Anambra State Governor-elect Chukwuma Soludo has called for a new liberation movement in Africa and Nigeria as a country, which would promote selfless service from political leaders.
Mr. Soludo was speaking at the School of Politics, Policy and Governance (SPPG) Pioneer Class 2021 Graduation Ceremony in Abuja on Saturday with the theme: “Emergence of the Unconventional”.
He said that the struggle for the liberation of independent Africa was driven by a nationalist ideology anchored in a developmentalist state.
According to him, “there is almost a sense of nostalgia when remembering the mission and achievements of our founding fathers, especially when we contemplate the world without oil.
“Much of the existing social order is based on competition and the distribution of rents, oil and the easy money that goes with it destroyed the social fabric and the elite created new institutions and political structures to maximize their profits.
“As the noose tightened globally on other rentier/criminal enterprises like drug dealing or internet scams, many of the tycoons flocked to politics as the next easy alternative.
“Politics has become big business. Appointment or election to public office is largely seen as an opportunity to ‘eat’ rather than a call to selfless service,” he said.
Soludo added that a classic feature of the political environment is that corruption has become part of the “culture,” with little incentive for honesty.
He said that honesty has been scorned as meanness, foolishness or mere pretense, saying that those who dare to be different have to pay a high price.
He therefore charged the graduates, as they launch, to be ready to show honesty and their knowledge to have a new Nigeria, to create the change that would lead to having a new Nigeria.
“Fixing politics requires talents and skills. But these will not be enough. It will not happen because of lone wolves working in silos.
“It requires new development organizations: organizations/teams of believers, driven by a defined ideology, purpose and character.
“Let us be clear on one point: Nigeria does not lack well-educated/skilled and well-traveled human capital to fuel its development.
“A key missing link is purpose-driven cohesion and organization for the transformation of the homeland,” he added.
In her comment, Obiageli Ezekwesili, founder of SPPG, lamented the way politics is handled in Africa and said it had distorted society.
Mrz Ezekwesili charged graduates with adopting leadership skills that would transform society. “Leaders endure pain so others can enjoy.”
“Society needs to be contested and you need to pioneer the space for that leadership,” he said.
She said the school would be replicated in six other African countries as a way to liberate Africa from extractive colonialism.
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Additionally, Alero Ayida-Otobo, the school’s vice-chancellor, challenged the graduates to have an unquenchable thirst to raise standards while driving injustice, religious intolerance and lawlessness out of the country.
Some of the graduates who spoke to the Nigerian News Agency (NAN) on the sidelines of the ceremony said they are ready to be the change the country needs to translate into the country’s development.
Adedeji Ademefun, one of the graduates, said that there is a need to have a new Nigeria from which everyone, regardless of tribe and religion, benefits.
“SPPG has created a new crop of leaders who are ready to take over the government space and contribute to the development requirement of our country.
“My encouragement is to contribute my share to ensure that whatever capacity we have within the governance space, we can make an impact and really bring the dividend of democracy to the people,” he said.
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Talatu Zamani, founder of the Zamani Foundation, Kaduna, tasked the new leaders created from the school to save the country and make it a safe place for all. (YAYA)