By Akeem , NAN News
Ibadan, March 14, 2022 (NAN) Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State say quality leadership remains a panacea for genuine development of the country. Ganduje said this at the grand finale of a 2 day event held in the University of Ibadan. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Ganduje, who bagged the Most Distinguished Alumni Award, was the guest speaker at the event.
He said leadership must be committed to the rule of law and demonstrate sense of fair play and democratic tolerance. According to him, leadership remains a critical factor in nation-building and must encompass personal qualities of integrity, honesty, commitment and competence of the individual leaders.”Leadership is a critical factor in nation-building that has to do with personal qualities of integrity, honesty, commitment and competence of individual leaders. And the collective qualities of common vision, focus and desire for development of the entity as a whole. Leaders must raise governance standards by cultivating the culture of good governance. Nations are built by healthy and skilled citizens on grounds of both equity and efficiency. Another important aspect of nation-building is the building of a common citizenship. A common nationhood cannot be achieved while citizens are living such parallel lives. We need to promote the access of the bulk of the Nigerian population to basic education, health and housing.”
According to him, Nigeria needs a social contract with its citizens as a basis for demanding loyalty and support.“Nigeria needs a social contract with its citizens as a basis for demanding their loyalty and support.”
He said that the faulty foundation laid by the colonial masters was done to actualise their interests and not for any genuine development of the country. “The challenges of nation building in Nigeria are attributable to the very faulty foundation laid by European colonial masters. This was purely done to actualise their interests and not for any genuine development of the country.”
He said that the colonial rule divided Nigeria into North and South without much concern for the peculiarities of the two regions. Ganduje said that the challenges of nation building should be a matter of concern to all. According to him, there is need to reflect on the journey so far to build and leave a better legacy for the future. “From this historical legacy, therefore, regionalism has been a major challenge to nation-building in Nigeria. Under these conditions, it is easy for prejudice and fear to thrive. Nation-building is about building a common sense of purpose, sense of shared destiny and collective imagination of belonging. Nation-building is about building the tangible and intangible threads that hold a political entity together and gives it a sense of purpose.”
He said that the nation’s founding fathers tried to deal with the challenge by adopting federalism and advocating the policy of unity-in-diversity. “The lack of consolidation of Nigeria’s federalism around commonly shared values and positions continues to undermine our efforts at nation-building. “This could be seen in the divisions between ‘indigenes’ and ‘settlers’, which has been a source of domestic tension and undermines our efforts at creating a common nationhood.”
He urged Nigerians not to see themselves as victims of their history, but be more responsible to overcome the challenges posed by their history.
Tthe grand finale of the event featured the launch of the N250million Dr Abdullahi Ganduje lecture theatre and award. The launch saw several friends and political associates of Ganduje donate handsomely.
The event was attended by Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ibadan, Prof. Kayode Adebowale and the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Aminu Ado-Bayero. Other guests include Sen. Gbenga Kaka; UI Alumni President, Prof. Elsie Adewoye as well as some politicians and friends of the institution. (NAN)
