General News
The World Needs Visionary, Courageous Leaders

By Austin Okere
Today’s leaders must be effective communicators who embrace depolarization, paradox, and compassion—and who take action without fear.
- As society faces a range of global challenges, it looks for leaders who can create positive change and share responsibility across sectors.
- Today’s leaders must reject black-and-white thinking, be comfortable with uncertainty, and empathize with others.
- Leaders are distinguished by whether their actions and attitudes are influenced by courage or fear.

Effective leadership plays a critical role in shaping the success of any society or organization. As American author John Maxwell declared, “Everything rises and falls on Leadership”
In our complex and connected world, society faces mounting environmental and humanitarian crises. Leaders must help drive societal change by taking into account not just profits, but also people and the planet. They must help society determine what type of growth is necessary and sustainable and what type of growth we can no longer afford. To accomplish this, today’s leaders need three essential traits:
They must be visionary. Bold, forward-thinking leaders see farther and more clearly than others, often anticipating what lies ahead. They motivate teams to perform at their best.
They must be collaborative. Such leaders encourage a greater diversity of ideas to flourish, and they make sure no one individual or entity shoulders the entire burden of any task. Collaborative leaders know how to share responsibility across all sectors to solve pressing societal challenges.
They must be willing to learn. Emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and large language models introduce leaders to new challenges on a regular basis. Leaders must be ready to constantly learn, unlearn, and relearn diverse skill sets to keep up with the changes. By embracing innovation and creativity, leaders can move beyond current restrictions and unlock more possibilities, iteratively creating new and improved realities.
Essential Competencies
To discover what qualities accomplished leaders should possess, Ausso Leadership Academy conducted an inquiry in partnership with AACSB. The academy is a mentorship program in Lagos, Nigeria, that I founded for executives and entrepreneurs. Our investigation showed us that leaders must develop capacity in three areas: depolarization, paradox, and compassion. These skills are so important for future leaders that business schools should provide opportunities throughout their curricula for students to develop them.
I speak about these capacities in a YouTube video on the #BusinessInsightsWithAO channel, but here’s a closer look at each one:
Depolarization is the ability to reject black-and-white thinking, embrace complexity, and explore alternative perspectives. It requires self-awareness, an open mind, and a nonjudgmental attitude that allows to engage in meaningful dialogue.
A professor could teach students about depolarization by dividing them into two groups that stand at opposite ends of the room and study a graphic on the floor. From one perspective, the graphic will look like the figure 6; from the other perspective, it will look like the figure 9. Students should discuss how they see the graphic from their position, and then switch sides with their peers.
This exercise teaches students that they must learn to listen to each other, acknowledge their different viewpoints, and find common ground. It shows them that people can create a more peaceful and harmonious world when they come together with respect, empathy, and understanding.
Paradox is the willingness to embrace uncertainty and acknowledge the interdependence of opposing forces. It involves operating with a curious and inquisitive mindset, recognizing personal limitations, and being honest with ourselves and others.
A faculty member could teach the concept of paradox by giving all students pieces of a jigsaw puzzle that depicts an elephant. Based on the pieces in their hands, students should try to guess what the whole image is. Those who see only the tail might think they’re looking at a rope; those who see only the thick legs might think they’re looking at a tree. The true image only emerges when all the pieces are put together.
Through this exercise, students are invited to explore the complexities of the human experience. They learn that sometimes the things that seem irreconcilable can be connected in ways that are not immediately apparent.
Compassion is the capacity to empathize with and understand different cultural backgrounds and personal experiences. It necessitates maintaining a broad perspective, avoiding confirmation bias, and striving to understand as well as to be understood.
Compassionate leaders radiate warmth, kindness, and understanding; they exude a sense of serenity that eases the burdens of those around them. Quite often, a high-performance member of the team falls on challenging times and simply needs an empathetic ear. If the compassionate leader offers a comforting word, the team member will feel a sense of hope, knowing that someone is willing to help.
To teach compassion, a professor can ask students what they would do if a team member dropped the ball on an important project. The class is likely to respond that the colleague should be removed from the team. Then the professor should remind the class that the individual is historically a high performer and suggest that the person might be going through some personal difficulties. At this point, students might view the situation differently and conclude that they should support their team member through this tough patch by showing compassion.
The Importance of Generative Listening
In addition to developing these crucial capacities, leaders must possess the ability to communicate effectively. Communication is always a two-way track, and the key part is generative listening, which happens when people listen intently, with curiosity and openness, to what each person has to say. Generative listening is not about waiting for a preconceived answer, but about creating spaces where others can feel heard, valued, and understood.
Generative listeners are not just waiting for their turn to speak, but truly seeking to understand and learn from each other. They offer words of encouragement, support, and affirmation, making each person feel safe to share their thoughts and feelings. They reflect back what they hear, ask thoughtful questions that deepen the conversation, and create spaces of respect and authenticity.
To become empathetic listeners, leaders must quiet the voices of judgment, cynicism, and fear and open themselves to the expectation of learning something new. They must step outside themselves, realizing that the truth is more conditional and experiential than their lone egos can fathom. Sometimes leaders are so arrogant that they are fully confident in their own incorrect views. Their need to be right trounces their need to learn what is true. But truth is the essential foundation for producing good outcomes.
A professor can teach generative listening by having students imagine a mathematics classroom for children. In this class, the teacher presents an addition problem to a young student named Mary: “If I give you these two apples and then I give you two more, how many apples will you have?” Mary confidently replies, “Five.” Instead of chiding Mary for her incorrect answer, the teacher should ask how she came up with that number. At that point, the teacher would learn that Mary already has an apple in the lunch bag that her mother packed.
Professors also can show students the power of generative listening by inviting them to share their experiences and learn from each other.
An Analysis of Leadership Attitudes
As a leadership consultant and an entrepreneur-in-residence at Columbia Business School in New York City, I spend a great deal of time considering the traits that distinguish leaders from each other. I have determined that one critical quality is their attitudes toward delivery (producing the desired goods and services) and accountability (taking responsibility for how the work gets done). Are their attitudes influenced by courage or by fear?
To be continued
General News
Indigenous Firm Deploys 400,000 Smart Electricity Meters in 2025

MOJEC International Limited has revealed that it deployed over 400,000 smart meters nationwide in 2025, representing a significant year-on-year growth for the indigenous smart meter manufacturer.

This performance reflected a 33.3 percent increase over the 300,000 meters deployed in 2024, highlighting the scale and acceleration of MOJEC’s metering operations.
Chantelle Abdul, group managing director, attributed the sustained impact to deliberate investments in infrastructure, people, and technology.
“MOJEC operates two state-of-the-art meter production facilities with a combined installed capacity of up to five million meters annually. This scale enables us not just to meet current demand, but to support Nigeria’s long-term metering and energy efficiency goals,” she said.
She further noted that MOJEC’s expansive installer ecosystem, comprising over 5,000 trained professionals nationwide, remains a critical enabler of its delivery advantage, ensuring speed, quality, and compliance across diverse terrains and markets.
The company stated that the deployment surge reflected growing confidence by Distribution Companies (DisCos) and sector stakeholders in MOJEC’s technical capacity, delivery speed, and end-to-end metering solutions.
According to Monday Ubogu, MOJEC’s head of installation, the scale and consistency of delivery set the company apart.
“Within the first three quarters of the year, MOJEC completed about 300,000 installations, accounting for roughly 40 percent of total installations nationwide during that period.
“The momentum continued into the final quarter with an additional 150,000 meters deployed, highlighting our operational depth and nationwide reach,” he said.
Ubogu added that MOJEC’s performance builds on decades of sector engagement, spanning key national metering initiatives including CAPMI, MAF, Vendor Financing, MAP Phases I & II, and NMMP 0, with the company having deployed nearly four million meters since the privatisation of NESI.
According to the company, a substantial portion of the deployment was driven by MOJEC Meter Asset Management Company (M3AC), the Group’s asset management subsidiary, which accounted for about 350,000 installations.
General News
Globacom Donates ₦1Bn to Lagos State Security Trust Fund

In its bid to contribute its quota to the consolidation of security in Nigeria’s commercial capital, Lagos, telecommunications giant, Globacom, has thrown its weight behind the Lagos State Security Trust Fund (LSSTF) with a donation of ₦1 billion.

The generous donation was announced at a Private Sector Breakfast Meeting with CEOs, convened at the instance of the Executive Governor of Lagos State, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Friday, January 30, 2026 and shows the company’s commitment to fostering public safety which would in turn, culminate in enhanced prosperity and social re-engineering in the state.
The donation, which is the biggest private-sector intervention from the telecommunications sector to the Fund in recent years, again shows that Globacom is a responsible, responsive and people-oriented corporate citizen.
Globacom disclosed that the intervention emphasized deeper collaboration between government and the state’s business community especially in relation to security, innovation and economic resilience—an agenda which the digital solutions company has unabashedly supported through sustained social investments.
The Executive Secretary/CEO of the Fund, Dr. Ayo Ogunsan, in his display of appreciation described Globacom’s largesse as “a powerful demonstration of corporate citizenship and a strategic investment in the stability of Lagos State,” saying since LSSTF was established to bridge funding gaps in security infrastructure, it desired voluntary contributions from corporate bodies and well-meaning collaborators.
Dr. Ogunsan promised that the ₦1 billion donation will significantly enhance the Fund’s capacity to address critical priorities for 2026, including multipurpose security helicopters and drones, Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs), water cannons, digital communication equipment and Smart CCTV systems. These assets, he added, were germane to proactive policing, rapid response and intelligence-led operations across the state.
He therefore encouraged Lagosians to support businesses that invest in the safety and development of the state, saying, “When companies step forward to secure our environment, residents should reciprocate by patronizing them. Their support directly impacts the protection of lives, property and economic activity.”
A statement from Globacom explained that the donation was an expression of the company’s staunch belief in Nigeria’s future. “At Globacom, we see security not as a government burden alone, but as a shared responsibility. When people feel safe, enterprise grows, creativity flourishes and hope becomes practical. Our support for the LSSTF is about protecting the everyday dreams of millions of Lagosians,” he noted.
With this donation to the LSSTF, Globacom has furthered its tradition of investing directly in the conditions like safety, confidence and stability which help commerce to thrive. Consequent on the support, LSSTF is gingered to raise the bar of security thereby concretizing Lagos State’s position as Nigeria’s safest and most vibrant commercial hub.
This recent financial intervention from Globacom is in tandem with its avowed commitment to social responsibility that is practical, timely, scalable and aligned with national priorities.
The company’s interventions in the past decades have spanned relief efforts for flood-affected communities, support for displaced persons, advanced youth skills through structured training programmes, and investments in education, culture and digital inclusion.
General News
WIEG to host Nigeria’s first International Investment Summit in Lagos

World International Economic Group (WIEG) Nigeria has announced plans to host its inaugural International Investment Summit on Feb. 25 and 26 at the Four Points by Sheraton Hotel, Oniru, Victoria Island, Lagos.

WIEG
The summit, themed “Nigeria’s Next Frontier: Unlocking Sustainable Investments for Economic Transformation,” is aimed at connecting investment-ready Nigerian enterprises with global capital while addressing long-standing challenges facing micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), cooperatives and women-led businesses.
Speaking at a pre-summit press conference on Friday at Compact Communications Ltd., GRA Ikeja, Lagos, Mr. Bassey Essien, WIEG’s Project & Event Consultant said the summit would serve as a structured platform linking policy, finance and enterprise growth.
Essien identified limited access to structured funding, poor investment readiness and weak documentation as major barriers confronting Nigerian businesses, despite the availability of domestic and international capital.
“Enterprises that succeed understand the importance of preparation. Some invest as much as N200 million in professional feasibility studies to meet the standards of banks and institutions such as the African Development Bank. That level of preparation enables access to collateral-free funding,” he said.
According to him, weak policy continuity, inadequate post-intervention monitoring and fragmented regulatory frameworks have continued to undermine business growth in the country.
“Policies often change with governments, and there is little tracking after interventions. More importantly, many businesses are not prepared in ways financiers require,” Essien noted.
He explained that the summit would convene policymakers, investors, development finance institutions and pre-screened MSMEs and SMEs operating in priority sectors, including the creative industry, agriculture, energy transition, finance and aviation.
Essien described the creative sector as a major contributor to Nigeria’s economy, accounting for about 2.5 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product, but said weak financing structures, piracy and poor intellectual property (IP) protection had limited its growth.
Highlighting the summit programme, he said Day One would feature conferences on macroeconomic issues, policy reforms and enterprise growth, while Day Two would focus on sector-specific deal-making roundtables.
“These deal rooms will be organised by sector — from aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) to renewable energy — with lawyers, financiers and policymakers present to fast-track transactions,” he said.
Essien added that the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) would be present to ensure post-event monitoring and tracking of investment deals concluded during the summit.
He disclosed that the creative economy segment would be supported through partnerships with the Association of Movie Producers of Nigeria (AMP) and financial institutions to fund viable projects in Nollywood, music and fashion.
“Intellectual property regularisation is critical. Once ideas are properly documented and protected, investors gain confidence,” he said.
On energy and aviation, Essien said the summit would spotlight renewable energy solutions to reduce dependence on generators and promote the establishment of commercial MRO facilities to curb the high cost of aircraft maintenance abroad.
He also announced the participation of B Lab Africa, a U.S.-certified organisation focused on environmental, social and governance (ESG), diversity, equity and inclusivity standards, noting that the initiative would help small businesses improve governance and access global funding.
Essien revealed that investment commitments estimated at about 500 million dollars were expected to emerge from the summit.
“This is a private-sector-led, non-partisan initiative that places no financial burden on government. It is focused on job creation, empowering women-owned enterprises and improving investor confidence through transparent and secure processes,” he said.
He urged Nigerian entrepreneurs and SMEs to prioritise proper documentation, professional advisory services and IP protection to position themselves for sustainable growth.
“We are creating a structured pathway from policy to capital to enterprise growth,” Essien added.
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