Quality of Leadership Key To Growth, Development of Any Nation– Ortuanya

The Vice Chancellor, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, UNN, Prof. Simon Ortuanya, has said the growth, development and stability of any nation is dependent on the quality of its leaders.

Prof. Ortuanya said this in a keynote address at the official inauguration of the newly elected executive of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, Enugu State Council, said that good leadership was pivotal to the development of any nation, hence there is need for proper recruitment of quality leadership to drive growth and development of such a nation.

Represented at the occasion by the Deputy Vice Chancellor, DVC, Academics, Prof. Olaiwola Usman, Prof. Ortuanya spoke with regard to the theme of the inauguration tagged, “Leadership Recruitment Amid Challenges of Poverty:The Role of the Media.”

According to him, for any nation to get a quality leadership, the recruitment has to be thorough to ensure that a square peg is put in a square hole, adding that most of the crisis in the world are hinged on bad leadership.

He attributed the quantum of poverty index being witnessed in the society to wrong choice of leaders who may have emerged through manipulation or violence which often fuels apathy among the electorate in an election.

“The growth, development and stability of any nation depends on the quality of its leaders and the way they came about, that is the way they were recruited,” he said lamenting that the recruitment of political leadership in Nigeria is nothing to write home about.

“You may remember that the recruitment processes in Nigeria is nothing to write home about.  A good leader is pivotal to the development of the nation.  The world is facing leadership crisis because of the leadership question,” he lamented, noting that wars, insecurity and biting poverty are occasioned by bad leadership.

He therefore called on the media who are the mouthpiece of the people to educate the masses to chose their leaders wisely in order to have a sane and better society.

The Chairman of the occasion, Mr. Uche Anichukwu, the SSA to Gov. Peter Mbah on External Media Relations, said that leadership recruitment was very important in a democracy, adding that, “the people we vote into power will determine our future. “

Anichukwu therefore said that to ensure quality leadership, the people must shun vote selling and buying but to vote conscientiously.

“Leadership recruitment is very, very important in a democracy.  The people we vote into power will determine our future.  If we want quality leadership, vote buying must stop.  If there are no vote sellers, there will be no vote buyers,” he said urging the people not to sell their conscience but to chose their leaders wisely.

“When you are voting, make sure that you vote the right persons,” he admonished and called on the media to educate the people on their civic rights and to shun selling their voting rights.

He noted that Enugu State made the right choice in electing Gov. Peter Mbah in 2023 pointing out that he has performed creditably in many ramifications.

The new chairman of NUJ, Enugu State Council, Comrade Obinna Ogbuka, appealed to all and sundry to assist NUJ which he said is facing a lot of challenges.

Ogbuka who said that some quacks have entered into journalism to rock the boat, said they needed assistance to see that those that purvey fake news are fished out and dealt with.

“I want to appeal to all stakeholders, NUJ, is facing a lot of challenges, journalists in Enugu State need support from government and the public.

Some people are not journalists but they are practicing and giving us a bad name.  The fake news is not coming from journalists but from the fake journalists,” he lamented.

Earlier in a remark, the national president of NUJ, Alhassan Yahya, said that he had confidence that Ogbuka -led Exco would reposition NUJ in Enugu State and urged members to support the new executive to achieve the objective of lifting the Union to a greater height.