Nigerians Gamble With Leadership Selection Through Try-By-Error System – Gov Oyebanji

Ekiti State Governor, Abiodun Oyebanji, has attributed Nigeria’s leadership challenges to voters’ focus on ethnic, religious, and geopolitical biases in leadership selection.

Speaking on Tuesday at the 11th Annual Public Lecture of the Foursquare Gospel Church in Nigeria, themed “Leadership in Nigeria and its Impact on the Next Generation,” Oyebanji argued that Nigerians often choose leaders through a ‘try-by-error’ approach.

The event, where Oyebanji served as Chairman, took place at the church’s headquarters in Yaba, Lagos.

He said, “There is no doubt that a major problem with leadership recruitment in Nigeria is that, people, sometimes, just find themselves in leadership positions without the right aptitude and attitude.

“For long, Nigerians continue to gamble with leadership selection through a try by error system. We sometimes look for folk heroes or messiahs; at other times, we select leaders on the basis of geopolitics and religious considerations.”

The governor also commented on instances where leaders emerge due to privilege rather than merit, explaining, “There are those who become leaders by default or by circumstances of privileged pedigree and not because of personal merits.

“Yet the best of leaders and those who have been trained, tested, and exposed to the nitty-gritty of leadership in addition to their innate ability.”