humanistic enterprise to start realizing the dreams of the founding fathers of Africa, while also dreaming new dreams to advance the progressive cause of humanity”, he concluded.

Humbled and touched

Receiving the award, the NASENI DG said, “I feel very humbled and touched. Of all awards that I have received all through my life, this I will cherish. I am so happy that you are honouring me today for the work which I have done”.

Previous recipients of the award include, former South African Presidents, Dr. Nelson Mandela and Thabo Mbeki, Mohammed Gaddafi of Libya, former Secretary General of the United Nations, Koffi Annan, Ambassador George Weah of Liberia, as well as Prof. Francois Rajaoson, among others.

PR/Hajia Sani