By Chigozie Chukwuleta
Ethnicity, religious bigotry and corruption have been identified as the three evil that constitute leadership failure in Nigeria.
This was disclosed by the President of Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN), Prof. Benjamin Osisioma while delivering the keynote address at the just concluded Nigerian Institute of Management, South East Zone 2022 Summit held in Awka, Anambra state.
Prof. Osisioma who was represented by his wife, Prof Hilda Osisioma said that Nigerian leaders have failed to steer the ship of state in the right direction for various reasons.
” Every generation of leaders has had to contend with the Trinity of evil: ethnicity, religious bigotry and corruption. Incidentally, all three evils constitute a spin-off from a failure of leadership”,
“In the early days of politics in Nigeria, ethnicity was not a critical factor. In the early 1950s, Nnamdi Azikiwe led the NCNC to win the status of a majority party in Western Region,
” It took the divisive tactics of Chief Obafemi Awolowo of Action Group to upstage the NCNC rout. Those were the days when a Northern chieftain was elected Mayor of Enugu, and Zik’s newspaper publications were read all through the Nigerian nation”, he recalled.
The emeritus professor of Nnamdi Azikiwe University said that the early political father’s of the nation employed the principles of compromise, negotiation and accommodation to ease the tensions in the land.
Prof Osisioma said that for Nigeria to escape further move down the slope, a strong, determined and purposeful action is required in the days ahead.
“Strong, determined and purposeful action is required in the days ahead, if our nation will not go the way of the humongous republics of Eastern Europe. A nation that cannot feed many citizens who are poor, will not be able to protect the few who are rich,
” The strength of any society is gauged by the way it treats the weak and infirm members of that community,
” Our expectations for the future are that it would offer us the opportunity to reinvent the politics of our nation, transform the economy, secure the polity, care for the underprivileged, and provide responsible, responsive and credible leadership”, he concluded.
