Senator Rashidi Ladoja
As the nation heads towards general elections next year, a one-time governor of Oyo State, Senator Rashidi Ladoja has called on politicians to serve the electorates, rather than choosing to lord it over the electorate.
Ladoja, who is bidding a comeback as governor of Oyo State in 2015 on the platform of Accord Party, asserted that good leaders must build institutions and sustainable structures which could produce quality leaders for the future.
The former governor was speaking at the International Leadership Lecture for Students of Tertiary Institutions in South West Nigeria, organized by the Reading Awareness Society for Development in Africa, alongside Foundation for Creative Entrepreneurs.
The lecture themed, “Becoming the dream leader”, was held in honour of the erstwhile governor who recently attained the age of 70.
While admonishing the students to work hard and uphold excellence, Ladoja expounded that, “Learning is a lifelong experience and it is not limited to schools but everywhere. Excellence will always create room for you. The difference between failure and success is extra mile.
“We are yet to get the desired leadership that this nation deserves because everybody wants to rule but a good leader will rather create institutions that will rule. When institutions are there everybody will enjoy. Let’s build institutions rather than build personalities. The elected are not supposed to rule but serve us, service should be placed above everything,” he said.
In his remarks, the chairman of the occasion, Oladipo Akinkugbe who is a Professor emeritus, noted that literacy was a major criterion for being an outstanding leader. He encouraged the students to imbibe the culture of humility for them to become outstanding leaders in the country.
His words, “Being literate is the major criterion in the democratic process. It is important to link education with democracy because the electorate must understand the happenings around the democratic settings.
“The capacity to motivate and inspire are ingredients of a good leader. Intellectual arrogance is a sin; it is important that a good leader must be humble. There is the need for the generation of youths to equip themselves with abilities to right the wrongs in this country. They should learn to serve,” he added.
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