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Re: Nigeria’s next accidental President

This can only be done by our current leaders through leadership by example. The President, the Governors and LGA Chairmen should publicly declare their assets…

Your column on the above subject in Monday’s Daily Trust refers ,please.

The qualities in a leader according to Abraham Lincoln are intelligence, energy and integrity. If the candidate lacks integrity the other two are of no value. In fact, an intelligent and energetic leader that lacks integrity is very dangerous to the country. The question is why haven’t we had leaders with integrity, essentially since the first republic except for the brief periods of General Murtala and General Idiagbon? Clearly, the way we practice politics today there is no way we can have leaders with integrity. There is no internal democracy in the political parties. How can there be when politics has been hijacked by moneybags? The only way we can reclaim it from these toxic players is to insist on rigorous enforcement of the assets declaration law at all levels and all tiers of government and the organised private sector where corruption is just as bad.

This can only be done by our current leaders through leadership by example. The President, the Governors and LGA Chairmen should publicly declare their assets and those of families and hand over to the government any assets they cannot account for.

This way it would be clear to all those who plan to buy political office to steal, that they would be dispossessed of their lucre and sent to jail. This way internal democracy would be restored to the political parties making it possible for people with integrity to run for office. So let’s start a campaign to eliminate money politics and demand internal democracy in all political parties:

Sabo Sodangi can be reached via [email protected]

 

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