The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is organizing a three-day leadership retreat for state governors, scheduled to be held in Kigali, Rwanda.
In a letter sent to one of the participants signed by Lealem Dinku of UNDP, and sited by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Abuja, the retreat is scheduled for Aug. 24 to Aug. 27.
According to Dinku, the retreat was part of the UN agency’s commitment to raising the level of governance in Africa and other parts of the world.
He said that the retreat became imperative in view of present changes in the world occasioned by the multiplicity of mega trends which pose tremendous challenges to African countries.
Similarly, he said these trends range from invisible threats to democratic governance, impact of increasingly digital and innovation-driven society, looming job crisis, growing youth population with an elusive youth dividend.
Others, he said, are the rapid pace of urbanization, a highly globalized world, to rising climate change.
He said in view of these, a new leadership approach was required to transform these challenges into opportunities.
The UNDP official added that the programme was designed to provide a transformative platform for public officials to collectively reflect, learn and exchange insights on effective leadership and complex challenges.
He said that issues for discussion would include: “Re-imagining and Exploring the Future of Nigeria”, as well as ‘Opportunities and Challenges of Contemporary Leadership in a ‘New’ World”.
“The Future of Development as Influenced by Digital Transformation, Big Data, Disruptive Innovation and Emerging Technologies”, “Ensuring Socio-economic Transformations: Industrialisation, Agriculture, Climate and Green Transition.
Dinku further said that speakers at the retreat would include: Governors Abdulrahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara, Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos, Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra, as well as President Paul Kagame of Rwanda.
Others are: former President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya, Arkebe Oqubay Senior Minister and Special Adviser to the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Asishana Okauru, Director-General of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), and Ahunna Eziakonwa, Assistant Secretary-General and Director of UNDP’s Regional Bureau for Africa.
The facilitators will include Bosun Tijani, Nigeria’s Minister of Communication, Innovation and Digital Economy; Donald Kaberuka, former President of the African Development Bank.
