Providing Citizens’ Basic Requirements: A Panacea to Combating Security Challenges – Obaseki
His Excellency Godwin Obaseki, the Executive Governor of Edo State, while delivering a lecture to participants of Course 27 National Defence College said the role of strategic leadership in combating security challenges, are largely derived from the way the society and the government are being organized. He added that the panacea to overcoming basic security challenges is for the government to organize the society properly by providing basic requirements for the citizens, especially the youth.
He emphasized that the topic titled, Strategic Leadership: My Political Experiences was apt as it afforded him the opportunity of sharing with the participants his experiences as a Governor and a political leader in Edo State. The Executive Governor further commended the College and its entire management for deeming it necessary to invite him to share his thoughts on strategic leadership in Nigeria’s political atmosphere in relations to his personal experiences in politics.
He reiterated that he anchored his vision for the development of Edo State on six pillars of institutional reforms, social welfare, infrastructural development, environmental stability, inheritance, culture and economic revolution. He added that there is need for transparency and accountability in government at all levels.
He stated that strategic leader’s performance or measurement of the political experience especially in developing countries such as Nigeria could be very difficult to explain particularly when there was no special template to be used to guide the documentation of such experiences.
Relatively, the Commandant National Defence College, Rear Admiral Adeniyi Osinowo said during his remarks that the College is the highest Strategic Military training institution in Nigeria and the Sub-Region. The Commandant also explored the cultural and historical imperatives of the Benin Kingdom in Edo State over the years compared to Libson, capital of Purtugal. He added that there was a reversal of fortunes regarding the Benin Kingdom and Libson. He advised that attention should be paid to tourism and cultural heritage as way of preserving the historical values and significance of Benin Kingdom as well as pursuing its developmental approaches so as to be at par with Libson.
