Laurier’s Innovative Leadership and Governance program empowers Nigerian business leaders

Aug. 6, 2024

Wilfrid Laurier University recently welcomed a group of executives from Nigeria who participated in the five-day certificate program Innovative Leadership and Governance.  

The program, which ran in late June, was a collaboration between Laurier and the Balsillie School of International Affairs. The program showcased Laurier as an attractive destination for international executive education and provided participants a holistic view of leadership and management practices that can be applied in today’s ever-changing business environment.  

“Participants in the Innovative Leadership and Governance program are high-impact individuals in their respective industries” says Ben Yang, director of global engagement at Laurier. “They are in the position to integrate their learning outcomes in a tangible manner.” 

The program attracted business leaders from sectors including banking and finance, utilities, transportation, and infrastructure engineering.  They participated in eight sessions designed to provide a toolkit participants can use to execute strategic leadership plans in their organizations. Courses included Effective Corporate Governance, Creativity and Problem Solving, and Strategies for Enhancing Leadership and Followership.  

Ann Fitz-Gerald, director of the Balsillie School of International Affairs, and Francis Olatoye, instructor of Strategic Management at the Lazaridis School of Business and Economics, both have extensive experience working in Nigeria, so participants received strategies tailored to their home country’s unique social and economic needs.     

“The amount of knowledge they had about Nigeria was really awesome,” says Cheta Nwabuike, an executive director with CE Power Solutions who took part in Innovative Leadership and Governance. “We felt like we were right back home in Lagos.” 

Along with the in-class portion of the program, participants attended networking events with local business leaders at Catalyst 137, a technology hub with a global focus, as well as a leadership panel moderated by Laurier’s associate vice-president of global strategy, Kathy Hogarth. 

The group was also provided a tour of Waterloo City Hall – one of the highlights for Nwabuike – where they met with councillors Mary Lou Roe and Julie Wright and spent some time in council chambers. Nwabuike says she was impressed by the number of women serving on council.  

“In Nigeria there’s a lot of talk about women actively participating in governance. However, you really don't see that in practice,” she says. “When we talk about gender diversity, gender balance, gender equality, we were seeing it here.”  

During her visit to city hall, Nwabuike sat down in the mayor’s chair and recorded a video of herself. She shared it with some of her contacts, calling it “My four minutes as Mayor of Waterloo.” She aimed to inspire women at home in Nigeria.  

“I wanted women to see that they can have that power to rise above where they currently are into becoming leaders themselves,” she says.  

The group was about to wrap up its meet and greet when Waterloo Mayor Dorothy McCabe surprised the visitors. The brief meeting with the mayor turned into an hour-long discussion focusing on a wide range of social and economic topics that left Nwabuike and the rest of the group energized.  

“We walked out of that session hoping that our country could have this kind of open policy, where people are able to learn from government officials themselves,” she says. 

Yang says feedback he’s received about the program has been overwhelmingly positive and that several participants made local connections they hope will lead to business relationships in Nigeria.  

“They have become our ambassadors and speak highly about the program,” says Yang. 

Nwabuike hopes that others will take advantage of the Innovative Leadership and Governance program and has recommended it to her colleagues.  

“I can only be as effective as the amount of knowledge I have in terms of governance,” says Nwabuike. “I was able to acquire tools to take back to my board and help govern the organization better.”