Soludo Calls For Paradigm Shift Towards Leadership, Governance

Charles Chukwuma Soludo, governor-elect of Anambra State, has called for a paradigm shift in mindset among Nigerians and political leaders toward governance and leadership for the country to attain its potential.

Soludo, a former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) made the call Saturday while delivering a keynote address at the pioneer graduation ceremony of the School of Politics, Policy and Governance (SPPG) in Abuja, titled, ‘The Purpose and Price of Disruptive Change.’

He called for attitudinal change among aspiring leaders and the electorate, noting that the country had suffered decades of leadership failure at various levels because several people who aspire for public offices were not prepared or did not equip themselves with the right information and orientation.

He advocated for a new approach towards leadership and perspective towards public office among Nigerians and the ruling class while admonishing the graduands to have a clearly defined purpose of their intention while seeking to lead.

He, however, charged the graduands to join a political party so that they could make the needed impact they desired to see, adding that they should not be afraid of failing while striving to realise their political dreams and intention because it was part of the learning process which great political leaders in the world had gone through.

“So, my first charge to my new friends and graduates is to profess their purpose in the political farmland and actively participate to actualise it. If you have not yet done so, when you go home today, write down your purpose (what do you want to achieve) in the public arena and paste same beside your reading table or anywhere for everyday reference,” he said.

“Then join a political party, a civil society organisation, or organise alternative better platforms of leverage. You may better disrupt from inside than outside. Organisation is power. The key is to participate in the process or stop complaining. For Nigeria, most people focus on politics in Abuja and we have for too long tried in vain to fix Nigeria from the obtuse center,” he further said.

According to him, “It is time to try fixing it and its politics from below from the subnational units. If you have something to offer, go and run for office. Win or lose, your participation will add something to the process. Then persevere, endure, and remain focused on delivering your purpose.

“Such disruptions will come at great costs, and could indeed be dangerous. It is not far to imagine what could befall serious disruptors. In Nigeria, we remember what happened to Murtala Muhammed, and the history books are replete with hundreds of examples of the inherent risks.

At a personal level, undertaking the banking revolution in Nigeria came with 19 written threats to me and my family, including physical attacks. Disrupting the existing social order is dangerous. Beneficiaries of the current order are powerful enough to organise and viciously fight back to protect their privileges.

“On the contrary, the masses who are the ultimate beneficiaries are not organised enough to act as a bulwark against the special interests. As things stand currently, we are standing between the rock and the hard place.

With the objective to retain power within the context of short electoral cycles, politicians are afraid to undertake the necessary disruptive changes to guarantee long-term safety and prosperity for all. On the other hand, the existing trends are totally unsustainable and the system is living on borrowed times. Everyone is sleepwalking to the hard place, and praying that somehow a miracle will happen along the way.”