Present political class can’t save Nigeria – Moghalu

By Odunewu Segun

Nigerians have been urged to look beyond the present traditional political class for leadership as the 2019 general elections approaches in other to bring the country out of its present socio and economic crisis.

Prof. Kingsley Moghalu, a former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in an article titled ‘Can Our Politicians Save Nigeria?’ said the present crop of leaders lacked core beliefs with what passes for governance based neither on ideas nor ideologies.

He said the country cannot move forward if Nigerians continue to rely those whose “skill sets” lie in the past.  “It’s time for a different game. We need a paradigm shift in 2019.”

The former CBN deputy governor said Nigerians should go for a leadership class that will motivate, inspire and unify citizens around core values, set goals to be achieved, and also point to the future state or condition to which a country aspires.

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And not leaders that have envelop themselves in an insular culture of ethnic chauvinism or grown up participating in a political and career culture of non-performance in which dexterity in the fine arts of “political” maneuvering matter more than delivering the concrete results of good governance.

“We must now look for leadership to a new “leadership generation” that thinks differently and can co-educate fellow citizens with the Nigerian version of the philosophical and organizing principles that built progress in the United Arab Emirates, China, Singapore, South Korea and Malaysia.”

Prof. Moghalu, who is also the Founder and President of the Institute for Governance and Economic Transformation said Nigerians must now subject all those seeking national or state political office to the objective standards of character, capacity, and competence as against the deep religious and tribal sentiments that has always characterized our voting patterns.

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“No one can give you what he or she doesn’t have. No one can lead you effectively if such a compatriot has no real clue about what leadership means. No one can lead you well who conflates mere longevity in Nigerian-style, winner take-all, Ghana-must-go-bag-carrying politics, or loitering on the corridors of power, with real leadership.”

“We must look to a new generation of younger, technocratic minds, who have until now stayed out of politics, that can actually solve these problems of nation-building, joblessness, aggravated and widespread poverty, and weak institutions.”