Nigeria has no business failing – Ezekwesili

By Henry Obetta

Former Minister of Education, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, has declared that Nigeria “has no business to fail,” lamenting that corruption has eaten so deep into the nation that it has become “systemic and democratised.”

Ezekwesili spoke on Saturday at the inauguration of the Citadel School of Government (CSG) and the induction of the pioneer class of its Advanced Diploma in Public Leadership and Statecraft, held at the Citadel Multipurpose Hall, Oregun, Lagos, in partnership with the University of Lagos Business School (ULBS).

Delivering her lecture, she criticised those who appear comfortable with Nigeria’s shortcomings, describing corruption as a corrosive “cancer” that has derailed generations.

“When I see people who are comfortable with the failures of our country, I know there is no meeting point between those people and I. It doesn’t come from arrogance; it comes from knowing how not to waste my heart,” she said.

“Corruption corrodes. It starts gently, and if you don’t confront it, it becomes a monster. Before we knew it, it became systemic, and then it was democratised. Now everybody says, ‘If you can’t beat them, join them.’ Join who? That is how generations are derailed for a mess of pottage.”

She urged the inductees not to wear their diplomas as mere badges of status but as a call to lead with integrity.

“No matter how competent you are, if you lack character, you will go nowhere. I cannot imagine you going through this programme only to become what you have despised,” she cautioned.

Founder of the CSG, Pastor Tunde Bakare, said the initiative was conceived to bridge Nigeria’s leadership gap and raise a new generation of leaders who will reject corruption.

“Our mission is to raise nation builders like you—leaders grounded in values and equipped with the competencies to champion a new philosophy of governance,” he said.

Bakare noted that the partnership with UNILAG Business School would provide participants with both academic depth and practical exposure.

“With your induction into this programme, I do not doubt that a new breed without greed, a radical opposition to corruption, and a cohort of changemakers is about to emerge,” he declared.

Since its inception, the leadership diploma has graduated 748 participants, with another 200 set to graduate in October.

Both Ezekwesili and Bakare stressed that for Nigeria to overcome its current crisis, it must urgently raise leaders who combine competence with character.

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