Sanwo-Olu Charges Youths To Play Active Role In Nation Building

Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and his deputy, Obafemi Hamzat, have implored Nigerian youths to actively participate in the process of nation building, saying it was high time young leaders in the country prepared themselves to take responsibility for the country’s future.

They made the call at the graduation and induction ceremony of the Lateef Jakande Leadership Academy fellowship cohort and induction of the 2026/2027 cohort held in Lagos yesterday.

Sanwo-Olu who challenged the young fellows to look beyond their certificates and fellowship experience, urged them to see leadership as a lifelong responsibility to society, stressing that the sustainability of

Lagos State depends on the quality, character and competence of the next generation.
The governor said the critical question facing Lagos was not merely who would win the next election, but who would be prepared to govern the state decades into the future.

“Who will run Lagos after us?” he asked, stressing the need for deliberate investment in a new generation of competent, responsible and visionary leaders.

According to him, no city can sustain its development across generations without consciously preparing those who will inherit the responsibility of managing it.

Sanwo-Olu said his administration had over the past seven years, invested heavily in infrastructure, including roads and rail, but noted that physical infrastructure alone could not guarantee the long-term success of Lagos.

He likened leadership to the cement used in constructing infrastructure, saying the durability of what is built ultimately depends on the quality of the people entrusted with managing it.

The governor said the consideration informed the establishment of the academy and its naming after the late former Lagos governor, Lateef Jakande, whose legacy, he said, demonstrated that the true measure of leadership was not the length of time spent in office or the number of projects executed, but the lives transformed and institutions left behind.

Sanwo-Olu expressed confidence that academy would outlive his administration, describing it as a permanent institution of Lagos State rather than a programme tied to the personality or priorities of any particular government.

He urged the graduating fellows to apply the lessons acquired during the fellowship whenever they encounter difficult situations in their professional and personal lives.

In his remarks, Hamzat urged the fellows to recognise that their certificates represented the completion of one stage of their preparation, rather than the end of their leadership journey.

The deputy governor said rapid technological advancement, particularly artificial intelligence, was transforming government, businesses, communities and the economy, making it imperative for emerging leaders to develop qualities beyond technical expertise.

He identified judgment, empathy, wisdom, integrity, character and moral responsibility as attributes that technology could not replace.