The root cause of Africa’s leadership problems is the distortion of its political culture whereby leaders place personal interests above public good, a former vice president of World Bank Africa Region and Nigeria’s former minister of education, Dr Oby Ezekwesili, has said.
To arrest this, she said there must be a change of mindset by leaders who must face the growing economy and security challenges.
Speaking at the 2022 graduation ceremony of the School of Politics, Policy and Governance (SPPG) in Abuja at the weekend, Ezekwesili, who is also the founder of the organisation, said character, competence and capacity were the missing gaps in producing good leadership in Africa.
She said: “What we found is that not just Nigeria, but across Africa, there is a political culture that is distorted. It’s the political culture where those who are in public leadership subordinate the public good. That is the common good for their personal and narrow interests. And so what it means is that the common good and public good is not served by people who should be serving. So in order to correct that, you have to basically customise a new leadership mindset.
“So the training we give at the School of Politics, Policy and Governance is one that has the content to reset the mindset of those who wish to lead in public service.
“They lead by serving, they place character at the foundation of the knowledge that we give to them by improving on their competence and the capacity for them to be able to articulate sound policies, be able to design institutions that enable society to advance and to have the capacity to make the right choices of investment in the goods and services that countries need in order to grow.”
She said ahead of the 2023 elections in Nigeria, such distorted political culture could be corrected with sufficient information on the part of the Nigerians.
According to Ezekwesili, there is need to continue to educate and sensitise the citizens on the consequences of making bad electoral decisions.
“I think one of the things that our research shows is the important role of citizens, which is why a critical pillar in the research of fixed politics is the pillar on empowering and enlightening the electorate so that they would have influence sufficient enough to influence political outcomes. So the role of the citizens in democracy is part of what the SPPG promotes and again, we must have the office of the citizen, the community organising approach, and all the other things that lead towards an empowered citizen that can push back and demand accountability as well as the emergence of the right kind of leadership for our public space,” she added.
Chief executive officer of SPPG, Alero Ayida-Otobo, said the institution was designed to transform the quality of political and public leadership in Nigeria and the rest of Africa.
She disclosed that the 2022 graduating class comprised of 133 students after undergoing 10 intensive months of training and learning.
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