The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon Yakubu Dogara, has
said that poor leadership is responsible for the underdevelopment of the
African continent.
Dogara, who said this when he received in audience the Sudanese ambassador
to Nigeria, Ibrahim Busha in his office on Tuesday, further lamented that
African leaders have left the continent underdeveloped as a result of
their reliance on foreign aid, according to a statement issued by his
spokesperson, Turaki Hassan.
Dogara maintained that for Africa to develop, its leaders must begin to
look inwards and proffer solutions instead of waiting for aid from the
West, and must begin to practise governance that really puts Africans
first.
The Speaker explained that: “It is unacceptable that our continent is
still being characterised as a dark continent. I sincerely believe that
for us to make progress, leadership in Africa must be really for the
people. Certainly, if we do that, there will be no limits to Africa’s
potential.”
He said: “It is unfortunate that we have been locked in a situation
whereby leadership and governance as being currently practised has only
tied us to aid from the West.”
“Instead of us looking inwards, we have always looked outwards to aid that
comes to Africa and in most cases, these have strings attached to them
which tend to imprison and impoverish our people more than liberating them
and putting them on the ladder of economic prosperity.”
“So one thing we have to ensure is done across Africa, is to provide the
kind of leadership that lifts our people out of poverty and places them on
the pedestal of economic growth and prosperity. We can only do this when
we further our cooperation and deepen our relationship with countries that
occupy leading positions in Africa.”
ýDogara who further called for cooperation and deepened relationship among
leading African countries, said it is one of the ways through which the
continent can achieve its developmental goals, and that ý”there is so much
more, going forward, that we can do to provide the leadership that Africa
needs for progress.”
He assured the Sudanese ambassador that the House of Representatives will
work on agreements and treaties between the two countries to the benefit
of citizens.
“I am also aware of the diverse agreements ýthat we have signed. From your
own side of the divide, you have even gone further to establish a special
implementation committee with regards to agreements signed with Nigeria.”
“As the House of Representatives, of course, we are the ýrepresentatives
of the people as the name suggests. We ensure that in whatever we are
discussing, the interest of the people supercedes our interests as
parliamentarians”, he concluded.