The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, has commended former President John Agyekum Kufuor for instituting the Kufuor Scholars Program to groom the youth to become good leaders. He said such mentoring programs were necessary to produce leaders such as President Kufuor who would be capable of leading as he did during his tenure as President.
Otumfuo Osei Tutu II said this when the Chief Executive of the John A. Kufuor Foundation, Prof. Baffour Agyeman-Duah, led beneficiaries of the program to pay a courtesy call on the Asantehene at the Manhyia Palace last Sunday. The visit was part of the mentoring activities of beneficiaries in learning about the traditions and cultures of all the regions of the country. The scholars were in camp at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), where they were taken through leadership and public speaking skills.
Objective of visit to Manhyia
Addressing the Asantehene, Prof. Agyeman-Duah said the objective of the program was to train and groom the youth to become transformational leaders by imbibing in them the values of integrity, honesty, patriotism, and commitment to ethical behaviour.
According to him, the program was open to all Ghanaians irrespective of where they lived, their ethnicity or gender. However, he said, the selection process was rigorous and was designed to ensure the selection of the best candidates.
Coordinator speaks
The Coordinator of the Kufuor Scholars Program, Dr Pascal Brenyah, told the Daily Graphic that so far, the program was achieving its objective as most of the beneficiaries had shown the leadership traits expected of them. He said even those who had the chance to travel outside the country had all returned home to contribute to the development of the country. He said the objective of the program was to nurture a crop of graduates who were self-reliant and could contribute effectively to the country. The beneficiaries are also given entrepreneurial skills.
Experience
Sharing their experiences, some of the students told the Daily Graphic that joining the programme had been an eye-opener for them, as it had given them exposure to the nuances of leadership not learnt in classrooms. A student of the University of Ghana, Ms Salomey Odei, said through the program, she had been able to improve on her self-confidence and could speak on any platform, “something I was not able to do in the past,” she added.
The special guest of honour at this year’s camp Lawyer Irene Ansah-Asare Horsham who is Rector MountCrest University College was also part of the delegation.
If you are touched by what you read and would want to support former President Kufuor’s vision to train more young people into effective leaders, please email the coordinator of the Kufuor Scholars Program Dr. Pascal Brenya at drpascal@kufuorscholarsprogram.org, or call +233 264 538 538
