Christopher Kolade: I didn’t join politics because it wouldn’t have allowed me to be myself

Christopher Kolade, former Nigerian high commissioner to the United Kingdom, says the current crop of Nigerian politicians prioritise their personal interests over the nation’s.

Kolade, who spoke in an interview with Channels Television’s Amazing Africans, said he never joined politics because he “would not be able to be myself”.

The nonagenarian said things have changed compared to the politicians of the first republic who “actually were serving the country”, and were imprisoned because of their beliefs.

Nigeria’s first republic lasted from 1963 to 1966.

“My view of politics is that the practice of politics can be very sensitive and one can begin to do things, begin to participate in decisions that conflict with the values, the standards, the principles that one believes. That has been my experience,” he said.

“I’ve never gone into politics because the way it was being practised, I thought I would not be able to be myself if I became a politician now.

“That may be simply my own weakness but this is the situation and so when I see politicians today and the way they behave, if I compare today’s politicians with politicians of the First Republic, for example.

“I can tell that my experience of the politicians of the First Republic was that they actually worked for Nigeria; they actually were serving the country, they put themselves and their own interests lower than the national interests and some of them in order to serve the country well were actually imprisoned, they suffered hardships in order to get the country to where they thought it should go.

“I think that has changed. I believe that today many politicians, in fact most politicians that I know of, tend to put their own interests ahead of the national interest.”

Kolade, who was appointed chair of the Subsidy Re-investment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P) by the Goodluck Jonathan administration in 2012, said his friends advised him against accepting the role to safeguard his reputation.

He said despite the advice to decline the offer, he went on to accept the job because “somebody must do it”.

“In fact, there was a group of young people that I was mentoring at the time and they said to me in a meeting: ‘We respect you too much, don’t go for this’,” he added.

“I asked for God’s direction, I asked them a question: ‘I said so if I don’t take it, if I say because I want to protect my reputation I don’t take it, whom shall I point to and say you take it, you go and endanger your reputation, you go and do this?’ I said so I cannot refuse to take it because I know somebody must do it.

“What I can do is to say if I go and do it, God is able to see me through it. That was what happened.

“So, friends can tell me their preference and sometimes I even have my own preference but I remember always that I’m God’s child and that he has my best interests at heart.”

Kolade later resigned from the role in 2013, citing advanced age, corruption and transparency issues.