The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), European Union (EU) and other stakeholders have urged Nigerians to embrace transformational leadership as a pathway to positioning the country as a global power.

The stakeholders made the call on Friday at the ongoing national leadership conference entitled “Transforming Minds: Inspiring Results’ organised by GOTNI Leadership Centre in Abuja.

The UNDP resident representative to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Elsie Attafuah, said that Nigeria needed across governments, the private sector, academia, and civil society leaders with “fire in their belly.”

“The future we seek for Nigeria is not a distant dream; it is within reach if we choose to lead differently.

“Leadership is not about position or privilege; it is about responsibility; it is about seeing further, acting boldly, and inspiring trust,” she said.

Ms Attafuah said that leaders at all levels must think differently, act decisively, and inspire results as true leadership is measured not by promises, but by impact.

According to her, a Nigeria where service defines leadership; where innovation drives growth, and where development impact is collectively recognised and valued is possible.

“If each of us in our own spaces lives out these commitments, then together we will shape a Nigeria defined not by limits, but by possibilities.

“Imagine universities across this country not just as centres of learning but as innovation engines, producing solutions for agriculture, health, fintech, and green energy, directly linked to industry.

“Envision a Nigeria whose creative economy, music, film, fashion, and digital art rival the world’s biggest, and whose renewable energy hubs light up communities and power industries from the Sahel to the coast, ” she said.

She said this was the Nigeria “we can build: Africa’s economic tiger, driven not by chance, but by deliberate leadership and inspired results.

“This is urgent; it is possible. And it begins with us all of us, here and now,” she said.

According to the head of the EU Delegation to Nigeria, Gautier Mignot, Nigeria’s future lies in the hands of its people.

He said that it was very important for Nigeria to enhance and mobilise its domestic financial and human resources, and that investment in education and research was key

Mr Mignot said that Nigeria must grant women the full space to participate in collective decisions and in socio-economic life.

According to him, science has proven that mixed groups perform better than single gender. 

“It is not only a question of women’s rights, it is also a powerful transformative tool to accelerate development to the benefit of all, ” he said.

He also said that Nigeria must embrace systems to identify and debunk fake news and also, rise up to its expectations as a major player in the century.

The convener of the conference, Linus Okorie, said Nigeria needed leaders in the private and public sectors who were creative, visionary, with a sense of duty and commitment to making a big difference for the country.

He said that nations that had made great progress were those that invested heavily in the leadership capital of their citizens.

“So, what we are saying in this conference is about equipping Nigerians to think differently, equipping Nigerians to go out there and be responsible and make the difference.”

(NAN)