Airtel CEO advises youths to brace up for leadership

Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Airtel Nigeria, Mr. Segun Ogunsanya has called on Nigerian youths to brace up for leadership and to prepare themselves for future opportunities.

Ogunsanya who was speaking, recently, at the 2017 SEED Youth Conference, which held at the University of Lagos, Akoka, emphasised the need for young Nigerians to be more result driven in their endless thirst for knowledge.

“As youths, you have to be prepared for any opportunity; else, someone else gets it. Never be afraid to learn from someone smarter than you irrespective of class. This is very important for personal and business growth, ” he said.

According to him, young Nigerians need to focus on solving problems and imbibing the right values rather than dwelling on prevailing socio-economic challenges.

‘Building personal and business values are very important to building a secured future. Our youths need to focus on solving problems rather than blaming others for the challenges they face,” he urged.

At the interactive session, Ogunsanya relived his personal experience as an undergraduate student, taking the over 1000 undergraduates in attendance through his career journey while highlighting the important decisions which made the difference for him. He urged the young participants to learn from his experience.

Some of the practical personal tips shared at the conference include: being constructively discontent; being outcome focused; having a learning mindset; planning to not just participate but win and getting rid of trouble quickly.

He also highlighted focusing on the vital few: speed to market; data and insight driven decision making process; soft on people, hard on performance; respect for money; zero tolerance for corruption and unethical practices as some of the business value needed to attain greatness.

The conference was declared open by the Executive Governor of Lagos State, His Excellency, Mr. Akinwumi Ambode who was represented by the Lagos State Commissioner for Wealth Creation and Employment, Dr. Babatunde Durosimi-Etti.

SEED Youth Conference is an annual empowerment initiative organised by ARK Media. This year’s event was attended by top industry experts and over 1000 students across the country. Some of the notable attendees include MD/CEO, Resource Intermediaries Ltd., Olusoji Oyawoye and CEO Inspiro Consulting, Mr. Jimi Tewe.