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By Tony Elumelu

6 months ago, what started as a life-long dream of mine was brought to life.

Every leader knows how easy it is to dream but how difficult it is to translate dreams into reality.

Yesterday, the Heirs Holdings Academy held the first-ever graduation ceremony for the Heirs Holdings first-ever Graduate Trainee programme.

This Programme is borne of my yearning to democratize the same luck that I am a beneficiary of.

At a young age, I was lucky to work with a great leader who gave me the wings to fly – within a year of joining AllStates Trust Bank, I went from being an entry-level analyst to becoming the first youngest branch manager at the age of 26.

It has always been my aspiration to replicate this type of luck for others.

This is such a massive dream come true, and I thank the entire members of the #HHAcademy Governing Council who worked to make it possible.

I commend the Chairman of the Council, and CEO of Heirs Life, Niyi Onifade, under whose leadership the team developed and drove the execution of the #HH Graduate Trainee programme. Modupe Akindele and Tomilayo Esan, our indefatigable Human Resources Director and Talent Manager, were extraordinary in executing the mandate.

I always say that the future of Africa is in the hands of our young ones, and I witnessed it first-hand yesterday. We have created a new generation of future #HH leaders who embody our Group’s core values of Execution, Excellence and Enterprise.

Like what we do at The Tony Elumelu Foundation, this is another contribution to human capital development across the continent. We are helping to sow the seeds that will transform Africa. Yes, the future of Africa lies in our youth.

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I am proud of all 54 graduates of this pilot programme, who were selected out of 18,000 applicants, and as we pass on the baton to the HH group CEOs to nature the talents of these young ones, I have charged them to serve as role models and catalysts for positive change wherever they find themselves in the future.