Supo Sonibare is the Chairman of Lagos chapters of Afenifere and the Democratic Peoples' Alliance Party (DPA). He speaks on leadership problem in Nigeria and the expectations from President Goodluck Jonathan.

Below is an interview he had with NEXT's Segun Balogun:

We do not seem to have a system to replace leaders, what is the problem?

There has been a shortage of leadership materials participating in the polity from the second republic. In the first republic, no one nurtured the likes of Zik, Ahmadu, and Awolowo, and others we had then. They had this overriding interest and zest of wanting to improve their society to the benefit of the masses. Though, we still had charlatans who attempted to contest elections but we were fortunate that we had the participation of a larger portion of the professional class. The trend in subsequent republics have been the dwindling of the participation of the professional, artisans, and labour class and the increase in the number of charlatans wanting to hold political offices.

What is responsible for the dwindling participation?

We must understand that even if you are able to escape the poor economic hardship and build substantial wealth, you are likely to lose it all the day the unstable society you live in explode or implode. I think our selfishness and the notion that politics is dirty have also contributed to our leadership problems.

How did our politics come to be known as a dirty game?

It's simple. Most of us keep having a stereotype idea of who our governor or leader should be without actively supporting somebody that fits the bill. So, charlatans took over and for them, politics is not exchange of ideas that bring the best to the society, it is a life and death game because they have no other means of staking a gainful employment or livelihood.

This is what I hope we can change in the next election because we are at a precipice that will push us into a failed state and the consequences of that will affect those who are not even participating in the polity as well.

So what motivation is there for politically apathetic Nigerians?

We only need to look at those we considered as icons of leadership in this country called Nigeria - we are not yet a nation. All that Tafawa Balewa had to himself was a bungalow in his hometown. These are people who value education and want the best for the society. Awolowo, Zik, Ahmadu all had an unbridled passion for societal transformation. I don't think we can call politics a dirty game when we look at these icons.

May be for the temporary moments, the crooks have seized the Nigerian treasury but they are people we won't remember with any positive inclination in the next 40 to 50 years.

Do we need leadership institutes as we see in other developed nations?

I don't think having institutes that teach best practices in governance will change anything in Nigeria at the moment. We are probably more religious than any other country in the world and religion is supposed to nurture people to be God-fearing. So, if religion has been largely effective, we shouldn't have leadership problems because respected leaders like Martin Luther are religiously motivated people.

If the Church has not been able to produce credible political leaders, despite the fact that we are more church-going and if Islam hasn't been able to do the same despite been the most literary based religion, I don't think any institute can do that in Nigeria.

Any elected leader who disappoints his constituency naturally gets booted out as we see recently in the UK. What we need most is active participation in politics and credible electoral system.

What does Nigeria needs now to move forward?

We need that somebody that will change things for better. Institutions don't just spring up; somebody must sacrifice to make the change. I saw President Goodluck's swearing-in ceremony and realised our oath-of-office has more undertakings than that of Ghana, South Africa, and US.

If a Nigerian president abides by the oath alone, he doesn't even need any 7-point agenda before he would have done credibly well.

What should be President Jonathan's agenda?

He must first combat corruption. Look at the amnesty programme, a good idea that does not lack funding but is failing to yield positive result because of corruption. The same thing will happen with the power project too.

What is DPA most critical about in the current Lagos State administration?

We've always taken the view that the current administration can be more prudent in managing public funds, though we always submitted that the incumbent governor has also done better than the previous one. We also believe this administration should fare better than Jakande's who did so much to affect the lives of the majority of Lagosians because the State has more financial and human resources than many other States in Nigeria.

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/Metro/5568388-147/story.csp

Shonibae didn't say Jonathan needs one point Agenda, he simply said he should 'combat' corruption to see the effect of investments on various sectors of the economy

fundamental question often asked by scholars and students of politics in Africa is the possibility of having an ideal and enduring democratic society.

http://www.scharticles.com/political-apathy-nigerian-democracy/