BOILING POINT ARENA: Nigeria Needs Transformational Leaders, Not Transactional Leaders Says Obasanjo, Warns Nigerians to Beware of Professional Politicians
By: Olufemi Orunsola
Former Nigerian President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, has asserted that Nigeria leads transformational leaders, not transactional leaders, for its fight against corruption to succeed.
Chief Obasanjo took this position while speaking as guest on the popular monthly interview discourse, BOILING POINT ARENA, on Sunday night.
OPEN TELEVISION NAIJA (OTN) News further reports that the former Nigerian President maintained that, "Nigeria will require a critical mass of committed citizens to achieve success."
Delving into the nagging issue of corruption, Obasanjo revealed that, "the fight against corruption should be passed from one regime to the others if success must be recorded," adding that "bad leadership promotes corruption."
In his words, "A leader with bad character will buy everybody with money that plays an important role because the leader has entrenched poverty that will make the governed to fall for anything.
”Those who are collecting money from bad leaders to perpetrate corruption are only mortgaging their future and future of their children. We have to go back to the begining when communities express worries about the source of sudden wealth among the people. If the source of the wealth of an individual is in doubt, nobody cares to look in the direction of the person because he cannot be trusted.”
The former President who condemned transactional leaders who simply try to buy over a large chunk of the masses, maintained that such leaders will only succeed at impoverishing the generality of the masses.
He therefore advocated for moral rearmament among Nigerians, pleading with the current leadership of the country to observe the teachings of the Holy books.
He admitted that the blame for the current state of affairs in the country goes beyond pointing of accusing fingers at others, as it requires taking collective responsibility
In his words, “Everybody is to be blamed; the churches, the mosques, schools, communities, state and federal government, the entire world and the social media that does not also help the situation.”
He warned Nigerians to be wary of people that are professional politicians, saying they have always fallen for anything that comes through their ways, niting that the country needs transformational leaders as exemplified in Egypt and Rwanda.
Speaking on the qualities good leaders should possess, the former president said leadership positions should not be thrown at every Dick, Tom and Harry, insisting that past track records, other vital background checks on performance, and good character must be considered before appointing or electing a leader.
Obasanjo, who denied any involvement in the military coups led by Lieutenant-Colonel Patrick Chukwuma ‘Kaduna’ Nzeogwu and the one that removed General Yakubu Gowon from office, revealed that information about Nzeogwu got to him after his return from overseas training and too late for him to do anything meaningful while he appealed for bloodless takeover in Gowon’s removal.
Boiling Point Arena featured the one-on-one interview with the former President as the 26th edition of the monthly public discourse programme hosted by Dr.Ayo Arowojolu, a PR Strategist and broadcast journalist.
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