Ezekwesili: Why Africa must be at the centre of global conversations on governance

Obiageli Ezekwesili, convener/chair of #FixPolitics and founder of the School of Politics, Policy and Governance (SPPG), says Africa needs to take the centre stage during global discussions on economic growth and governance.

She said this in a statement by the SPPG on Tuesday amid preparations to mark the school’s second anniversary.

According to the statement, she said there is a need for quality leadership in Africa, especially in Nigeria, considering the current state of governance affairs.

Speaking on the deficit in terms of available qualities among leaders, she said Africa needs to understand that it holds a prime spot within global circles.

“The existing multilateral order is broken and must be urgently fixed so that our world can make critical decisions and take the right actions on issues that affect us all,” she said.

“Africa must be at the centre of the conversations on global governance, economic growth, poverty and inequality, climate change, disruptive technologies and related issues of human and social development.

“The world will do better with Africa actively at the table of the redesign of today’s global architecture for a future that provides equal opportunity for everyone anywhere to excel.”

Speaking on the importance of the SPPG, she said the school offers the right environment to train leaders who can contribute meaningfully to development.

“The SPPG is where we are raising the ethical, competent, and capable disruptive leaders for an Africa that sits at the global table of decision. And we are doing so, one leader at a time, in significant numbers,” she said.

On her part, Alero Ayida-Otobo, chief executive officer, SPPG, spoke on the quality services provided by the school.

“Our pioneer class of 160 outstanding professionals from the public sector, business, and civil society graduated in October 2021. This year, 133 will graduate in a hybrid ceremony on October 8, 2022,” she said.

“We are fortunate to have an honorary expert faculty body consisting of renowned academics, experts, and practitioners from around the world who teach our 140 courses.

“Our students have, therefore, learned from a world class faculty to become disruptive thinkers who are ethical, competent, and capable in their present and future roles as political and policy leaders.

“We are delighted that 55 of our students were aspirants for elective offices in the recent primaries of various political parties, and of which five emerged as candidates for the forthcoming 2023 general election.

“Our school continues to support our alumni by engaging experts to help design strategies that can strengthen their candidacy and improve their chances of winning elections.”

According to the statement, the SPPG provides a platform for unconventional research, such as the #FixPolitics initiative “that is designed to transform the quality of political and public leadership in Nigeria and the rest of Africa”.

“This innovative leadership school is invested in developing a massive pipeline of value-based and disruptive thinking political-class equipped with the requisite knowledge, skills, and mindset to solve complex leadership problems to reposition Africa in the 21st Century,” the statement reads.

“The SPPG has a continental focus and commenced in Nigeria in 2020 with expansion plans into Senegal in 2023, as the step before six other countries.

“The vision of the school is to envision a Nigeria with competent and responsible public leadership firmly based on ethical principles and dedicated to serving the common good for the benefit of all, whilst its mission is to educate present and future leaders dedicated to the good of the nation and ready to serve as stewards of the wellbeing of all Nigerians.

SPPG’s strategic objectives include the need to groom a new set of leaders with policy development and good governance mind set, whilst educating a new cadre of political leaders dedicated to the values of good governance in and out of Nigeria, based on the values the school upholds.

“We want to contribute to instilling in politicians and public administrators a deep sense of moral commitment to the common good as a foundation for Nigeria and Africa’s future prosperity. SPPG aims to strengthen the bonds between government, public administration, and citizens by fostering dialogue, accountability, and transparency.

“The School of Politics, Policy and Governance (SPPG) is determined to foster the disruptive thinking needed to create the understanding amongst new leadership that the public good must always be an inherent consideration in governance. Its programs and mini SPPG curricula are available to continue to change leadership dynamics.”

Activities for the SPPG’s second anniversary include the launch of its alumni association on October 6, solidarity walk on October 7, while its maiden graduation ceremony is scheduled for October 8.

The school’s next matriculation, which has as its theme, ‘Designing our Global Future with Africa in Mind’, is scheduled to hold on October 28 in Abuja.