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…demand opportunities for youths, women
Experts have blamed poor leadership, lack of mentorship and poor succession planning for the collapse of many Nigerian businesses and institutions after the exit of their founders.
They called for deliberate efforts to groom younger leaders and build strong institutions capable of sustaining achievements across generations.
The experts spoke at the second edition of the National Discourse organised by My Gore Mentoring Club in Abuja, with the theme, “Seamless Succession.”
Delivering the keynote address, Director of Abuja School of Social and Political Thoughts, Dr Sam Amadi, said Nigeria’s major challenge was the failure to build institutions around enduring visions, knowledge transfer and value creation.
He lamented that many Nigerian businesses could not survive beyond their founders, unlike global companies and institutions that had remained relevant for decades through effective succession planning and adaptability.
Amadi cited Toyota, Ford, and MacArthur Foundation as examples of organisations that had sustained their visions across generations.
“Our businesses, institutions, governments and families are not rooted in a strong vision around value addition. We also fail to train our people to have the capacity to take that vision to a higher level,” he said.
According to him, sustainable succession requires strong leadership, rigorous thinking, capacity building, deliberate mentorship and the ability to adapt to changing circumstances.
On political leadership, Amadi said Nigeria’s problem was not necessarily the age of its leaders but the absence of vision, integrity and commitment to national development.
He accused some politicians of turning mentorship into the recruitment of political thugs rather than grooming competent young people capable of solving national problems.
He said genuine mentorship must expose younger generations to knowledge, leadership responsibilities and the discipline required to build sustainable institutions.
Earlier, Convener of My Gore Mentoring Club and the National Discourse, Mervon Samuel Jr, said the conference was organised to address the failure of businesses, religious organisations and government institutions to sustain achievements beyond their founders.
He lamented that many businesses that once dominated the Nigerian market had disappeared because their founders failed to establish clear succession plans.
Samuel also criticised successive governments for abandoning projects and policies initiated by their predecessors, resulting in the wastage of public resources.
“We are bringing this conversation to the national level so that people will understand that when you build businesses, you must find a way to pass the baton while you are still alive.
“Life is a relay. When you have run the race to a certain point, you must pass the baton to somebody else with the same acceleration,” he said.
He urged business owners and political leaders to identify and mentor capable successors instead of hoarding knowledge and experience.
Samuel disclosed that My Gore Mentoring Club had trained nearly 40,000 people, while its membership had grown to about 8,500.
Also speaking, politician, community leader and businesswoman, Zainab Bello, identified poor character and lack of humility as major obstacles to effective mentorship and leadership succession.
She said young people must demonstrate good character, discipline and willingness to learn to earn the confidence of older leaders.
“When you have good character and are humble, people will be interested in teaching you. But when you are rude and unwilling to learn, nobody will want to mentor you,” she said.
Bello accused older political leaders of deliberately denying young people opportunities to assume leadership positions, insisting that they must be allowed to learn, make mistakes and improve.
On women’s participation in politics, she urged political parties to give women greater opportunities ahead of the 2027 general elections.
She expressed concern over the limited participation of women in Kano politics, arguing that cultural and religious considerations should not be used to deny them leadership positions.
Bello, who expressed ambition to become a senator, governor and eventually president, said women were capable of providing effective leadership if given the opportunity.
