2023: We need public office holders with leadership skills, not just certificates -OMG

Olanrewaju George Michael (OMG) has said that Nigeria needs elected public officers with the needed leadership skills and not just degrees.

The Aare Tayese of Ikenne Land was reacting to news of a bill seeking to raise the educational qualification for election into the office of the president, governors, state and federal legislators.

He advised the lawmakers to focus on more pressing issues as they have limited time for the forthcoming election.

OMG said: “Misplaced priority is hazardous in this delicate time of our great country. Over 43 per cent of our population are between the ages of 0 to 14, according to a Statista report as of 2020. This means almost half of the citizens receive one form of primary education or the other,  formal or informal.

“No one should be able to sleep with this kind of information, knowing the state our education system is in at this crucial moment.  We need to educate over 80 million people who we claim to be the “future of tomorrow,” and no single public primary school in Nigeria with adequate class, types of equipment, or personnel meet this vital demand.

“If adequately managed, we will have an 80 million workforce, an asset for the growth of our dear country.  That is why I would like to plead with our lawmakers to think and bring to the floor of the house bills to address our challenges and prepare us for the future. 

“Proposing a bill that has no substance or effect on our political system just for the sake of it, is hazardous for our country at this critical time.

“It’s time to strap our belts and build our future together. We have over 80 million kids to prepare for what is ahead.”

OMG said people should take a clue from Abraham Lincoln, who didn’t have a degree or have formal  education eradicated slavery on Jan 1, 1863.

According to him, leadership skills are not the same as holding a degree in music or civil engineering.

“Our focus should be revolutionizing our rotten and corrupt educational system, not de enfranchising the citizen of Nigeria or creating an elitism government.

“We need a vital institution, president with leadership skills, not a degree holder,” he concluded.