Lagos State Deputy Governor, Dr. Kadri Obafemi Hamzat, has urged Nigerian students to continually seek knowledge and self-improvement to achieve success in all aspects of life.
The Deputy Governor made this remark at Texem’s 15th Anniversary, Youth Leadership Workshop, with the theme “You are a leader: You Matter, You can,” held on Saturday at Anthony, Lagos.
Hamzat, while admonishing the students who attended the workshop from various schools, emphasized the imperative of hard work and commitments to probity and integrity.
According to Hamzat, “The essence is that no matter what you do, you must keep educating your mind. It doesn’t matter whether you’re from a privileged background or not; if you don’t educate your mind, you will not do well. It’s not a curse. It’s just the way God has designed it. You must educate your mind, you must keep learning.”
Besides, the Deputy Governor was of the view that there are no shortcuts in life to success and that, as students, they will have different ambitions for their futures, but there are etiquettes, there are protocols which must be followed, and they must pursue their goals in line with the above-stated norms.
“In life, success is never served a la carte, but by deliberate actions and focus, and one must work at it”, he added.
While reeling out the different initiatives put in place by the Lagos government, Hamzat said the government focuses on teachers’ capacity building, unlike other states, which focus on elevating schools.
He added that the present administration believes that the better they train the teachers, the more the students will do well, adding that while it is good to elevate schools ( which is fantastic), structural elevation doesn’t teach. But the teachers are the ones who actually do the teaching and impart the knowledge.
Hamzat further advised the students to shun the temptation of ethnic or tribal bigotry, by seeing every other person as a Nigerian irrespective of the tribe or religion. “So relating to people as Nigerians should not be based on tribe or even religion. We have gotten to a stage in our country where we’ve allowed tribe and religion to divide us, instead of cementing us as an indivisible entity”.
Earlier in his welcome and opening address, the Founder, Texem UK, Dr. Alim Abubakre stated that the workshop is about those who will raise the bar in the areas of legacy and impact and in the areas of transforming society.
“This workshop is about you, and it’s designed to help the students discover the inherent leadership in you”, he said. advised the students to strive to be impactful in life, that they only need audacity and to believe in themselves.
