By Obansa Ibrahim, Lokoja
The leadership of St. Augustine’s College, Kabba, Old Boys’ Foundation, (SACKOBF), has identified poor leadership as the bane of development and progress across world and in particular Nigeria.
This position was made know on Tuesday in Kabba, by Mr. Francis Onaiyekan, Committee Chairman of the St. Augustine’s College, Kabba, Old Boys’ Foundation, during the launch of a leadership training programme for the students and staff of the College.
According to him, the training which is in collaboration with John C. Maxwell leadership Foundation (iLead), is to inculcate the right leadership discipline in the children at a very tender age to enable them fit properly into the leadership positions at different level in future.
Speaking further, Mr. Onaiyekan, a 1973 graduate of St. Augustine’s College, Kabba and an Editorial Board member of the Guardian Newspaper, noted that the number one problem of the world today is poor leadership.
“The sole aim of our group is to raise future leaders that are good in both learning and character. As we can see the number one problem of the world today is poor leadership. Once the leadership is good, every other things will fall in place. No one can make a good leader without character and integrity. This is what the world is lacking today.
“Some people misunderstood the definition of leadership. It’s not only the president, governors, National Assembly members or political office holders that are referred to as Leaders. Everyone is a leader in different ways. So you must do your part wherever you find yourself.
” Becoming a good leader or bad one is a choice before all of us. The ability to choose between doing good or evil is a choice that is within the powers of an individual. Whichever one you make has a Price that he or she must pay.
He noted that the foundation which was registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) on August 21, 2023, have been able to provide various interventions in the college with funding provided by members of SACKOBF.
According to him the mission of the Foundation is to provide essential resources to educational and leadership development and nurturing the next generation of world leaders emerging from St. Augustine’s College, Kabba.
“The foundation aims to provide St. Augustine’s College with the highest standards of secondary school education by building character, and elevation of academic, leadership, infrastructural, and recreational activities.
The chairman listed some of the achievements of the foundation in the school since it’s formation over a year ago to include; employment of 15 teachers for the school, renovation and furnishing of block of class rooms in the school and the current leadership training among others.
Speaking also, the Principal of the college, Femi Emmanuel Abolusoro, commended the Foundation for it’s various interventions in the college, which he said has improved the quality of learning in the college.
He noted that the salaries paid to the teachers employed by the foundation is the same as those of their counterparts on the payroll of the government, saying that this has greatly motivation the teachers.
He was optimistic that with the various interventions of SACKOBF in the areas of infrastructure and human capital development, the college will soon attain the height in academic excellence envisioned by the founding fathers of the school.
In there separate speeches, the Chairman of the Parent Teacher Association, (PTA) of the college and the coordinator of the leadership training, Mr. Osamola Emmanuel and Mrs Titilayo Olaosebikan, respectively, called on other well to do old Students of the college and other spirited individuals in the society to emulate the foundation by intervening in the development of the college.