Tribalism has left Nigeria with third-class leaders— Catholic cleric

By Nnamdi Ojiego

LAGOS — THE Vicar General, Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos, Monsignor John Aniagwu, has decried the state of the nation, warning that Nigeria is “racing backwards” due to leadership failure and entrenched tribalism.

Speaking at the inauguration of St. Leo’s Commandery 1010 and Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Laux 887 of the Knights of St. John International in Ikeja, Aniagwu lamented that the country continues to sideline competent citizens in favour of ethnic considerations, thereby weakening its leadership pool.

“Right now, people are not valued for what they can do or who they are. The first question asked is: Which tribe are you from? In the process, we lose the services of people who can really work for this country because we discriminate against them,” he said.

The outgoing Parish Priest of St. Leo’s Catholic Church, Ikeja, added that this culture has left Nigeria with “second-rate leaders, maybe even third or tenth-rate leaders,” which explains why the nation lags behind its peers.

“Nigeria of today cannot be compared with Nigeria of 40 years ago. Certainly, you cannot compare Nigeria today with many other countries on our own continent. If you list the 10 best countries in Africa in terms of progress, Nigeria will not be among them, maybe not even in the first 20,” he lamented.

The cleric, however, urged Nigerians, particularly leaders, to uphold values of accountability, honesty, integrity, and meritocracy, stressing that everyone should have a level playing field regardless of tribe or religion.

Also speaking,  Franklin Ezeji, President of Commandery 1010, described the inauguration as a covenant to uphold the sacred traditions of the order.

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