Nigeria Needs Leaders With Capacity, Character- Gbajabiamila
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, has said Nigeria needs leaders with capacity and character to cause and manage change in the country. He also noted that while the youths were needed in leadership, they felt excluded from politics and governance.
Gbajabiamila stated this in Abuja on Monday at the opening ceremony of the Legislative Mentorship Initiative inspired by him as part of his youth empowerment programmes.
The Speaker, in his address, titled, ‘Youth Leadership and the Future of Democracy: Harnessing the Power of Young People in Nigeria,’ explained that the LMI sought to identify and train the next generation of public sector leaders, particularly in the legislature.
According to him, it is to develop the leaders who will shape the future of our country and the world. “Many young people are eager to make a change; they cannot change anything if they don’t understand and participate in the political and governance process. We aim to involve more young people and direct their energies into something tangible contributions to good governance and national development,” he added.
He said, “These are exciting times. In Nigeria and across the world, we are experiencing rapid and relentless changes across every facet of our lives. Some of these changes are technological; others are economic and political. There is also a great deal of demographic and population change. All are happening at the same time. It is clear to anybody paying attention that the old equilibrium is unsettled, and the rules of the old order no longer apply. What is less clear is what happens next.
“Whatever happens, Nigeria desperately needs leaders with the capacity and character to manage change. The consequences of the changes happening in our world today will depend on how we respond, the decisions we make, and the ideas we choose to invest in. The quality of our decision-making in politics and governance will define the course of our country. Whether we achieve progress, prosperity, peace, and security for all our people depends entirely on the capacity and competence of our political leadership.”
Gbajabiamila pointed out that the legitimacy of the democratic system of government derives from and is sustained by the quality of outcomes – social opportunity, economic prosperity, national security, the rule of law and protection of individual rights. “When democratic self-government falls short of these expectations, it frays the social consensus and public support necessary to sustain it,” he stated, adding that, “In many critical ways, our best expectations of democracy have not been met for various reasons. The question for our consideration is, ‘what does this portend for the future of democracy in Nigeria?’”
The Speaker said May 29, 2023, a new President would be inaugurated and the country would mark 24 years since of its return to democracy.
He noted, “A significant portion of our population today are young people who have no experience of a military government and are not conditioned to see democracy as an absolute good for its own sake. They bear no allegiance to politics and politicians, and their judgment of governing systems and institutions is determined by whether those individuals, systems and institutions meet their expectations.
“For these young people, Nigeria has been a democracy for all or most of their lives. As more of them come of age, they are questioning the systems and structures of politics of governance and challenging flaws and limitations as they see them. They are not as inclined as generations before them to excuse the failures of democracy because the alternative of military rule is worse. And they will not accept incremental progress when radical reform is necessary and possible.’
