Laolu Akande: Leaders need associates with shared values — not self-serving loyalty

Laolu Akande, spokesperson to Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, says it is important for leaders to have the right kind of associates.

Akande, who said this on Wednesday in a post on his official Twitter handle, said leaders truly interested in nation building do not promote self-serving loyalty.

“When a leader is entrusted with the destiny of a nation, what matters most in his/her circle of associates is alignment of values and shared public spirit,” Akande tweeted.

“Otherwise, people in high offices can be very loyal to each other and among themselves for the bastardization of the common good.”

When a leader is entrusted with the destiny of a nation, what
matters most in his/her circle of associates is alignment of values & shared public spirit. Otherwise, people in high offices
can be very loyal to each other & among themselves for the
bastardization of the common good. pic.twitter.com/chQHmrJ6af

— Laolu Akande (@akandeoj) October 12, 2022

His tweet comes months after Osinbajo lost the presidential ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

In the build-up to the APC presidential primary at the time, there were varied reactions over the vice-president’s decision to contest against Bola Tinubu, former governor of Lagos, under whom Osinbajo once served as attorney-general.

Amid the varied reactions, Bayo Onanuga, former managing director of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), had said he regretted nominating Osinbajo to be attorney-general during the administration of Bola Tinubu as governor of Lagos.

The vice-president is also not listed on the APC presidential campaign council.

However, Festus Keyamo, spokesperson of the Tinubu campaign council, had said Osinbajo was excluded to allow him “concentrate on governance of the country and administration of government”.

Meanwhile, in August, while speaking at a meeting with a group of Harvard Business School students at the presidential villa in Abuja, Osinbajo had said he believes in promoting values that foster sustainable development.

“For me, spirituality connotes values. I came into government with values about what I think is important, especially around transparency, social justice and justice, among others. You are almost always a product of the values you believe in,” he said.

“Fortunately, a lot of these values cut across the different faiths. They are not necessarily restricted to a religion or one faith.”