The Chancellor of Covenant University, Dr David Oyedepo, has charged management, faculty and staff of the University to think the unimaginable in the quest to start proffering answers to myriads of problems besetting humanity.

Dr Oyedepo, delivering a paper titled, ‘Towards Leadership Development’ at the Executive Advance programme for faculty and senior non-teaching staff of the University, for the 2021/2022 academic session, said it was time for us in this part of the world to start thinking the unthinkable in a bid to proffer solution to our diverse bugging problems.

He noted that it is in the robustness of the engagement of the brain that differentiates between one individual and the other, race, colour and creed notwithstanding. “It is the active engagement of this ‘principal gift’ of nature that defines the limits of anyone’s worth” he stated.

Dr Oyedepo posited that there was the need to recognize that we share the same capacity of the brain with all other humans and that consciousness should stimulate the required confidence to engage the power of the brain most pragmatically. “It is interesting to note that the human brain for all humans is the same size, content, number of cells, number of nerves running through, colour, weight, potential, which implies the same capacity to deliver,” he added.

The Chancellor said the present world belongs to thinkers, but decried the present state where there are lots of educated folks, but few thinkers; too many workers, very few thinkers, and too many teachers, like they say ‘talk is cheap’ but obviously few thinkers.

Dr Oyedepo said the whole essence of university education is to empower a man to think solutions, as most scientific inventors of note were only committed and robust thinkers.

Dr Oyedepo reiterated the importance of understanding the sameness and make of humans, as all human beings are made up of the same number of organs. That is, all organs of the human body, the lungs, the heart, the liver, the kidney, and of course the brain; all the organs that make up human beings are all the same in size and content.

“That is the reason why all transplantable organs are transplantable from one to another irrespective of race or colour such as the kidney. Most importantly of course is the human brain, which defines the limits of a man’s worth in any field of human endeavour, and it is absolutely the same in all ramifications and that for all men,” he stated.

The Chancellor said knowledge only becomes profitable to those who think through as to how it applies to their issues, and leadership is not ‘talking’ the lead, but it’s in taking the lead.

According to him, leadership is not an appointment, but an accomplishment and real leaders are thinkers, and it is their commitment to the thinking process that makes the leadership seed in them come alive. “Just anybody can become a leader if he is willing to give it what it takes, as there’s a leadership seed inside every child of God, but must be cultivated and nurtured for it to bear fruits,” he averred.

The Executive Advance programme of Covenant has become an annual platform for setting the agenda and pace for the academic year, bringing all and sundry on board the vision and drive for the academic year.

The 2021/2022 theme for the Executive Advance for the faculty-base is ‘Towards the Attainment of Vision 10-2022: Driving Impactful Teaching and Research Reputations for Sustainability,’ while the theme for the non-teaching staff session is ‘Imperative for Driving Quality and Maximising Performance in a World Class University,’ both running concurrently from Wednesday 5 through Friday 8, January 2022.