Gideon Arinze in Enugu
A former Minister of National Planning, Prof. Osita Ogbu, has said that Nigeria remains underdeveloped despite its potential because it lacks leaders with the right vision and philosophy.
Ogbu made this known yesterday, while speaking at the inaugural edition of the Nigerian Hamilton Project put together by the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), in partnership with the Institute for Development Studies (IDS), University of Nigeria, Nsukka, themed, “Development As Attitude.”
In his address, Ogbu, a development economist, said that in Nigeria, an individual with capacity is defined as one who can finance the electoral process during an election. That is why the country keeps producing leaders who do not have the right leadership philosophy.
“We do not put in efforts in the process of searching and deciding those who become our leaders,” he said. The choice of who takes over from where a leader stops is also crucial, we must begin to look at the knowledge they come with and what they think that the society should look like,” he added.
He noted that development is ultimately shaped not just by leadership alone, but by the ideas, values, and philosophies leaders bring into governance.
“It is not simply a question of leaders,” he stated. “It is the values and philosophies that guide their important actions. These determine the quality of leadership and, ultimately, the development outcomes.”
Earlier, a member of the board of the NESG, Nnanna Udeh, said that the Nigerian Hamilton Project is an initiative designed to stimulate national conversations around leadership, governance, and economic transformation.
“This event marks the first in a series of similar engagements to be held across Nigeria in the months ahead, “he said.
The highlight of the event was an interactive panel discussion which featured the Director of IDS, Dr Ben Nwosu, a Senior Lecturer at the institute, Dr Chukwuma Agu and Chairman of the FIT Group of Companies, Loretta Aniagolu.