Nigeria needs people who can make sacrifices, says J.K. Randle

A Former President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), Bashorun J.K. Randle, has said that there is no excuse for poverty in Nigeria and that the country needs leaders who are ready to pursue the good of everyone instead of personal ambition.

Randle said this, yesterday, during a remembrance thanksgiving service for his father, the late Joseph Kosoniola Randle, simply known as Chief J.K. Randle, held at the Cathedral Church of Christ, Marina, Lagos.

The former ICAN President, who spoke after the church service, on the theme: “More Than Ever Before, God, we need you now,” said: “This is the time for a ceasefire. All over the country, there is rage and tribulations. There has been trouble in Nigeria in the last one year and we need people who will lead right.

“We need people who are passionate about our nation, ready to make sacrifices and believe in the future of the country. We need people who believe that the poor should not be oppressed but rather create opportunities for everybody to feel that they are part of Nigeria. At the end of the day, no country can be greater than the total of its citizens.

“My father was committed in all aspects, fair to everybody, caring and making people believe that they can aspire to be anything they want to be.”

“At the time Chief J.K. Randle made his gifts, you could entrust funds to public servants and go to sleep or even to your grave. Alas, both private and public funds are destined for the same treatment when corruption competes with mendacity.

“It is rather strange that all these years, none of the beneficiaries from the estate of Chief J.K. Randle has publicly or privately acknowledged the generous gifts bequeathed to them as charity without any solicitation on their part.

“I have no recollection of any sporting events being held at or by Ahmadiyya College; Ansar-Ud-Deen College or Holy Cross Primary School in memory of our benefactor. It is more or less the same story with regard to the beneficiaries of my grandfather’s estate.” In his Christmas message, he said: “God has given Nigeria so much and there is no excuse for poverty.”