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Quality leadership different from good politics - Adebayo - Blueprint Newspapers Limited

Published 1 week ago3 minute read

The Social Democratic Party’s (SDP) candidate in the 2023 presidential election, Prince Adewole Adebayo, has stated that Nigeria’s problems were basic and could be solved within four years but lamented that people always thought that politics and governance were the same thing.

Adebayo who explained that there was a marked difference between politics and governance, stressed that one could be adept in politics but a total failure in governance. 

“If governance fails, everything will crumble. So, politics and governance are two different things. There are people who can be in governance who are not avid in politics, but they are very good,” he added.

He cited Lagos during the colonial era which used to have the best water in the English speaking world due to good governance not politics.

“If you read the colonial journals, if you are coming from London, they say, no, no, don’t bother. Once you get to Lagos, you can drink water from the fountain anywhere. It’s safe,” he stated.

He emphasised that the person who was behind all of that and those who built the waterworks were not politicians because if you ask them to stand up and speak, they wouldn’t know what to say but they were good in water.

“The people who came up with the best idea for education were not good in politics, but they knew how to educate people. So, the role of politics is that you will select those who are politically communicative and bring them to your political party. 

“Then, you also select those who are very proficient in the areas of life and who can say farewell to poverty and empower the people that can uplift the nation,” he said.

To deliver good governance, he said one must be able to bring together talented individuals with fantastic political communication and political organising ability and not necessarily people who were good in politics.

He added that in addition to having the leadership skills to manage resources, such persons must also have some levels of altruism because to succeed in politics one must be willing and ready to do the required things. 

“This is because in politics, you do things that don’t affect you. Altruism is what makes a soldier die in a war that doesn’t have any personalistic aim. Altruism is what makes you to build schools for children that are not yours.

“That altruism is what will make you to build a national institution. But, the opposite of altruism is what makes you appropriate what was built before you came and now put your name on it. It’s all part of the problems. So what you need to learn is that offering good governance is not difficult. Our problems are basic.

“We have solved them before in our civilization. In the past, we used not to be hungry at all. 

“We have had civilizations that are secure to the point where women would go to the stream, fetch water and be playing around. Nobody would worry about them.

“So, we can do it again. I don’t want you to think that our country is beset with unsolvable problems. None of our problems can last longer than the life of one administration that is committed and serious,” he said.

He hailed the FCT minister, Nyesome Wike whose work, he said, had proven that the country’s problems could be solved in four years if the leadership in Nigeria was committed.

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Blueprint Newspapers Limited
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