Olakunle Olafioye
The absence of mentoring culture has been identified as one of the drawbacks of national development and economic prosperity in Nigeria. And as a way of reversing the trend, Nigerians and governments at all levels must imbibe the culture of mentoring.
The President and Chairman, Governing Council, Mentoring and Career Development Institute of Nigeria, Collins Edebiri, made this known at the official launching and induction of pioneer members of the institute in Lagos today.
The event which was the second following the inaugural presentation of the institute in Port Harcourt in August, featured a public lecture titled “Mentoring as a Tool for Talent Development, Business Prosperity and National Growth.”
Speaking on the topic, the guest speaker, Godwin Ehigiamusoe, Managing Director, Lapo Micro Finance Bank, noted that the nation’s education system has very little preparation for the youths for productive adulthood. He, therefore, advocated the need for the youths to leverage many benefits of mentoring.
“We have never had more chaotic times than now. This is evident in the alarming unemployment rate and depression resulting in increase in suicide among the youths. We need people to mentor them,” he stated.
In his remark, the chairman of the occasion, Ken Edward Etete, Group CEO, Century Group, represented by George Ashiru, chief strategist of the company, said Nigeria would experience growth in all ramifications if successful leaders would cultivate the culture of building successors through the culture of mentoring.
According to him, “any intelligent leader must do everything within his power to multiply wealth. This can be done by mentoring people to improve their skills and knowledge.”
The event also featured discussions anchored by the founder of Kendor Consulting Ltd., Adora Ikwuemesi and Mr Victor Banjo, a corporate governance and board-level coach.
In their respective discourses, Adora and Banjo made a case for reverse mentoring, a mentoring practice in which the older generation takes up mentoring course under the younger generation.
Ikwuemesi urged intending protege to exercise caution while choosing their mentors, nothing that picking one mentor as a guide in several areas of one’s life could be counterproductive as only a few people have the quality of being all-rounders.
On his part, Banjo urged older people to leverage reverse mentoring, nothing that growth in certain areas of human life such as technology has put the younger generation in a better position to mentor the older generation.
The high point of the event was the administration of induction oath by national president of the institute on the pioneer members of the institute.
It was emphasised that Mentoring and Career Development Institute was registered in January 2018, after two years of working with officials of the Federal Ministry of Education with the primary aim of building a mentoring culture in Nigeria.