Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari appeals to Nigerians to put aside their disagreements from the recently concluded general elections and look for a way forward for the nation.
Gambari made this assertion on Thursday (4 May 2023) in Calabar while delivering the 35th convocation address of the University of Calabar.
The lecture which was titled, “The Leadership and Followership Question in Nigeria: Imperatives of an Ethical Re-Orientation.”
He stated that the elections for 2023 have already taken place and that winners have been declared, adding that Nigerians should work together to create a better nation.
He claimed that the convocation lecture occurred at a time when the nation was undergoing a change that will be completed by the inauguration of new government on May 29.
He stated that the convocation talk presents us all with a fantastic opportunity to contribute to nation building as the inevitable work of national healing, reconciliation, and reconstruction eventually begins.
In order to continue the process of advancing the country with fresh vigor and a common commitment, Gambari said it was time for Nigerians as a whole to reflect.
“Our journey of nationhood and statehood began in earnest at independence in 1960 amidst high hopes that, as the biggest concentration of people of African descent, we had a manifest destiny to lead Global Africa on its journey of rebirth and transformation.
“Our hopes were bolstered by a number of other factors that were at play. These included the rich resource endowments with which we were and are still blessed, and the giants of political leaders who worked to usher the country to independence.
“These political leaders were remarkable as much for their vision and commitment to national development and progress as for the integrity and sense of responsibility with which they conducted public affairs.
“The high hopes of that led to independence and early post-colonial years gradually began to wane amidst rising acrimony, dissension and discord among the leaders of the First Republic,” he said.
He noted that at a time Nigeria was locked into a cycle of ethno-regional recriminations, inter-religious suspicions and generalised instability.
“I have never by any stretch of the imagination subscribed to the pessimistic school of commentators who exaggerate the problems of our country and downplay its successes as a vocation.
“However, few are the Nigerians who will fail to acknowledge that from a promising start, we have lived through a prolonged season where the country has, overall, not been able to live up to the promise of its founding ideals.
“It is partly in recognition of the underperformance that came to characterise governance and development in Nigeria that such developments as military incursions into the governance arena began to be witnessed, those interventions being presented as necessary “corrective” actions.
“Ironically, those interventions became part and parcel of a spiral of instability that only ended in 1999 with the birth of the Nigerian Fourth Republic.
“While it lasted as a norm in the administration of national affairs, the military in government experimented with various social engineering initiatives designed, among others, to curb corruption in high public office, wastefulness and indolence among government officials, and loss of the national moral compass,” he said.
He said that the kind of leadership that has a lasting impact on society is grounded in respect for the followers it commands and an exemplary moral code.
He continued by saying that a followership that is actively involved in public affairs with an overarching spirit of what is best for all is one that succeeds in fostering and producing outstanding leadership.
The Chief of Staff urged leaders to use the nation’s natural riches to make it great and to widen the circle that connects the nation.
Ref: NAN
