Don Tasks Politicians On Leadership Skills

A university teacher, Dr Sofiri Peterside has charged politicians to acquire leadership skills in addition to their educational qualifications so as to enhance governance in the country.
Peterside, a senior lecturer, Department of Sociology and acting director, Claud Ake School of Government at the University of Port Harcourt said this during a chat with newsmen.
He said politicians should undergo leadership mentoring to give them an edge, noting that the recent minimum educational qualification of Higher National Diploma (HND) proposed by the Nigerian Senate for those aspiring leadership positions in the country would make a great difference.
According to him: “There is a tendency for people to misunderstand what education is. Some people say people should be trained in leadership special institutes. What is that institute about? Is it not education? What about leadership at the family level, the place you work, in communities?
“I agree that globally there are institutes where politicians are trained. But I think that formal education is necessary. Certain persons also feel that the problem of the country is not education. If you look for the first time we had a President, Goodluck Jonathan that had education up to the PHD level, some people have said that it didn’t also reflect in the performance of that government. But we also see that some of those that served in that government have been considered very knowledgeable.”
Dr. Peterside explained that education has a major impact on governance as much as experience, saying many renowned leaders in developed climes acquired experiences over time before becoming what they are.

Dennis Naku