State of the Nation: Corruption has become democratised in Nigeria — Ezekwesili

...Our mission is to raise nation builders — Bakare

By Dapo Akinrefon & Henry Obetta

LAGOS — Former Minister of Education, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, on Saturday decried the spread of corruption in Nigeria, warning that it has become “democratised” and likening it to a cancer that is eating away at the country’s institutions.

She spoke at the official opening of the Citadel School of Government and the onboarding of the pioneer class of its Advanced Diploma in Public Leadership and Statecraft, a programme in partnership with the University of Lagos Business School (ULBS).

Ezekwesili stressed that leadership remains the bane of Africa’s development, but insisted that the continent “has no business with failure.”

“Corruption is corrosive. It corrodes. It starts gently, and when you don’t do anything about it, it becomes a monster,” she said.

“That is why we call it the cancer of corruption. It has now become systemic and, before we knew it, it became democratised.”

She urged the new students of the school to live above board, cautioning against repeating the same practices that have destroyed public trust.

“I can’t imagine you going through this programme only to become what you have despised,” she told the students. “We have no business to fail. Failure is not our destiny.”

The former minister also recalled her long collaboration with Pastor Tunde Bakare on governance issues, commending him for setting up the institution to build a new generation of ethical leaders.

Bakare: Our mission is to raise nation builders

In his remarks, Pastor Tunde Bakare, Founder and Board Chairman of the Citadel School of Government, said the initiative was designed to provide solutions to Nigeria’s leadership and developmental challenges.

He explained that the school was established to “equip a new breed without greed” with the tools, vision, and values required to drive transformative governance.

“With your admission into this programme, I am confident that Nigeria is about to experience a new wave of transformative leadership across sectors,” Bakare told the pioneer class.

“Our mission is to raise nation builders — leaders grounded in values and equipped with the competencies to champion cutting-edge governance across diverse spheres of public leadership.”

Bakare clarified that the school was not a political project but a leadership institution with a bold vision to become globally renowned for producing leaders who think globally and act locally.

He added that the partnership with the University of Lagos would help bridge the gap between academic research and policy practice, ensuring an “unhindered flow of ideas, strategies, and solutions” between both spaces.

The pioneer class of 70 students will undertake the diploma programme, joining over 700 who have graduated from similar training initiatives spearheaded by the church in the past five years.

The post State of the Nation: Corruption has become democratised in Nigeria — Ezekwesili appeared first on Vanguard News.