President and Chairman of Council of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, (CIBN) Dr Ken Opara has strongly charged young bankers to get prepared for the current and future trends, especially in the banking and financial sector.
Dr Opara gave the admonition at the graduation ceremony of the 2023 edition (second stream) of the Institute’s mentorship program which held virtually on Thursday, April 27, 2023.
The mentorship program is one of the numerous fora designed by CIBN to deliver on its mandate of building capacity for the Nigerian banking industry. It was introduced in 2012 and re-launched on June 17, 2020, with the objective of providing a platform for young bankers to be groomed and nurtured by senior, experienced professionals, thereby helping the future generation of bankers achieve their personal and career objectives faster whilst ensuring the safety, soundness, and sustainability of the banking industry in Nigeria and beyond.
The theme of this year’s program: ‘Staying Ahead of the Curve in a Competitive Environment: Prerequisite for Career and Personal Advancement’, is so apt and timely considering the fast pace of advancement in global systems being driven by technology
Dr Ken Opara expatiated on this fact by saying; ‘’Staying ahead of the curve can simply be put as being aware of and prepared for current and future trends. It is about being proactive instead of reactive. In today’s fast-paced business landscape, where technological advancements, market disruptions, and unpredictable events are increasingly becoming the order of the day, staying ahead of the curve for relevance has become more critical than ever before, not only for organizations but for employees as well. Therefore it involves hard work, commitment, critical thinking and knowing what to do and where to be, to get that extra bump into the future of your industry.’’
Staying ahead, in reality requires impartation by experienced and successful individuals to influence the thinking pattern, professional character and relational attitude of the young ones. These form the background of the objectives of the entire scheme which Dr Opara enumerated thus;
‘’Enhancing Learning and career development for Young Bankers, Reducing the incidence of professional misconduct among practitioners , Enhancing bonding and building of new long-term professional relationships, Assisting in acquiring competencies and professional experience and Strengthening the talent pipeline into senior leadership roles in the banking industry.’’
Dr. Opara is therefore convinced that the 302 mentees that have participated in the program are better equipped to perform excellently in both their professional and individual aspirations given the quality of skills and knowledge acquired during the program.
He therefore expressed profound appreciation to the Mentors whose immense contributions and sacrifice facilitated the success of the program geared towards helping the Mentees grow their skills, make better decisions, and gain new perspectives on their lives and career.
Present at the graduation ceremony were Mr. Ademola Adebise, FCIB, Former, Managing Director/CEO, Wema Bank Plc who was Special Guest of Honor, and Mrs. WonuolaAdetayo, Chief Executive Officer, Soft Skills Management Consultant who was the Guest Speaker for this event,
Also present were Mrs. Amina Habib, Director, Human Resources Department, Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Jubril Mobolaji Lawal, HCIB, Managing Director/CEO, Ecobank Nigeria Ltd, Mrs. Zubaida Umar, Executive Director, Finance and Corporate Services, Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN), Prof. Muhammad Auwalu Haruna, Director, CBN Centre of Excellence for Economics and Finance, Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria and Mr. Dare Ogunlade, HCIB, Regional Managing Director, West Africa, Oracle.
In his concluding words to the graduands, Dr. Opara said: ‘’prioritizing your all-around development is essential for long-term personal and career success. By setting aside dedicated time, using technology to your advantage, and attending knowledge-sharing events, you can ensure that you are investing in your growth and development.’’