The Kaduna State Government, on Thursday, unveiled the fifth set of Kashim Ibrahim Fellows in the state.

The Fellows unveiled by the deputy governor of Kaduna State, Dr Hadiza Balarabe, comprised four young Nigerians.

Speaking at the event held at Government House in Kaduna, Balarabe extolled the programme which started in 2018.

She said: “KIF seeks to bequeath to Nigeria leaders that will move the nation’s public service in the direction of purposeful development.

“Malam Nasir El-Rufai conceived this Fellowship targeted at improving the future of Nigeria by catching young Nigerians in their formative ages and bringing them up as capable and committed young leaders who recognize the importance of public service in building the country we dream of.”

The deputy governor stated that the programme would bring to the fore, the essence of leadership in success and development, adding: “An army of sheep led by a lion can defeat an army of lions led by a sheep.

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“Nigeria’s public service today is dominated by lambs. At the end of your one-year training under the Kashim Ibrahim Fellowship, we hope to make lions out of you. Lions that shall roar Nigeria’s public service to better heights,” Balarabe said.

Also speaking at the event, the KIF Programme Administrator, Zainab Mohammed, said the 24 fellows of the fifth cohort were selected out of 6,983 applicants that registered online.

Mohammed added that the fifth cohort 24 Kashim Ibrahim Fellows, comprised eight persons from Kaduna State and 16 from other states of the country, adding that a gender balance in the merit-based and transparent selection process was maintained.

She disclosed that since the commencement of the programme in 2018, 16 fellows were selected to participate but in 2021 the programme was expanded to admit 24 fellows.

The current set of the fellows, who commenced their programme in August 2021, are set to graduate in July 2022, while the fifth set is expected to commence the one-year intensive leadership programme in August 2022.

The Star