…says SPPG poised to change the convention
Former Nigerian Minister of Education, Dr Oby Ezekwesili has said that the pipeline Supplying Politicians in Africa and Nigeria in particular, was grossly corrupt and needs urgent transformation if the socio-economic backwardness being experienced must be tackled.
This was even as she disclosed that her School of Politics, Policy and Governance ( SPPG) was an unconventional establishment, targeting to purge the corrupted political pipeline.
Ezekwesili, who said this in Abuja over the weekend, at the third graduation ceremony of SPPG, also noted that sitting down and not doing things differently, has remained the enabler of the economic and political underdevelopment in African countries.
She disclosed that the unconventional school started three years ago, was borne out of rigorous research which exposed the ill with the political structures of Africa, using Nigeria as a special case study.
According to her, the political landscape of Nigeria and Africa at large was dominated by people who think about themselves and their immediate family circle, at the detriment of national interest.
She insisted that when research points you to the direction of your failure and the direction of your possible greatness, you are not supposed to ignore it.
“The SPPG is our answer and our response to that problem. We are saying that it is not our destiny to be governed by the worst among us. And if you reject a situation then you must act to correct that situation,” she said.
She equally stated that SPPG which started in Nigeria, has started extending its tentacles of influence to other African countries, and will remain committed to grooming leaders with integrity to take over the political and business sectors.
Also, the Vice Chancellor of the School, Alero Ayida-Otobo, noted that SPPG was designed to correct the economic performance of Africa and Nigeria as a particular study case.
In his keynote address, a 29-year-old Zimbabwean member of the Parliament, Mr Gift Siziba, urged the youths to break all barriers and get involved in the political leadership of the continent.
Siziba added that there was hope of recovering the continent from the debris of political doldrums if only the young people could arise to challenge the old order.