He said: “We are approaching another significant electoral cycle in Nigeria. Across this country, new leaders will emerge at different levels of government. Existing leaders will confront increasingly complex demands.
“The challenges are immense—insecurity, economic instability, decaying infrastructure, institutional weakness and a crisis of trust between the governed and those who govern.
”I am convinced that the solution to these challenges is not more of the same. The solution is leaders who understand that public office is a sacred trust, not personal enterprise.
“Leaders who prioritise common good over private gain; and have the competence to translate vision into policy, and courage to translate policy into results.”
To the graduating students, Bakare said they represented the new breed of leaders who would break the cycle of incompetence and corruption.
The serving overseer said they were leaving with something far more valuable than a document.
The cleric said they were leaving with a framework for thinking about governance that transcended political parties, ethnic loyalties and sectional interests, adding that they had been equipped to see the big picture.
According to him, the quality of a nation is inseparable from the quality of the people who exercise leadership within its institutions.
“You are leaving with a charge to serve—not to dominate, not to accumulate, not to exploit. You have been trained to lead with integrity, to govern with competence, and to serve with humility.
“These are not empty words. They are the foundation upon which this institution was built.
“Nigeria is waiting for you. You are the ones who will bring fresh ideas, ethical standards and a commitment to excellence into the corridors of power.
“You are the ones who will demonstrate that governance can be different—that it can be responsive, responsible and transformative,” he said.
Bakare pointed out that all leaders need to understand that leadership was a calling and not a career.
He explained that true leadership was about answering the call to serve something larger than yourself—their community, nation and generation.
Bakare urged them not to forget that the people they lead were not stepping stones to their success, adding that they were the very reason for their service, hence the need for integrity.
Also speaking, the Executive Director of CSG, Mr Omoaholo Omoakhalen, said that the institution produced 69 pioneer graduands.
Omoakhalen urged them to justify the confidence reposed in them by helping to build a Nigeria that works.
