Former Education Minister Dr. Oby Ezekwesili has advocated for a profound shift in the political culture prevailing across the continent. She believes that such a transformation is imperative to drive substantial development in Africa.
Ezekwesili noted this during her address delivered at the matriculation ceremony for the 2023/2024 session of the School of Politics, Policy, and Governance (SPPG) in Abuja.
She highlighted the prevalence of a dominant political culture throughout Africa that prioritizes narrow interests over the common good.
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Her mission in establishing the school, she emphasized, is to address the pressing issues related to the quality of politics and economic performance in Nigeria.
The School of Politics, Policy and Governance, according to Dr. Ezekwesili, has been strategically designed to rectify the existing abnormalities in the supply side of the political and democratic market.
Through this institution, she envisions paving the way for a brighter and more equitable political future for the continent.
“We have low-cost leadership in our politics today and you cannot produce anything from low-cost leadership,” the former minister said.
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 Executive 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 charged the students.