Ogun State Head of Service, Mr. Kehinde Onasanya has reiterated the importance of training and re-training for Civil/Public Servants across the country who are the societal bedrock as their reflection on national policy proffers solution for governance and issues that affect the citizens.
Mr. Onasanya made this known at the opening ceremony of the Strategic Leadership and Management Course for Lagos State Permanent Secretaries, Heads of Agencies and Parastatals at the Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona School of Governance Studies (OSKASOGS), Ago Iwoye.
He explained that training meant so much to the officers as the Federal Government had given the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) the authority to take over the running and management of the Institute, thus, making it the first campus of NIPSS in South West Nigeria, and also enabled the strategic management training for senior public servants across South West Nigeria and beyond.
He therefore used the occasion to appreciate the Governor of Ogun State, Prince Dapo Abiodun for the role played during the takeover while congratulating Permanent Secretaries from Lagos State for being selected to partake in the strategic leadership development initiative, adding that the benefits awaiting them are invaluable as experienced by their counterparts in Ogun State after going through similar training earlier this year.
“I want to put on record the consistency and professionalism of NIPPS, for decades, the institute has remained a foremost citadel of strategic thought and leadership development while maintaining its reputation as the prime public governance training hub in Africa. I therefore have no doubt that their wealth of experience, intellectual depth and practical methodology will comprehensively tutor the delegates from Lagos just as they did with our officers in Ogun State” the HoS said.
Mr. Onasanya highlighted that the programme of this magnitude contributes significantly to regional integration and sustainable development, particularly when civil/public servants who were entrusted with the responsibility of driving policy and governance are nurtured through rigorous and world class training which the dividends go beyond their States as they would be able to contribute meaningfully to the regional collaboration for development.
The Head of Service eulogised the vision of the late Awujale of Ijebu land, Oba Dr. Sikiru Kayode Adetona for the donation of the edifice that housed the institute. He also commended his counterpart from Lagos State, Mr. Bode Agoro for keeping faith with his promise that his Permanent Secretaries would be the next beneficiaries of the transformative training being offered by the institute, adding that his act of consistency and commitment speaks volumes about the leadership quality in Lagos State.
The Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwoolu, also extolled the benevolence of the late Awujale that gave birth to the institute which according to him remained a foremost leadership institute in Africa.
The Governor represented by the Head of Service, Mr. Bode Agoro called on well-meaning Nigerians to emulate the kind gesture of the late monarch geared at making things easy for people in Civil service administration.
The Director General of the NIPPS, Prof. Ayo Omotayo said the institute, in collaboration with Lagos State government had a mandate to train their Permanent Secretaries and decided to take them out of Lagos to a serene environment, because the modules are very deep and they would need total concentration as the training would help to improve their overall performance and efficient service delivery to the people of the state.
He admonished the participants to imbibe self-discipline and go through all the modules devotedly because they were carefully put together to make them change agents that would change the narrative even for the common man on the street of Lagos.
Earlier in his welcome address, the Director of OSKASGOS, Prof Sola Adeyanju said that since Public Service is the engine room of good governance then the training is essential as it would allow the institute and the participants to reflect, interact and share experiences for a better society which is in tandem with the motto of the institute ” Towards a better society”
In his good will message, the Vice Chancellor, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Prof Ayodeji Agboola represented by the deputy Vice Chancellor, Academic, Prof. Olatundun Oderinde said it gave him pleasure to welcome top government functionaries from Lagos to the serene environment of the institution for the training and promised the cooperation of the school throughout their stay in the institute.
Two of the participants, from the Ministry of Art and Culture, Mr. Lanre Bajulaiye and Permanent Secretary, Teaching Service Commission, Mrs. Ropo Oyekan-Ismaila, said that the training came at the right time and would energize them to become change agents through policy, strategy, leadership and management modules on the best way to move Lagos forward, adding that the training would also bring out the best from them especially as they move towards the electioneering period in Nigeria.
