Former Minister of Education, Dr Oby Ezekwesili, has emphasised the role of citizen participation in ensuring good governance while calling for an Africa that works as the dominant political culture practised in the continent is that where the private interest of leaders tops that of citizens.

She said this at the School of Politics, Policy and Governance (SPPG) virtual matriculation of 380 students for the 2024 batch, over the weekend.
Stating that leadership is the greatest barrier to the kind of governance that leads to development, she added that the SPPG program aims to solve governance.

“We have locust leadership in our politics today that cannot construct anything out of it. So you represent an answer to the most significant problem of the continent and we would teach you how to distort this kind of culture,” she added.

According to Ezekwesili, who is also the Founder, SPPG, technology and youths can improve the continent, even as politics and governance process represent a major stumbling block.

“To correct these, we need to design a new pipeline that would contest against this monopoly political class that has a dominant culture. You are a response to this hopelessness, you are the ones who will change it; we need a critical mass of people thinking with a mindset of service to the country and the people at all levels.

“It is not about you, it cannot be about you, you represent an answer to the most significant answer to our problem as a continent,” she said to the students.

Former Special Adviser to the Governor of Kwara State on Health Matters, Dr Wale Sulaiman, said that servant leadership is the backbone of democracy, adding that the independence of the judiciary is non-negotiable to have an effective system.

Sulaiman, who is also a neurosurgeon, stressed the importance of education in having great leaders. Adding the need to transition from godfatherism to people-focused democracy.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO), SPPG, Mrs Alero Ayida-Otobo, said the 10-month programme, with carefully selected courses and about 80 faculty members as teachers, is aimed at elevating the office of the citizen to its rightful place.

She added that SPPG’s goal is to equip 21st-century politicians who will be value-driven and have an admirable character, unquestionable competence and undeniable capacity.

She noted that 55 of the SPPG graduates were aspirants for different positions during the 2023 general elections in Nigeria and nine made it to the primaries.