Lagos,Nigeria
Thursday, March 28th, 2024

Search
Search
Close this search box.

LOUD WHISPERS: The Lecture

No comment
Saturday, April 15th, 2017
18 comments

On behalf of all of us at the University of Menge, I would like to thank Dr Kafria Mentil for honouring us with her presence today and for delivering such an informative and exciting lecture on ‘Preparing for Transformative Leadership’. The floor is now open for questions.

My name is Joseph Karimi. I am a third year student of Economics in this University. Thank you for the exciting lecture ma. I am concerned about the attitude of our older  leaders today. Many of them are doing things they should be ashamed of. They do not pay workers’ salaries on time, they owe pensioners, yet they earn huge allowances and import fancy cars. It is getting so hard to find role models as you suggested. What can be done about this?

I agree with you that we are witnessing things that leave a lot to be desired. What I urge you to do is ask yourselves, from what I have been taught by people I respect, is this the right way of doing things? Or, ten years from now, is this how I would like to behave? If I am given a position of responsibility now, what would I do differently? Transformative leaders are not there for themselves or their egos, their purpose is to serve others. As we have adults behaving badly all around us, there are still a lot who we can be proud of. Seek out role models who have a track record of integrity, discipline and demonstrable achievements. If you choose your role models carefully you will not be disappointed.

My name is Wande Jameson. I am a final year Law student. I am interested in politics, but I hate the way some things happen in the name of politics. For example how can people vote for Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton who was a more qualified candidate? If they can make a mistake like that in the US, what hope do we have?

It is not up to us to say the American voters made a mistake. All we can do is learn from what happened. We have similar political scenarios around us, where the electorate makes strange choices, voting against their own interests. That is why I urged you to be vigilant, engaged and informed. You need to stop agonizing and start organizing. The real world makes decisions and forms opinions on the streets, in drinking joints, market places, and motor parks, not just on Twitter and Facebook. If young people want a difference they should change the game themselves. Register to vote and show up to vote. Take an interest in politics at a local level. Stop chasing after politicians for money. Stop waging proxy wars on their behalf. Make good use of your time in the University, and use cyberspace to explore the world and broaden your horizons.

My name is Alice Chama. In your speech you said if we are not careful, social media will spell doom for our generation. Don’t you think this is a bit harsh?

Thank you Alice. No, I don’t think I am being harsh, I am stating the facts as I see them. This is not something limited to Nigeria or Africa, it is a global problem. Social media, with all its advantages, is fast becoming a scourge. In a bid to take the ideal selfie, people have fallen to their death or been crushed by trains. Teenagers have been trolled till they commit suicide. We use our mobile devices as a crutch to show people how meaningful and glamourous our lives are. We go shopping and post photographs of our purchases so that people are not left in any doubt that we can afford Chanel bags and Jimmy Choo shoes. We do not value our privacy, so we post photographs of ourselves on vacation, and we are shocked when our homes get burgled before we return. When people post seemingly innocuous photographs of themselves, just to feel a sense of community, there is a barrage of criticisms which range from the outright ridiculous to the downright obscene. In what universe is it alright to call someone’s baby ‘Ugly’ or a mother a ‘bush woman’? Even mistresses have now become emboldened, using social media to attack the wives of their man-friends. Employers in many western countries now check out the cyber footprints of potential employees. No one wants to hire a seemingly unbalanced employee, and your social media activities reveal a lot about you. Your generation and mine have been blessed with social media and all the good it can do. Don’t let us be cursed with it.

 

 

Full article in Loud Whispers cover final

 

Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi is a Gender Specialist, Social Entrepreneur and Writer. She is the Founder of Abovewhispers.com, an online community for women. She can be reached at BAF@abovewhispers.com

 

18 Responses

  1. As much as I can imagine the contents of this lecture based on the questions and answers, I wish we could get the content of the whole lecture. Amazing and insightful as always

  2. I read through this article more than once, the answers are so striking and thoughtful. Ma, I want the whole speech

  3. Ma’am I love the response you gave to chetty small, no one will go to hell cuz of gender equality. God used men, children and the likes in the bible for all. There’s nothing like sex in the kingdom, we are all equal. And for giving all your hard earned money to your hubby, Oyo will not only be your case but zamfara will be. And please do change your Church as momma advised cuz that sermon is heretical.

  4. This article is a very nice one and the response you gave are very clear and unbiased. God bless you momma.

  5. As for issues pertaining to politics, we all should learn to set priorities right and check their motives. Any one who feels politics is in a state of discombobulation and messy should go there and clean up the mess, and stop complaining. We all have a right to cast our votes and involve in politics because its our civic responsibility. Its time to act and that starts with us!

  6. I always say this, Rape is not about the dressing, I am pleased with the answer you gave the other lady who asked that question. My dress is not your concern it means you are just mentally insane! I hate it when you tell someone about rape and the next question is what was that person wearing?

    Really? even police officers are fun of that and when they see the cloth they decide if they should take it up or not? Thanks for saying such a valid statement.

  7. This is great. I am amazed at such intellectual and wise responses. I don’t mind having the speech, this is what should really go viral not crazy pictures of nudity and insanity.

  8. You know, I read this over and over again. God bless you ma’am. I don’t mind the speech either. I will still keep saying this, I wonder why the federal government hasn’t thought about making you a minister. Women affairs/Youth/Education. These are the kinds of people we need.

  9. Loud whispers is here again! I am glad to know this site because I get transformed everytime i’m here. You know, just like others wrote, I want this speech and after reading, I was ashamed that Ekiti state missed transformation for thuggery.

  10. This speech should be uploaded and we should make efforts at making it go viral. This pastor issue, it’s a big case in Nigeria. I have a friend who is married to a violent man and has refused to leave because her pastor told her that the bible doesn’t accept divorce, so she must carry her cross and wait for her husband’s salvation.

    It’s irksome, i will share this and I hope this will really help her.

  11. Thank you ma for sharing this insightful questions and answers with us… Am also requesting for the full Lecture to be uploaded for us to disgest more.
    I concur with the answer concerning social media spelling doom for our generation.No more privacy. Social media has been abused with the way our generation handles it.
    Thanks you ma, Rape is not about the dressing, it’s just wickedness from the pit of hell. Abi what has dressing got to do with a year old baby. When the government and police are meant to address the issue, they will be attacking the victim first by asking stupid question of what she was putting on.
    Thank You ma for always blessing us with educative information.

  12. Educative and insightful questions and answers. God bless you for us ma. Pls ma, can we get the full Lecture. I Love abovewhispers.com.

  13. So many vital points addressed from the question and answer segment, and i cannot​ but imagine what the “Lecture” would have addressed as a whole. I just hope the educational sector won’t become obsolete in the nearest future.

  14. Very precise answers to the questions above, that i must say. But on a lighter mood, can’t our political leaders​ be selfless for once and not selfish. Just a thought.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *