ABUJA—Former Minister of Commerce, Ambassador Idris Waziri has called for selfless and patriotic leadership ahead of the 2015 general elections in the country.
He also said the leadership must be visionary and accountable to the people.
Waziri spoke at the 5th anniversary of the Press Gallery in Abuja in a paper entitled “Leadership and Nation Building in Nigeria”.
Waziri noted that the call by some Nigerians for the convocation of a national conference and the emergence of regional groupings such as Arewa Consultative Forum, Ohanaeze Ndigbo and Afenifere among others were all indications of failure of leadership and sign that Nigeria was still a country of nationalities.
The former minister noted that the country also required strong leadership that could make Nigerians patriotic.
According to him, “when we are able to have strong, patriotic leadership supported by strong patriotic follower-ship coupled with a return to our core national values which emphasize discipline, honesty, hard work and respect for elders and fellow human beings, I have no doubts in my mind that Nigeria will be on the threshold to nation building.”
Waziri, however, regretted that the culture of “hard work, honesty, discipline, fairness and justice had been eroded because of excessive greed, materialism and quest for power at all cost which breeds absolute corruption.”