The Africa Initiative for Governance (AIG) fellowship has said it intends to expand its scholarships, fellowships and intensify its investments to build a critical mass of capable leaders who can move the nation’s economy forward.
AIG Founder and Chairman, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, made this assertion recently after the AIG’s annual public lecture. While speaking on the recent social unrest, Aig-Imoukhuede said the hope and future of any nation lies in the contributions of the young people and those who are truly committed to the nation’s development.
According to him, the situation is urgent, and AIG will further expand scholarships, fellowships intensify its investments to build a critical mass of capable leaders who can move the nation forward.
“Less than a week after our annual lecture, Nigeria was confronted with the consequences of several years of under-investment in leadership and capacity building.The AIG grieves with the nation at the loss of life and property following recent days of social unrest. We must use this momentary period of darkness as impetus to usher in a new dawn of enlightenment and progress. This is the time to envision what we want our nation to be and to move forward by building and empoweringNigeria’s next generation of leaders”, he said.
The AIG scholarship programme, which is in partnership with the University of Oxford’s Blavatnik School of Government, awards five scholarships annually to promising future leaders to undertake a Master’s degree in Public Policy (MPP) at the University.
Aig-Imoukhuede explained that the fellowship has embarked on the national selection processes to identify the 2021/22 AIG scholarsfor Nigeria and Ghana.
He said: “Recent events in Nigeria have threatened completion of the scholar selection exercise.We however regard these scholarships as being more important now than ever and willmarshal whatever resources are required to complete the exercise in time to meet the closure date for BSG’s MPP application window. Shortlisted candidates will be required to follow stringent health and safety protocols.
Nigeria’s transformation lies in the hands of its youth, who will go on to lead the public and private sectors, and no stone must be left unturned as we invest in them and build their capacity to rebuild and lead a great nation”.