Lagos State Deputy Governor, Dr Obafemi Hamzat, has said it is obvious that Nigeria requires a leadership that will manifest new traits. Speaking at the day two of the yearly Lagos leadership summit organised by the Lateef Jakande Leadership Academy, Hamzat stated that the country needs true statesmen whose claim to statesmanship is not just the length of time they spent holding public office or occupying political space but rather their contributions to the evolution of a strong and viable nation.
The deputy governor, who spoke on ‘Responsibility on leadership: Shaping the future with purpose and action’, said: “For the future of Nigeria to be strong and cemented, it has to deal with the question of creating structures and institutions, a culture of doing right, through which identified values can be available to all, regardless of status and primordial cleavages that more often than not resonates within our public discourse.
“Again, the leadership deficit has been a clog in the wheel of national progress. The nation is plaqued with copious poverty amid great natural and human resources. There is squalor, an education system that is limited in scope and content, that often does not support the needs of the economy and a healthcare system limited in scope and effectiveness.
“There is a widening gap between the rich and the poor. All these hardly breed a society on solid foundation.
“Today, we have a nation that has not fully transcend the limit of claims to ethnicity and religious affiliations when national issues are discussed. For example, when allegations of fraud are laid at the doorstep of many political leaders, response is always political witch-hunting. We view appointments into critical offices more reflective of tribal leaning than competence. We do not have a culture of resigning when faced debilitating allegations against public officers.
“That being said, the Nigerian leadership has its duties cut out for it. First, is the need to build an enduring vision. What is the vision of the founding fathers of our nation? What values do they serve? Years of military rule may have blunted the hedges of those values but they can be recreated. We must make a nation of the country and make it transit from a geographical expression to a homogenous nation. Despite mouthing unity in diversity, we often forget the strength of our diversity and pander to heterogeneous tendencies with its debilitating impacts.”
Hamzat further said that the country’s leadership must create a new vision of Nigeria – a nation that serves its citizen by creating the enabling environment for progress and self-development.
“A nation of ethical standard and progress. A nation where the capacity of its citizens are given expression and foisted on the international level. Having a vision is not just stating it; it is living it. Our leaders must show it is possible.”
