Saturday People SEPTEMBER 22, 2012
17
LARRY JONES-ESAN
By EMERSON GOBERT, JR
How we’re creating R future Nigerian leaders in London Academy Business School
ecently, the London Academy Business School in Nigeria held its graduation ceremony, with a tint of scholarly uniqueness. Attended by dons from different universities in Nigeria and abroad, the event gave new perspective to the academic life. That day, the Chief Executive Officer and Director of Studies of the academy, Dr Larry Jones-Esan, said the London Academy Business School (LABS) is taking a holistic approach to educating organisations on “knowledge worker approach” in the 21st century. He said: “Organisations need to wake up to new realities in most countries, if they are to compete at international level. We believe new directions are needed in dealing with staff if we are to gain maximum benefits from the “knowledge worker approach.” It is now imperative for employers to employ the whole person rather than parts like machine.” In this interview, he shares his vision and
inspiration as well as discusses the problem facing education in Nigeria. What is the vision of the London Academy Business School? The vision is very clear. The vision is to offer a UK qualification in Nigeria at a very high standard and to a good number of people. One is to get rid of the qualification syndrome that we have in Nigeria but get straight into education. How do you source lecturers? Our lecturers are internationally based, majorly in the UK, in the US, Croatia, South Africa and also in Nigeria. As an organisation, we are trying to promote work-based learning. Therefore, employability is the key thing for us as a Nigerian-led organisation and also as an institution based in Nigeria; so we are encouraging local participation at all levels. We source our lecturers from
•Turn to pg 18