Ex-Minister Advocates Visionary Leadership

Chief Ojo Maduekwe, the immediate past Foreign Affairs Minister says that politics should be made more attractive to accommodate the intelligentsia and critical minds in the country.

Maduekwe, made this known at the first Abia State Economic Summit round table discussion organised by the state government in conjunction with the Nigeria Economic Summit Group and the Alpha Institute.

“We need to get our politics right to elect the right leadership, except we do it, will shall continue to get good economic blue-print without the visionary leaders to implement.

“The best brain is still out of politics, until we make politics attractive the best brains in the country will not be attracted to the game,” the former minister said.

He described best brains as a group of people, who would help in the social engineering of the state, adding, “how do we get good governance in an environment of leadership failure?”

Maduekwe said that all what the political parties in the country think was how to win election and not who would do it right, and urged politicians to begin to look towards this direction.

He called for transparency and due process as well as sanction for offenders in the system, pointing out that “we will continue to remain the way we are if we do not entrench reward and sanction in our system”.

Also speaking, a former Information Minister Frank Nweke (Jnr.) while corroborating the views of Maduekwe, said that at the heart of the country’s problem was leadership but added that followership was also a factor.

Nweke urged Nigerians not to abdicate the push for good governance but to also demand for the best leaders with vision and focus at all time in the electoral system.

Dr Kalu Idiaka Kalu, a former Minister of Finance, suggested the re-mobilisation of the people to move forward, adding that it would be possible if every community had connection to government.

He said that it became necessary because “we need to rebuild the human capital, reinstate the Igbo spirit of competitiveness and merit.”

Chief Sam Ohuabunwa, the Chairman of Nigeria Economic Summit Group, said that the summit should adopt approaches to bail Abia out of poverty.

Ohuabunwa called for the ‘cleaning up of Aba’ and the introduction of business incentives to challenge the manufacturing sector in the area.