President Muhammadu Buhari says Nigeria needs, for governance, a combination of experienced people and academics who can identify the needs of the society.
He spoke in Abuja Thursday at the public presentation of a book, Unfinished Greatness: Envisioning a New Nigeria, written by Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi.
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Buhari, represented by his Chief of Staff, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, said: “The vision of our founding fathers has not been realized. It was the reason the book should be read by all. The book will help in the governance of the country. Fayemi was part of the team that helped bring me to power and he was part of the transition committee.
“Sometimes, academics are not fit in governance. And as the governor of Kano State, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, has said, too much analysis can lead to paralysis. So, governance should be a combination of people of intellectuals and people that are experienced in governance. That makes the country to move forward.
“We need a combination of experienced people and the academia who identify the needs of the society,” he said.
Earlier, Kano State Governor Abdullahi Ganduje had said: “Politics is not a dirty game. We’re witnessing intellectualism in governance and intellectualism in politics. There’s no doubt, this is a welcome development. It’s good for intellectuals to take a role in politics because they analyse and lead the people because there are always conflicting variables.
“In Nigeria, intellectuals are afraid of governance because they say that too much analysis can lead to paralysis and also see politics as a dirty game. But politics is not a dirty game. There is a connection between intellectualism and governance.”
A former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon (rtd), said regardless of the diverse difficulties Nigeria had been grappling with since independence, the nation shall attain the greatness it wants to have.
“Our country may not have got this in 62 years as an independent nation, but we’ve all done our best. This should not undermine our search for quality leadership.
“We speak of leadership that seeks to make our unity in diversity work. We speak of leadership that makes our leadership internally and externally safe for everyone. Leadership that is concerned about making democracy work, leadership that makes Nigerians extremely proud of their green pastures,” he said.
The keynote speaker, Prof. Adebayo Olukoshi, said Africa had not found the right leadership, asking people to be determined and become big players in the international system.
Fayemi said when countries experienced their high moments, leaders should use the opportunity to advance the frontiers of the national agenda.
He flayed “inflammatory partisanship which many in leadership positions had adopted in part to score points against opponents.
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