CPFN tasks pharmacists on leadership skills

pharmacy

It was a momentous gathering of pharmacists at the 5th annual business outreach of the Christian Pharmacists Fellowship of Nigeria (CPFN), as experts in the industry drilled members on the subjects of leadership and enterprise.

The event, which was organised by the Lagos chapter of CPFN and held at the NECA House, Hakeem Balogun Street, Alausa, Lagos, was themed, “The Heart of Leadership”.

Chairman of the occasion, Sir Okey Akpa, MD, SKG Pharma, in his welcome address, posed some thought-provoking questions to the participants, in a bid to sensitise them to the need to improve on their current performances and achievements.

“How can we change Pharmacy?” he asked. “Whose responsibility will it be to change Pharmacy? What will I be remembered for, if Pharmacy is discussed?”

Referring to Christian pharmacists as the salt of the earth who should have positive impact on their society, Sir Akpa concluded by urging pharmacists to begin to distinguish themselves, adding that while there were both opportunities and threats in the industry, the visionary pharmacist would always find a way to excel.

In his remarks, the national president of CPFN, Sir Ike Onyechi said leadership was all about influence and not necessarily about being the managing director of a company.

Describing a leader as “someone leading a team of other people towards achieving a goal or an objective”, Onyechi advised all pharmacists to read wide and recertify themselves before others.

Corroborating this perspective, managing director of Entafrique Consult Ltd, Pharm. Albert Udoh, who spoke on the topic, “Leaders as Leaders”, highlighted some salient qualities of a leader.

“A leader must know and must do; an effective leader must not leave a thing the same way he or she met it; and a leader must be a ladder which others climb to their destinations.”

Describing a good leader as one who does not order people around but shows them how to go, Pharm. Udoh further pointed out that to become good leaders, pharmacists must be committed to personal development, through attendance of seminars, conferences, personal study, and interactions with successful people.