By Luminous Jannamike

ABUJA – In a stirring call to action, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, a former vice president of the World Bank and founder of the School of Politics, Policy and Governance (SPPG), urged Africans to rise up against the persisting issue of poor leadership in their respective countries.

Delivering a powerful speech during the SPPG Class of 2023 Graduation Ceremony in Abuja on Thursday, the ex-minister of Education emphasized that the time for transformation is now or never.

According to her, Africans must seize the opportunity to transform the politics of poor governance among their citizens and lead the way towards a brighter, more prosperous future.

“We are simply tired of the bad leadership on our continent and the frequency with which it occurs,” said Ezekwesili.

She expressed profound concern over Africa’s lagging position relative to other continents, attributing the gap largely to the poor quality of leadership.

“We cannot simply accept the idea of poor leadership quality in the public management of our continent,” she added.

Dr. Ezekwesili further explained that the change will not come from the existing power structures.

She stated, “if Africans need to transform our politics, we cannot just sit back as citizens, hoping that those who have entrenched poor governance as a matter of political culture will someday have a Damascus experience like Apostle Paul.”

She warned that waiting for such a transformation could last forever, a luxury the current generation cannot afford.

Highlighting the importance of active participation, Ezekwesili stated that democracy is crucial as it brings along political freedom, rule of law, and ultimately, economic freedom.

This chain reaction, she believes, leads to a proliferation of ideas, innovation, creativity, competitiveness, and productivity—all vital to the country’s rapid development.

In a hopeful note, Dr. Ezekwesili assured that the success of the SPPG in the 2023 general elections has demonstrated that people of character, competence, and capacity are ready to enter the political sphere in great numbers.

“When that begins to happen, it will challenge the existing monopolistic pipeline of poor politicians giving bad governance to our countries and our continent,” she concluded.