By Olusegun Emmanuel, Abuja.
The Co-Chairman of the National Conference Committee on Politics and Governance, Chief Olu Falae has blamed the near absence of good governance in Nigeria on the role money pays in politics of the country.
The Committee Co-Chairman said that until the influence of money was de-emphasised in the electoral and governance processes, the country may not witness the emergence of credible leaders and good governance.
Co-Chairman of the Committee on Politics and Governance and a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Chief Olu Falae, said the committee would, in the course of its assignment, explore ways of grooming good leaders who could deliver good governance.
Falae also lamented that the lack of internal democracy in the political parties was also one of the reasons for the emergence of bad leaders and the absence of good governance.
“What has emerged from our discussion so far is that good governance really depends on the quality of leadership. We have the laws; we have the constitution and we know the procedures. But is the leadership ready to take action?
“The way the political parties are organised is also a problem. They don’t have internal democracy. Governors have emerged as virtual dictators because they control the resources of the state. It is money that speaks and until we reduce the role of money in our politics, we will not have good leadership. As it is today, any position can be bought and not earned or merited,” he said.
Another Co-Chairman of the Committee, Prof. Jerry Gana had earlier described good governance as the degree to which a government delivers on development.
In his opening remarks at the commencement of proceedings at the committee level, Gana said that Nigeria deserved a government that would dedicate its programmes and policies to human development and the delivery of practical solutions to the people’s problems.
He said that good leadership was very important because it was the only way that a country could have good governance. According to him leaders must be passionate and always take actions that could produce positive results.
