African political leaders are not nationalistic, says Okunn

Lukman Amusa

A former Minister of Works and Housing, Mr. Lateef Femi Okunnu, says many African political leaders, particularly in Nigeria, are not patriotic.

Okunnu made the observation in Lagos on Monday at the investiture of a new chairman of Lagos chapter of Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors and inauguration of its new Senate.

He said that political leaders no longer works in the national interest, but rather for personal interest.

This, he said, was responsible for political instability in the country.

Okunnu said that the current crop of political leaders lacked either the principles or ideology for contesting political positions.

According to him, most politicians are concerned about their personal interest and how to enrich their pockets to the detriment of the populace.

“In the country today, we have politicians who have no principles or ideology why they are in political leadership.

“Most of them are game players with no ambition and that is why they could move from one political party to the other,” he said.

Okunnu, also chairman of the occasion, said there was the need for overall restructuring of the country’s political system.

He urged the 2019 candidates to work toward restructuring the political system, stressing that leadership revolves around patriotism, commitment and sacrifice.

“This calls for orientation of the mindset of Nigerians to understand the rudiments of politics.

“In some countries like USA, there is no panic as election approaches. No governor or political godfather has control over operational mechanism of the political parties.

“Governors do not choose candidates for political parties; the parties choose their candidates by themselves.

“But in Nigeria, there are lots of loopholes and interference in the political system. The electorate are not allowed to elect their leaders,” Okunnu said.

President of NIQS, Mr. Obafemi Onashile, said that the seven professional bodies in the built environment needed to work together to grow the economy.

Onashile said that reform of the building and construction industry was paramount to enhancing its performance.

In his acceptance speech, the new chairman of Lagos Chapter of NIQS, Mr. Ayuba Akere, promised the commitment of his team to move the institute to greater heights.