For Nigeria to attain its full potentials, stakeholders and professionals in the built environment have called for enthronement of purposeful leadership in the country.
They lamented that despite abundance of human and natural resources, the nation has continue to fall short from all known indices of development.
According to them, for Nigeria to make any meaningful progress, the leadership must tackle infrastructure by providing basic physical infrastructure in all areas without any form of discrimination.
Leading the call in Lagos, at the 15th annual Adekunle Kukoyi memorial lecture organised by the Nigerian Institution of Surveyors (NIS), Lagos State Branch, President of the body, Alabo Charles, regretted the bastardisation of civic education in the school curriculum.
“If Nigeria must grow and experience the desired change it had to go back to the status quo in civic education in order to recover its lost ethos”, he noted.
In his lecture titled: “Nigeria: Hills And Valleys To Cross To Sustainable. Greatness”, the guest lecturer, Sir Oluremi Omotoso identified leadership, as the greatest obstacle to Nigeria’s quest for greatness.
According to the corporate governance strategist and former Chairman, Board of Standard Chartered Bank of Nigeria, a great nation must be one that respects the rule of law, its senior citizens.
Beyond, he said, the leadership must provide security, basic physical infrastructure in all areas without any form of discrimination, provide access to qualitative education and one that ensures improvement of the quality of lives of the people among others.
Omotoso stressed that God has really endowed Nigeria with great resources but the rate and level of corruption, nepotism, lack of commitment to qualitative education by political leaders had continued to stunt the growth of the country.
He called on political leaders imbibe the positive virtues of late Adekunle Kukoyi and be dedicated in their contributions to the growth and development of the nation saying the quality of Nigerian leadership would determine the quality of life of the people.
Also speaking, Chairman, Lagos State Branch of the Institution, Adesina Adeleke, said this year lecture provides another great opportunity to gain deep understanding why Nigeria had not yet attained the much desired greatness and responsibilities as a collective entity and as individuals.
He stressed that late Kukoyi, the first president of Association of Professional Bodies of Nigeria (APBN) and past president of the institution was loved by every one and remains a beacon of hope for the profession and the larger society.
According to him, Kukoyi was God’s gift to the profession of surveying, who touched many lives, many professions and charities because of his purposeful leadership.
In her remarks, wife of the late surveyor, Mrs. Essie Kukoyi, thanked the branch and associates for keeping the memories of her late husband.
The event also witnessed presentation of awards to undergraduates, who emerged winners in Adekunle Kukoyi memorial essay competition.