Nigeria’s Current Leaders Lack Character -Bugaje
The present crop of leadership in Nigeria have been described as lacking the experience, knowledge and character needed to lead and rescue the country from the present challenges.
A former National Assembly member, Usman Bugaje, said this while speaking at the Maitama Sule Leadership Lecture series organised by the student wing Coalition of Northern Groups in Minna, the Niger State capital.
Bugaje noted that restructuring being clamored for is not the solution to Nigeria’s problem, saying that competent leadership would address the many challenges facing the country and that 20 years into democracy, the trust between the government and the citizens have died.
He said, “Twenty years into democracy, the scale of corruption and poverty is flabbergasting. We ask ourselves, why is democracy not working, why is it not delivering what we want? Something needs to be done urgently and that is not about restructuring but a change in leadership.”
The former gubernatorial aspirant of Katsina State urged the youths not to vote and support any politician blindly in the coming elections, stressing the need to vote people who have knowledge, experience and character.
“In Nigeria today, politics is not stable. The APC and PDP are the same; that is why one would defect from one party to another and be comfortable there. Don’t go into the 2023 elections blindly. We cannot continue with this type of politics, we can’t continue with this kind of democracy.
“Our leaders have not solved insecurity, poverty, corruption and unemployment; so, it is time for a change. We will not allow political parties to bring the same type of people to rule us. Political parties have to ensure that there are criteria for leadership recruitment, if any party does not have any criteria, they should be forgotten,” Bugaje said.
He also urged the youths to mobilise in their large numbers and vote for credible leaders who can help Nigeria out of its present predicaments.
In his keynote address, a member of the Northern Elders Forum, Saddiq Abubakar, said for the next election, the north would support any Nigerian that has character, knowledge and leadership qualities irrespective of the state he comes from.
“We are not particular about a northern leader, Muslim or Christian leader, the leader we will support would have character, capacity and knowledge to drive the nation. We will vote any Nigerian of any extraction who has the competence, courage, and knowledge to move Nigeria forward.”
Saddiq asked Nigerians who blame the north for most of the woes of the country to respect the northerners saying that they have sacrificed a lot for the development of the country.
“We want Nigerians to respect the north, we want to be respected in this country where we have contributed so much. It is unfair to blame us for the problems of the country,” he said.
The North Central Coordinator of the Coalition, Muhammad Muhammad said the purpose of the lecture was to set an agenda for the way forward in leadership and governance in northern Nigeria.
