Former Nigerian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom and pioneer chairman of Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P), Dr Christopher Kolade has stated that the presidency led by Dr Goodluck Jonathan is one that is lacking in leadership.
The elder statesman, who made this known in Lagos on Thursday while speaking as Chairman of the 6th Christopher Kolade Symposium organized by the Nigerian Leadership Initiative (NLI), was of the view that the country has never had it this bad.
Speaking on the theme: “Centenary Leadership: Nigeria at 100 and the next 100”, Kolade declared that President Jonathan’s dispositions is run contrary of current jingles being aired on national television stations that likens him to great world leaders like Lee Kuan Yhew, Late Nelson Mandela and late Dr Martin Luther King Jr. He said that the attitude of the President to daily loss of innocent lives in the country did not support such claim.
In Kolade’s words, “Parts of leadership qualities you need to imbibe include ability to take responsibility. Apart from being responsible, you must also be able to sacrifice for others and you must be able to add value.
“In leadership, you cannot make value-added contribution until you are able to identify what is it you don’t like about this country; what is it that you can accept and what is it you cannot accept? The essence is in you. The capacity to identify what is right or wrong is not what you can borrow or buy. It is in you.
“Some nights ago, I was watching television and some people were telling us that we have never had it so good. I am in my 80s and I can tell you that Nigeria has had it much better than now.
“They even said it was not easy for Lee Kuan Yew, it was not easy for Nelson Mandela and it was not easy for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, Mr President, keep doing it. Keep doing the good works because we who are with you are much more than those who are against you.
“Tell me something, is that part of Nollywood? Is that part of an entertainment? Let me cite one example. They always say I am father to all and I accept. If somebody makes me leader of a group and there is something in that group, l should be able to stand by the group.
“Let me tell you, if 59 boys are killed in Yobe State and you as a leader, the next day went to Kano State and danced in a political rally, then I say, that is not leadership. It can’t be.
“This is not about not being an Ijaw or non-Ijaw. It is not about being a South-South or not South-South. It is about leadership. It is about the fact that those who were killed were human beings,” he said.
Lampooning the President for holding a rally barely 24 hours after an attack, the former SURE-P chairman said, “If some suicide bombers bombed a place and you as a leader has political rally the next day, the least you can do is to postpone the programme. Even if they are not your children, all you need to do is to sympathize.
“If it comes to a point that we don’t care about who is leading the country, then we have lost it. We know we are in deficit. What we have today are leaders who are in pursuit of personal gains and not about the future.”
The Chief Executive Officer of NLI, Yinka Oyinlola, who spoke earlier in an address, disclosed that the idea behind organizing the annual symposium is to enrich discourse on the best way to make leadership effective in Nigeria.
“The anticipated results are to enable an understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of leadership in Nigeria; enable the existing leaders to draw lessons from the past; motivate the younger generation for critical thinking on leadership; and enable a constructive dialogue on the expectations of the Nigerian youth on leadership matters,” Oyinlola said.
It will be recalled that Dr Kolade was in January 2012 made the Chairman of Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P) by President Goodluck Jonathan in a bid to sate many Nigerians who did not trust government to use the money accruing from the 50 per cent removal from petroleum subsidy for common good. Kolade however resigned from the position in September 2013.
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