Mr Ekos Akpokabayen, a South Africa-based Nigerian entrepreneur and author, says Africa has the potential to be in the status of developed world.
Akpokabayen told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday on telephone from Johannesburg, South Africa that the continent was blessed with a rare breed of vibrant, intelligent young people who were capable of stepping into the shoes of the founding fathers of nations in the continent.
Nigerian South Africa based businessman and author, Ekos Akpokabayen.
He named some of the great founding fathers as Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe (Zik of Africa), Dr Kwame Nkrumah, Jomo Kenyatta, Queen Nzinga, Dr Nelson Mandela and Samora Machel.
Others are Kamuzu Banda, Ahmed Sekou Toure, Leopold Sedar Senghor, Felix Houphouet-Boigny, Julius Nyerere and Dr Kenneth Kaunda.
Akpokabayen, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Secolo Consulting and Training Services, Johannesburg, has published a new book: “The African Progress Initiative’’.
The book cataloged the qualities of leadership endowed in the continent’s young men and women whom he said, were ready to lead.
“Indeed, Africa is blessed. The book is a compilation of advises, ideas, guidelines and lessons on how to get our great continent back on track to the new era and stand tall once again among the rapidly developing world,’’ said the Secretary of the Board of Trustees, Nigerian Union in South Africa.
“The great continent of Africa in this very conventional era is blessed with a rare breed of vibrant, intelligent and vivacious young men and women who are stoutly zealous to step into the highly competitive shoes placed on the sands of time by our continent’s founding fathers.
“When the hopes of continuity threaten to fade away, these rare breed of youthful giants come to the rescue, holding up the torch of the new Africa of our dreams.
“They painstakingly work day and night through vigorous researches, deep thinking in proffering a new road map for the rebirth of the African continent,’’ he said.
He said with this, Africa would meet the demands of global millennium development goals.
Akpokabayen, also President, Board of Trustees, African Diaspora Union, said, “It is possible to change the African mentality, possible to break the jinx of gross obscurity that have held our people captive forever.’’
An ardent lover of sports who holds the 4th Dan Black Belt, Kukiwon Taekwando, is also the CEO, AKP Oils and Lubricants in South Africa, and Chief Investment Officer, Ovid Capita LLP, U.K.