Prof. Attahiru Jega says, Nigeria needs competent, not strong leaders

The immediate past Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof Attahiru Jega , says Nigeria needs competent and assertive leaders and not necessarily strong leaders .

According to Jega, an incompetent leader who is strong will end up destroying institutions .
The former INEC boss said this at the 58 th Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association in Abuja on Monday .
He said, “What we require most are the competence and capacity of leaders to take decisions and be assertive in ensuring that those decisions are actually implemented. So , we have to be very careful in thinking that a strong leader can really help .

“Just like a weak leader can wreck an institution , a strong leader, who has just that power and courage , but lacks the capacity, ability and competence to lead , can also wreck strong institutions .
“Competence of leadership is a very important variable in bringing about the stable political transition, good governance and deepening of democracy. ”

The former INEC boss, who superintended the 2011 and 2015 general elections , said politicians must stop treating elections as a do -or- die affair .
He recalled that a former President once said elections must be do - or -die, an incident he described as most unfortunate.
Jega also said there was a need for agencies of government to shun partisanship as this weakened institutions and eroded public confidence.

He added, “We must emphasise professionalism, impartiality and non- partisanship . This is because quite too often, you have good and strong institutions, but once partisanship is introduced and partiality become the norm , as many public institutions in this country, then those institutions would not be able to deliver effectively on their mandates. ”
The former INEC chairman said there was a need for law enforcement agencies and the judiciary to be alive to their responsibilities, adding that the integrity of the electoral process must be preserved and protected .
Jega added “From my experience , I am convinced that electoral integrity is key to stable political transition and to ensuring that there is a framework for good governance and societal development . Electoral integrity is not just about the integrity of the election management body . It is also the integrity with which the key stakeholders engage with the electoral process . ”

In his remarks, a former Head of State , Gen . Abdulsalami Abubakar, lamented that elections in Africa are always characterised by violence.

He said even the recently concluded NBA election was not without its own controversies.
“The genesis of Africa ’ s political problems is the action of sit- tight leaders who do all they can to amend the constitutions in order to perpetuate themselves forever . These leaders manipulate very vital democratic organs particularly the legislature and even judiciary to suppress any dissenting voice , ” he added.