Tinubu, Aregbesola, others urge political leaders to focus on development

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National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu

The National leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has said that a nation that desires progress must have visionary leaders who are capable of translating their ideas into reality.‎

Tinubu, who was represented by Prof. Adebayo Williams at the first annual conference of the Nigerian Political Scientists Association (NPSA), held at the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile Ife, Osun State said leaders who have no objective could not be strategic leaders.‎

He lamented that most political office holders focus more on how to get power and control of government rather than what they can do to transform the society.‎ He advised politicians to focus more on development of the country and well-being of the people

He said: “A leader must have a coherent vision and work assiduously to translate it to reality.‎ There can hardly be strategic leadership where conscious objective is lacking. Conscious objective and coherent vision are some of the ingredients of nation building.‎ Often times, leadership here is short-sighted, focusing more on power and control of government rather than on result-oriented programmes.”‎

Speaking at the event, Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola, urged political office holders to ensure that they use the opportunity to lift society and tasked political scientists to place more priority on issues that promote development of the country.

In his paper, “Democracy, Nation-building and Development in Nigeria,” the keynote speaker and former Vice Chancellor of Ekiti State University, Prof. Dipo Kolawole, said Nigeria has been suffering from poor leadership since independence.‎

He argued that democracy would fail if there were no proper monitoring and evaluation of activities of politicians, adding that democracy still remains the best form of government anywhere in the world.

Also, the institution’s Head of Department of Political Science, Prof. Sat Obiyan, urged political players to embrace democratic ideals, principles and processes because they are critical to strengthening and consolidating democracy.

Citing the current level of poverty, inter-group tension and heightened insecurity in the country, he said something urgent must be done to address them.

Vía The Guardian Nigeria http://ift.tt/2mpFpWz