Portfolio 3 Subheading
Citizenship and Ethical Leadership
There is no doubt that many centuries of violent encounters with other parts of the world have led indelible marks on the psychology of an average African. This psychological damage and the wide spread poverty that dot the landscapes of majority of people on the continent have predisposed people to undue struggle for accumulation, relevance and position. In the process, the society suffers. An average African also suffers from the crisis of identity, not knowing who they are in terms of history, capacity and possibilities. The contradictions that are inherent in this crisis has led to all forms of sub-optimal and self -destructive actions such as xenophobia, ethnocentrism and misuse of power for personal ends at the expense of the public good.
Our intervention under this cluster will be to seek a general reorientation on the psychology of African youths, who are the leaders of tomorrow. Rather than the current proclivity towards the pursuit of personal goals at the expense of the public good.
Training
We will be training the future African leaders to embrace new thinking on the purpose of existence, crafting an African identity that is rooted in history and developing a cosmopolitan mind-set that transcends the narrow confines of the search for self-glory, ethnicity or tribalism. The mode of engagement will include organising seasonal programmes on cohort basis.
We envisage two cohorts per year in which 30 fellows with demonstrable leadership potentials will be selected across the continent to spend two weeks together in selected locations on the continent. Graduates of the programme will be encouraged to replicate their experiences in their countries and regions. In the course of five years’ time, we would have trained 600 of such Fellows across the continent. Possible funders for this project will include: Ford Foundation, CODESRIA and MO Ibrahim Foundation.