By: Mariama Njie
TAF Leadership Academy (TAFLA) has oriented four hundred (400) Gambian youths that will undergo one-year training on leadership skills which aimed at preparing and training the next generation of Gambian leaders.
TAFLA seeks to set out to prepare and train the next generation of Gambian leaders on diverse issues based on their areas of interest and harness the characteristics essential for creating a mission-based life of impact and purpose for our future leaders.
Speaking at the orientation for the third cohort, Mustapha Njie proprietor of TAF said the cohort was conceived on what he think is of necessity. Saying “after years of working in The Gambia and travelling across Africa I think of giving back to society and to me the best thing is to invest on young people for their future.” He added that the foundation was established in 2019 and graduated 50 youths and in 2021, 152 youths.
“We’ve recognized that leadership is an issue in Africa and we need to address that. At the age that we’re in, we need to look back at these young ones aged between 18 and 30 and start working on them. If we empower them, train them with the right skills and values of leadership, I think we will probably change the narrative (of African people),” he added.
According to him, the leadership programme has 12 components: integrity, commitment, empathy, futuristic vision, accountability, decision making, empowerment, communication, confidence, honesty, innovation, passion.
“If you want to be successful in life and be a good leader you must follow these 12 components. During the training various experts will be invited to give lectures on the following component chosen,” he said.
He said the programme aims to graduate about 1000 young people in the next 4 years, targeting those expected to be in leadership roles in the next 5-10 years, saying “we invest one percent from our revenue to finance the leadership programme.”
He therefore urged the participants to take the year-long programme with seriousness saying that it is free doesn’t mean it is not beneficial.