From Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan
Ahead of the 2023 general elections and off-season governorship polls in Ekiti and Osun States, prominent Nigerians, including leading Nigerian professors and traditional rulers, have spelt out the qualities that Nigerians must look for in anyone who aspires to electoral office.
They spoke during the National Conversation on Thinking And Uniting Nigeria, organised by the Collective Action for Harmony and Development Foundation (COAHD Foundation) at the Conference Centre, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Oyo State. The programme focused on leadership, governance and media.
Former Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof Attahiru Jega; Prof Toyin Falola of Austin Taxes, the United States of America; the Head of Department of Political Science, University of Ibadan, Prof Remi Aiyede; Head of History Department, UI, Prof Olutayo Adesina; former Vice-Chancellor, Osun State University, Prof Labode Popoola; and former Vice-Chancellor, University of Benin, Prof Eghosa Osaghae; were among the speakers.
The list of speakers also comprised Prof Tajudeen Akanji, Prof Olabode Lucas, Prof Clement Kolawole, Prof Yahaya Kuta, as well as the Olotà of Ota, Ogun State, Oba (Prof) Adeyemi Abdulkabir Obalanlege; the Oluwo of Iwoland, Oba Abdulrasheed Akanbi; Mr Sina Kawonise and others.
According to them, Nigeria needs leaders, who understand the needs of the citizens and harness the abundant human and natural resources for the benefit of Nigerians.
In his lead paper, entitled: ‘Leadership, Harmony and National Development Aspirations’, Prof Osaghae said: ‘We need leaders who understand what we need. We may not have charismatic leaders but plural leaders. The days we thought leaders must know all are over. The leader needs to put in place a Strategic Team. Nigeria is waiting for the leaders who understand the greatest of Nigeria.’
Jega, who addressed the forum via a virtual platform, said: ‘Nigeria needs leaders that can take the country out of the woods. Parties need to improve on the leadership recruitment process.’
However, Prof Falola, who chaired the occasion, said: ‘The greatest asset of our country is human capital. You cannot have 200 million people and be poor. We must harness the population. What we need to do is to tap into the potential of the youth. They are Internet savvy. We need to look at the creative industry – music and fashion. Our fashion industry is becoming one of the most respected in the world.
‘We are not focusing on the knowledge economy. The enormous energy, creative power and the knowledge economy are the ways out of our problems. Some have been talking about restructuring. But we are not talking about the restructuring of values, lives and morality. If there is no value restructuring, it is not going to work.’
In his contribution, Prof Aiyede stated: ‘Nigeria needs leaders with competence and character. Leaders in Nigeria hardly go to universities for ideas for governance and improvement in the quality of governance.’
Leadership, according to Prof Popoola, should not be concentrated at the level of politically exposed people but should be disaggregated. Also, Prof. Tajudeen Akanji of the Institute of Peace and Strategic Studies, UI, noted said any nation that is not investing in the knowledge economy is doomed.
While Prof Lucas called for the rigging of the nation’s system, Olota said: “We need to strengthen our public institutions. Individuals are not as important as institutions. Our youths need to be trained and engaged. The way forward is to develop our human capital. Most of our youths are not employed. If they remain unemployed for long, we will be dealing with a high crime rate. They should think about our to generate employment for them. We must think about how we generate jobs for them, then we can now talk about restructuring.’