ENUGU- Prof. Osita Ogbu, says Nigeria can be a better place if the citizens and leaders play effectively contribute their quota towards its development.
Ogbu, a professor of economics, said this during a chat with newsmen in Enugu on Friday on the sidelines of the presentation of his book entitled: “Development as Attitude: A National Dialogue Series.”
The event was organised by the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) in collaboration with the Institute for Development Studies, University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
The don said that development was not merely a function of policies and institutions, but fundamentally influenced by the attitudes and consciousness of both leaders and citizens.
Ogbu said that leaders` values, ethics and decision-making processes, to a large, extent shape national outcomes.
He also said that if a government lacked framework and ideologies it might not meet the yearnings of the public.
According to him, the book is a comparative analysis of many countries and how their leaders drive development through philosophies they bring to bear and frameworks that shape their programmes and actions.
“Those countries have leaders with moral standing, clear sets of ideas, believing that morality, courage and empathy are key to governance.
“This is why governance should not be left with average leaders, while citizens should be careful on the choices they make.
“Leaders should work hard and accept that they have to be excellent in everything that they do. They have to build and create institutions for the future.
“This is why they should assemble those with knowledge to help them to deliver,” the author said.
He extolled Gov. Peter Mbah of Enugu State for his government’s mantra: “Tomorrow Is Here”, saying it reflects a philosophy, ideology and framework.
A member of the Board of NESG, Mr Nnanna Udeh, said the organisation had a solid tradition of engaging in discourses that would move the country forward.
“So when this book was published by Prof. Osita Ogbu, we read the book and it triggered a couple of questions that surround the work we have been doing.
“We believe this gathering could be a platform for promoting dialogue environment as this book seemed to us a solid body of knowledge around nation building.
“NESG is strongly convinced that if we take a conversation as this book elucidated across the country, it is going to build foundations of a stronger and more viable nation.
“This is why we decided not only to invest in this book but take it across the country, beginning from here in Enugu, which is the home state of Osita Ogbu,” Udeh said. (NAN)
