SEN. OSITA IZUNASO EXPRESSES CONCERN ABOUT INCREASING NUMBER OF UNTRAINED LEADERS

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Senator Osita Izunaso, the head of the Senate Committee on Capital Markets, recently expressed concern about the increasing number of untrained and unprepared people taking on political positions across the country. He warned that people are confusing being in power with true leadership.

Representing the Imo West Senatorial District, Izunaso raised this issue during the launch of “Leadership 365: Daily Reflection for Effective Leadership,” a book written by Dr. Linus Okorie, President of the GOTNI Leadership Centre, in Abuja.

At the event, the senator emphasized that leadership is more than just holding a political position.
He pointed out that many Nigerians mistakenly believe that having authority means being a good leader.

Izunaso also criticized the lack of proper leadership training in the nation. He argued that political figures are often given leadership roles without being properly prepared in terms of discipline, behavior, and values expected from true leaders.

“In this country, we do not train leaders. We just assemble people, and people start talking as if they are leaders. There must be a way leaders should talk. A leader doesn’t talk or walk anyhow because people are watching you.”

“Dr Okorie has demonstrated deep thought and some leadership ideas in his book. Leadership is part of our everyday life. But oftentimes people misunderstood leadership to mean only those who occupy political positions, which is not correct.

“The fact that you occupy an office does not make you a leader. Most times leaders are born, most times leaders emerge. If you have 12 children in a class, watch them carefully. Watch their mannerism—the leader among them will emerge. Leadership is not about occupying a high position,” he stated.

Continuing, the Senate Committee chair also advised young Nigerians to shun the culture of quick wealth and instead seek out positive role models whose lives and values are worthy of emulation.

“For the younger ones coming up, do not embrace the culture of let’s get rich quickly. Rather, imbibe the culture of having role models. There must be someone you admire as a role model. Money shouldn’t be the motivation to make anybody your role model,” he admonished.

In his remarks, the author of the book, Dr Linus Okorie, emphasised that sustainable national development depends largely on intentional investment in leadership development rather than reliance on technology alone.

“Progress evolves only when men and women of vision, skill and courage seize the opportunity to change things for the better. In the 21st century, I have been told that technology and AI are on the rise.

“But the truth of the matter is that there is nothing that will be as powerful as the human spirit. The human spirit, when properly channelled, can cause a change that could transform businesses, institutions and nations.”

Okorie added that countries that have recorded significant progress did so by consciously grooming successive generations of leaders.

“Today, there is nothing as powerful as grooming, intentionally, the next generation of leaders for any nation.