The immediate-past governor of Kaduna State, Nasir el-rufa’i, has said that Nigerian problems are not hunger or high exchange rates against the country currency, Naira, but the bad leadership.
El-Rufa’i made the assertion during the Capacity-Enhancement Workshop for Senior Government Officials, Borno State with the theme: “Enhancing Skills of Government Officials in Policy Implementation and Productive Human Resource Management”, which held on Monday in Maiduguri, Borno State.
The ex-governor pointed out that well-trained, educated, and committed Civil Servants would enhance the output of the country.
He said, “What we lack is good leadership, the major aspect of good quality of leadership. We can see that in Nigeria; our only problem in Nigeria, is not food, hunger, exchange rates; not fuel subsidy removal, but it is a leadership deficit.
“The leader should get good people in order to get the job done. Only God can do everything by Himself. No matter how good you are as a leader, you can only be as effective as people around you; and that’s why the saying that: ‘no country gets better than the quality of his civil services’.”
El-Rufa’i maintained that he felt gratifying seeing Maiduguri and Borno State getting cleaner and better despite the decade-long Boko Haram insurgency that had killed and cut-off the entire State from the National Grid.
According to him, “What we have here shows you the quality of leadership that Borno State has; and I think Zulum is one of the best governors in the country. We have seen the energy and effort put in by him”.
El-Rufa’i however said he does not want to be addressed as ‘godfather’ in Kaduna, where he had stayed since 29 May 2023.
“I don’t want to be a godfather; and that’s why I don’t interfere in what is happening in Kaduna, I want him (Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State) to learn and get the job done by himself”, El-Rufa’i stressed.
