A photo journalist and
motivational speaker, Israel Ibeleme, has challenged members of the Political Students Association (POSA) of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), Port Harcourt Study Centre to nurture the leadership qualities in them.
Mr Ibeleme gave the charge during a seminar and end of year party organised by POSA in Port Harcourt recently.
“A leaders is simply a person who has decided to reach for more than that average person. Average is common. The majority of people on earth live average lives. So a leader is an average man or woman who decides to improve his or her lot in life”, he said.
The motivational speaker further said though many have claimed that leadership was in-born, research has shown that one can develop his or herself to be a good leader.
The photo journalist identified confidence as one attribute that qualifies one to be a leader, explaining that the lion is considered the king of the jungle because of its confident nature.
In his words, “I have discovered that this truth in the jungle is also true in politics, church, finance, business and culture in which we live”.
He believes that all human beings are imbued with this quality but that it must be awakened and used, “It’s time to awaken the lion in you. There is a lion living inside you and that lion will make you bold and confident”.
Mr Ibeleme also charged the students to emulate the leadership qualities of Jesus, whom he described as the lion of the tribe of Judah.
By emulating the leadership qualities of Jesus, the photojournalist said the students will learn to become greater leaders, as they will align themselves with God’s words and His plan for them.
He said, “God’s overall desire for us is to become like Christ  the leader, we realize that to be on top means climbing, pushing, working, letting go of wrong thinking and excess baggage”.