Presidential Research & Communications Unit - Rule of Law & Good Governance

President Umaru Musa Yar’adua has stated that he made a deliberate choice to exemplify the servant-leader in order to forcefully bring the urgent need for a change in attitude to the collective consciousness of Nigeria’s political class.

The President who stated this at a dinner for participants in the “Nigeria Meets The World” forum, on 24 September in New York declared that a total change must take place in the disposition of Nigerian politicians and political parties for the electoral reforms initiated by his administration to succeed in establishing a durable framework for political stability in the country.

He noted that the concept of the servant leader is about politics as opportunities for service to the nation and not for self-aggrandisement.

He said, “We have a lot of work to do to change our concept of leadership. Political office and leadership are not necessarily synonymous because election to a political office should only provide an opportunity for someone to become a leader through worthy service to his people.”

“We are reforming our electoral process to lay a solid foundation for political stability but there must be a complete change in the conduct of our politicians and political parties because their attitude will determine the success of the reforms,” He added.

President Yar’adua warned that without political stability, real development could not take place in Nigeria and other African countries, adding that his Administration was also working very hard to curb corruption by promoting respect for the rule of law and enforcing sanctions for breaches of the law.

He said that his administration would build on the general consensus amongst Nigerians for the adoption of a free market economy to provide a higher quality of life for all the people of the country.

“In line with this, we are taking steps to realize our objective of making Nigeria one of the 20 strongest economies in the world by the year 2020. We have a very clear vision. It is not going to be easy to achieve, but we will try very hard,” He noted.

While expressing his appreciation to the developed nations of the world for their ongoing assistance to Nigeria and other developing countries, President Yar’adua urged them do more by making massive investments for the establishment of the critical infrastructure essential for economic growth and poverty alleviation.

“We are determined to partner with you to make our world a better place to live in,” he said.

The President thanked Thisday Newspapers for hosting the event.

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