Former minister of information and culture Professor Jerry Gana has said Nigeria will only achieve its full status as the giant of Africa when it produces quality leaders that are also God fearing at various helms of political affairs in the country.
The chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who also served as the director of Mass Mobilisation for Social Justice and Economic Recovery, popularly known as MAMSER under former military leader General Ibrahim Babangida stated this while interacting with newsmen on the sidelines of the 2025 reunion programme of Kaduna State chapter of the Christian Elders Forum of the Northern States (NOSCEF) yesterday.
Professor Gana who was also political adviser to former president Olusegun Obasanjo, said, “In the party I belong, we are going to do our very best to ensure that only excellent candidates are given the opportunity to emerge as leaders in the various states and the nation where men and women of excellence abound.
“Right from when I was in MAMSER, I said whatever you are supposed to do, you do it excellently, and therefore we are going to insist that all our candidates for governorship, Senate, House of Representatives and the president must be men and women of character, integrity, honour and wisdom, Nigeria deserves the best of leaders who are also God fearing.
“Leaders don’t just emerge, they are deliberately raised and therefore I would like to emphasise what I said earlier during the seminar, that most of us elders in the churches, and other areas of responsibility must take time to look at those who are endowed with the quality and characteristics of being good leaders, train them and raise them so that they can give good leadership.
“Nowhere in the world that leaders just emerge, they are trained deliberately and therefore, I want to say to all the churches and elders and then beyond that, those in various political parties, we must pay serious attention to raising high quality leaders, nothing happens without leadership.
“If you want Nigeria to move forward, we must make sure that we raise leaders that will give qualitative leadership at the local government level, state level, national level, it doesn’t just happen, we have to be deliberate and that is what I emphasised to the elders today. I wish them well,” he said.
In his opening address to the Christian Elders Reunion held at HEKAN Church, Kaduna, on the theme; The role of Godly Leadership in nations building, Prof. Gana who is also a member of the NOSCEF noted, “There is serious decline in quality of leadership in Nigeria. All it takes for Nigeria to move forward is qualitative leadership because God loves Nigeria.
“Good leaders should ensure the opening of gates for clean and legitimate funds to flow into the national economy to finance investments. Currently, very oppressive gate keepers are frustrating good investors in bringing clean funds for investments in Nigeria. It is amazing the high levels of obstacles being built to make it very difficult for investors to bring good funds into Nigeria”.
