By Ngozi Nwoke
The president of the Boys’ Brigade of Nigeria, Lagos State Council, Mr. Olusegun Paul Ladega, has tasked members to remain guided by the core values of the association and not be involved in any untoward act capable of bringing disrepute to the body.
Ladega, who admonished members of the association to work closely with the doctrines of the church, during the executive officers’ workshop recently held in Lagos, also urged them to remain law-abiding and respecters of the laws of the land, especially as they are recognised as stewards to the younger generation.
Ladega also charged members to use their position in the association to teach younger children to live a godly life.
He said: “The aim of the workshop is to enable leaders of the Boys’ Brigade Council to be prepared in teaching the boy-child of today how to live a worthy life and uphold good behaviour. And, as the theme states, ‘Leadership: Share the Vision’, if you look at the society and the level of moral decadence among boys, you will marvel at how they were raised by their parents and guardians.
“This workshop is the moral responsibility of what the Boys’ Brigade owes the society. The workshop is about sharing the leadership vision of the association to its members. It is also about the leadership communicating the vision to the officers that will carry them and that is very important to us. The Boys’ Brigade of Nigeria is concerned about the kind of leadership qualities exhibited by the officers. This is because the officers are the eyes of the council.
“And when we talk about qualities of leadership, we refer to intellectual quality. The intellectual quality of a leader is where excellent leadership really begins. A leader of any organisation is what I call the ‘chief knowing officer.’ The leader must know where he is going first before leading the people. After the leader has studied the vision of the organisation, he can now share it with the people he is leading by way of communication, so that they can understand the task ahead of them. And this brings us to the purpose of the executive officers’ workshop today. As leaders and officers, we want to get to the point where we all qualify to be called ‘chief knowing officers’ and effectively communicate with our followers.”
The guest speaker at the event, Mrs. Stella Edem, a learning and development expert, admonished members to always practise teamwork and collaboration as those were the major leadership qualities needed to function efficiently.
“We are here to examine and study the basic leadership qualities and values of a leader. On the part of the followers, there are major expectations they look forward to from the leaders. So, if the leaders do not exhibit or possess these major leadership values and showcase them in their conduct, the followers will lose trust in them. No follower would feel comfortable to follow a leader who is not trustworthy and reliable.
“So, talking about leadership values, we expect the leaders to be truthful. We must take into cognizance that you cannot give what you do not have. Therefore, as a leader of a group, you must be dependable, intelligent, vision-oriented, humble and loyal. Yes, a leader is expected to be loyal, just as the follower. As leaders, you are put in the leadership position to serve your followers. Teamwork is also another major leadership value expected of a leader. The ability to carry all members along is key. The lack of collaboration could be adversely destructive to the organisation,” Edem said.
In the same vein, Mr. Henry Osindeinde, vice president, learning and development, Boys’ Brigade Nigeria, Lagos State Council, said: “We are here for the executive officers’ workshop to discuss and strategise on the new way of leading the boy-child in the society. With the social vices such as ritual killing, Internet fraud and drug abuse, involving the boy-child, we, as a concerned body, found it necessary to organize the workshop for the officers to begin to teach these young boys right.
“We want to catch them young at this moment, because the manner in which our young boys are getting involved in heinous crimes is extremely disturbing. We want to embark on street evangelism to carry out a boy-child advocacy campaign. We will aggressively campaign against all manner of social vices among boys. When we talk about the boy-child indulging in different atrocities, we often forget that this boy has a father or a mother who should be held accountable for his lifestyle and behaviour. We must take into cognizance the fact that the environment where these young boys are raised also contributes to their way of life.”