Airtel CEO Counsels Leaders on Sustenance of Development

*Segun Ogunsanya

Leaders and people in positions of authority have been urged to strive at discovering, nurturing and developing talents in order to sustain development and growth in Nigeria as well as other African countries,

Airtel Nigeria Chief Executive Officer, Segun Ogunsanya, during the weekend in Lagos, gave this advice at the monthly Role Model Forum of the Centre for Values in Leadership (CVL), where in his role as guest speaker, he shared his life story and experience with some young people who were participants at the event.

According to him, “If Nigeria and other countries in Africa are to develop; we must start developing our people. For development to be sustainable we must develop African talents. Leaders are created and those who are leaders today must create the next leaders.”

He shared some of his nuggets of success with the young men and women at the forum, saying they must focus on goals they desire to achieve and watch against being arrogant because there is a thin line between confidence and arrogance.

Speaking further, Ogunsanya inspired the young audience to be prepared and not miss any opportunity to shine in their career. He encouraged them to always ensure they are prepared for opportunities that may come their way.

As a piece of advice to some of the participants who are employees, the Airtel boss urged them to be result-oriented because employers reward results not efforts.

“So, be focused on what is truly measured, the result. That is the only thing that will guarantee you success. Mark my words: nobody pays for efforts any more. Efforts are important but you are only and truly rewarded for the results you put on the table when you get to certain levels. Of course we talk about values, they are as important as producing results. When you have values just make sure the values lead to the results. The results are the only true measurement of your success,” Ogunsanya said.

The CVL Role Model Forum is a monthly interactive programme where individuals who have excelled in various field of endeavour share their life experiences and stories with participants in order to impart values, leadership qualities and motivate them towards becoming great leaders.