Former Secretary General of the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria, Rev. Fr. George Ehusani, has cautioned that Nigeria’s anti-corruption efforts will remain ineffective until the flaws in the nation’s political leadership recruitment process are addressed.
Speaking at the weekend during the 23rd bi-annual leadership lecture of the African Centre for Leadership, Strategy and Development (Centre LSD) and the 25th graduation ceremony of its Leadership School in Abuja, Ehusani noted that countries without multiple anti-corruption agencies perform better than Nigeria on the global corruption perception index.
Ehusani, who is also the Executive Director of Lux Terra Leadership Foundation, criticised a system that often produces leaders of questionable character, including ethnic bigots and religious extremists.
“Until such a fundamental error is addressed and the perception of the political leadership recruitment process is corrected, I do not believe that any number of anti-corruption agencies and crusaders will transform our fortunes,” he said.
The human rights activist expressed concern over politicians who exploit ethnic divisions and manipulate religious sentiments for personal gain, as well as those who loot public resources with impunity.
He stressed that unless Nigeria confronts these leadership recruitment anomalies, the establishment of more anti-corruption agencies would not yield meaningful change.
“After all, there are countries where there are no other agencies saddled with the task of fighting corruption, apart from the regular police. Some of these countries are doing so much better than Nigeria in the global corruption perception index.
“They are able to investigate, prosecute, and promptly discharge cases of corruption, better than what we see in our country, Nigeria, which has established numerous agencies, including CCB, CCT, ICPC, EFCC, BPP, NEITI, Public Complaints Commission, and the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation, all to fight the same scourge of corruption. “
Ehusani argued that values of truth, honesty, justice, fairness, social inclusion, accountability, transparency, selflessness, sacrifice for the common good, and patriotism are often disseminated in the population primarily through the live examples of those in leadership positions at all levels, and only secondarily through training programmes.
He recalled that people often watch how their leaders exemplify and personify these values, and then they follow suit.
He emphasized that when people who lack common sense and the values that flow therefrom take control of political power, their incompetence burns through society like an Australian bush fire or a deadly virus.
The co-chair of the event, Ms Ojobo Odo-Atuluku, Executive chair of Benchmark Advantage and Principal at Lawconsult, said a Chatham House study on Corruption in Nigeria found that most Nigerians disapprove of corrupt practices.
She challenged the graduands to forget about titles, apply what they have learnt in the Leadership School immediately, since there are no ‘leaders of tomorrow’ they were brought up to believe.
“Become someone who exercises adaptive leadership, as at now helping Nigeria and Nigerians to tackle tough challenges like corruption, where the solutions are not clear and require learning, innovation, and changes in values, priorities, or habits.
In his remarks, the founding Executive Director of Centre LSD, Dr. Otive Igbuzor, said corruption has long been recognised as one of the greatest obstacles to Nigeria’s progress.
“It weakens institutions, erodes public trust, distorts development priorities, and deepens poverty.
“History and experience show that anti-corruption is not merely a technical matter of laws and regulations; it is a matter of leadership and values. Effective leaders set the tone from the top, model integrity, build systems of accountability, and mobilise citizens to resist corruption. Where leaders demonstrate integrity, institutions flourish; where they fail, institutions crumble.”
Executive Director of Centre LSD, Mr. Monday Osasah, said the leadership school was designed to provide individuals with the tools, knowledge, and vision necessary for transformative leadership, who can drive change both in organisation and society.
“Today’s ceremony brings the total number of Centre LSD Leadership School graduates to an impressive 3,023 (1,283 male and 1,285 female)—proof of our sustained efforts in the leadership development journey.”
