Kaduna State Government initiated the Kashim Ibrahim Fellowship to help widen the pool of young persons whose leadership ability it can help develop and nurture.
Governor Nasir El-Rufai made this known at the graduating ceremony of the second cohorts of the Fellows which held at Government House Kaduna on Friday.
‘’Our graduating Fellows have held up with distinction, the baton of merit and quality handed over by the pioneer set. We have no doubt that the third cohort of the fellowship, which resumes next month, will live up to these standards and sustain the tradition,’’ he said.
El-Rufai said that Kaduna State Government believes in young people, adding that that is why ‘’we invest in creating platforms and opportunities for them. We have appointed many young persons and given them challenging responsibilities.’’
‘’Just as the appointees in this government come from across Nigeria, we opened up participation in the Kashim Ibrahim Fellowship to all Nigerian youths,’’ he added.
El-Rufai said that the Fellows were exposed ‘’to a rich and varied programme of immersion in the daily work of government agencies, lectures and seminars on leadership, working trips and speaker series that enable them share from the experiences and insights of leaders in government, business and other endeavours.
‘’The Fellows have responded admirably to this unique opportunity. They have left positive impressions in the agencies they have served in. The distinguished leaders that have interacted with them have commended their interest, knowledge and desire to learn,’’ he added.
Kaduna State has ‘’made considerable investments in these fellows as a deliberate intervention in building leadership capacity and promoting a meritocratic culture. The recruitment of Fellows for the first two sets has demonstrated that merit can be an enabler of diversity,’’ he said.
El-Rufai challenged the graduating cohort to take the KIF spirit into everyday life, adding that ‘’we will stay in touch and monitor your development and leadership journey. The Kaduna State Government will be in the background to support your sure path to greatness.’’
The governor thanked all members of the ‘’Governing Board for an excellent job in running the Kashim Ibrahim Fellowship. The Steering Committee continues to do an excellent job of supporting the Governing Board, and I thank all the members for their efforts.’’
‘’We are also indebted to the prominent citizens who have spared the time to share their life and professional experiences with our fellows during the Speaker Series. They have afforded these young persons incredible insights into life which they will long cherish,’’ he added.
El-Rufai gave the graduating cohorts four books, including Peter Lewis “Growing Apart”, Lee Kuan Yew’s “From Third World to First”, Acemoglu & Robinson’s “Why Nations Fail” and his own book, “The Accidental Public Servant”.
KAD Facts
-Kashim Ibrahim Fellowship application portal went live on March 2, 2020, for the 2020/2021 admission;
–Submission deadline was March 20, 2020;
-Out of the 5,950 persons that registered on the portal, only 1,711 submitted before deadline;
-The portal screened the applications for plagiarism and use of English;
-Only 777 essays made it to the next stage;
-Two independent editors concluded assessing the 777 essays on April 18;
-258 out of the 777 essays scored 60% and made it to the third stage;
-The Steering Committee further reviewed the 258 essays and 72 applications crossed the bar;
-The 72 applicants were asked to send in a three-minute video, stating their names, ages and states of origin and what makes them ‘’an ideal Kashim Ibrahim Fellow;’’
-On May 27, 2020, the Steering Committee reviewed the videos and selected 40 of them for the Governing Board to consider;
-One June 26, the Board offered admission to 16 candidates, six of which are from Kaduna State, in line with the KIF Law;
– There are equal number of male and females on the third cohort of Kashim Ibrahim Fellowship that will soon come on board.
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