The Vice-Chancellor of the Caleb University, Imota, Lagos, Prof. Ayodeji Olukoju, has called for self-sacrificing and committed leadership in the country.
Such leadership, he said, would enable the country to achieve the needed socio-economic breakthrough.
He spoke in Lagos at the Nigeria Academy of Letters’ 15th convocation and investiture.
Speaking on ‘Nigeria’s Cultural Tapestry and the Challenge of Development’, the vice-chancellor urged the electorate, ahead of the 2015 general elections, to reject corrupt leaders.
He said, “Leadership and succession should not be left to chance, the Nigerian way. There must be systematic training in leadership right from the secondary school level, with a heavy dose of national and comparative history, spiced with biographies of model leaders.
“Nigeria needs an aristocracy of talent in leadership positions, selected by achievement, rather than by ascription.”
He also called for the selection of public office holders based on merit instead of federal character and quota system.
The vice-chancellor added that equity, welfare of the people and the development of a new leadership should be the government priority.
According to him, it is only by doing this that there can be a bridging of the gap between diversity and development to achieve an educated and patriotic leadership.
He added, “Such leaders must be able to invent the Nigerian dream, an articulated vision of a nation held together by the fibres and sinews of the people’s cultural links, the muscle of their human and natural resources, the backbone of criss-crossing physical and social infrastructure, and the blood of social justice and good governance.”
