Nigeria’s leadership: We need to go back to mentoring people – Gambari

Prof Ibrahim Gambari, former Chief of Staff to ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, has stressed the need to return to the culture of mentoring people in Nigeria’s leadership.

Prof Gambari made this call on Monday when he appeared as a guest on Politics Today, a programme on Channels Television.

According to him, there is a disconnect between Nigeria’s demography and its leadership.

“As we speak, the demography is such that about 70 per cent of Nigerians are under 30 years old, yet at the highest level of government, there are people in their 70s.

“At the same time, it is important for people like me, who have served, to show what the challenges were when we served at such a young age, and what the challenges became later, when some of us had the opportunity to serve again.

“Don’t forget that the Head of State I served under later returned as a civilian president. The difference was clear, and he himself used to say that in his younger days, he had locked up people and presumed them guilty, leaving them to prove their innocence.

“On returning in 2015, he had to presume people innocent and prove them guilty. So the circumstances have changed. The vigour and energy are not the same, but maturity has also been gained.

“You begin to understand the difference between what is doable and what is not, and then concentrate on what can be achieved within the circumstances you find yourself in,” he said.

Nigeria’s leadership: We need to go back to mentoring people – Gambari