JAM Initiative, an NGO, on Tuesday in Abuja organised a leadership mentorship programme for Information Officers with a view to addressing dwindling work ethics among professionals in public service.
The founder of the NGO and organiser of the programme, Mrs Josie Mudasiru, said that the idea behind the programme was to impact knowledge and experiences gathered over years to younger employees of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) and private sector.
Mudasiru, who is an Assistant Director of Information in the FCTA, said mentorship was necessary to curb some of the challenges confronting society and transmit values usually from older generation to younger ones.
“The inspiration for this programme started in 2020, when I realised that in a few years from now, some of us will be leaving the public service.
“I thought it wise to pass down the knowledge we have gathered in public service over the years to the newly employed staff of public relations department.
“This is important so we do not leave a void in the public service when we leave,” she said.
Earlier, Ms Inimfon Etuk, urged public relations officers and other professionals to identify and emulate mentors to build effective successor plan for their organisations.
Etuk, who is also an executive of the Nigeria Institute of Public Relations, enjoined the mentees to daily build themselves for higher responsibilities by fueling their desires to want to do more, achieve more and emulate mentors.
“Because we don’t succeed alone as individuals, we grow on the shoulders of others, we need to identify those we need for where we are going.
“We need to identify those with the skills set that can support our journey to where we want to see ourselves.”
Also, Dr Jumai Ahmadu, Acting Director, FCTA Department of Reform Coordination and Service Improvement, emphasised that mentorship was very important in every segment of society including the public service.
“It very important because if you check our society today so many of our values are being eroded, people don’t take their careers serious again because they feel no one will notice whatever input they bring to the work place.
“They need people they can really look up to so mentoring should be taken more seriously across all professions.”
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the virtual programme, which lasted for four months culminated in a face to face meeting where mentees, drawn from FCTA and seven participants from private sector meet their mentors, one on one.
