A former minister of education, Oby Ezekwesili, has stressed the need for a change of political culture in Africa to achieve meaningful development for the continent.
Ms Ezekwesili made the recommendation at the matriculation ceremony of the 2023/2024 session of the School of Politics, Policy and Governance (SPPG) in Abuja on Saturday.
She said that there was a dominant political culture across Africa that subordinates the common good to narrow interests.
Ms Ezekwesili, who is the founder of the school, said, “finding solutions to the quality of politics and economic performance of Nigeria was her reason for establishing the school”.
She said that the school was designed to correct the abnormally on the supply side of the market of politics and democracy.
According to her, “we have low-cost leadership in our politics today and you cannot produce anything from low-cost leadership.”
She said that the young people and technology would propel Africa forward, saying, however, that politics and governance process represent a major stumbling block.
“To correct these, we need to design a new pipeline that would contest against this monopoly political class that has a dominant culture.
“You can cry as loud, the next National Assembly, if filled with the same existing pipeline of political players, lawmakers will still buy new sets of Sport Utility Vehicles (SUV).
“The next set of Executives, even at the state and local government levels, will carry on with the same; nothing will change.
“You are a response to this hopelessness, you are the ones that will change it; we need a critical mass of people thinking with a mindset of service to the country and to the people at all levels.
“It is not about you, it cannot be about you, you represent an answer to the most significant answer to our problem as a continent.
“We are in a place of competent anger that pushes you to design solutions; you have to be purposeful and intentional,” she said.
(NAN)