12th Annual Zik Lecture: Ex-Malawian President, Banda canvasses radical change in African leadership

By Cajetan Mmuta, Awka

Leaders and speakers converged in Awka, the Anambra state capital, to x-ray the sterling virtues of Nigeria’s first president, Nnamdi Azikiwe and his contribution to Africa and Nigeria’s development.

Speakers at the 12th Annual Zik lecture with the theme: “Reclaiming Zik’s World: Climate Justice and Africa’s Sustainable Development,” held at the Secretariat complex of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK) Awka, held that the greatest problem facing African countries and Nigeria in particular is leadership.

The Keynote speaker and former President of Malawi, Dr. Joyce Hilda Banda tasked Africans to rise against the challenge of poor, insensitive, and corrupt leaders who have continued to impoverish the continent and to explore peaceful and united opportunities towards achieving meaningful and peaceful growth and development.

She frowned seriously against the concept pf bote buying in politics and during elections which negates fairness, peace, and order in democracy.

On his part, the distinguished Guest of Honour and Presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) during the 2023 general elections, Mr Peter Obi said that unless Nigerians and Africans dismantle criminality amongst their leaders the country and continent would continue to remain in dire stress and Irreconcilable woes.

Obi said there was an urgent need for African countries to dismantle criminality within the continent for realistic growth, peace, and unity among the people.

According to the LP Presidential candidate and former Governor of Anambra state, the “Problem of Africa is leadership; it is African leaders that have turned the continent into criminal Enterprise. We must dismantle criminality in the continent.

Also speaking, the chairman of the event and Governor of Oyo State, Dr. Seyi Makinde said that what is needed to salvage Nigeria in the face of the current economic, political, and social miasma is complete restructuring if the country is to progress and achieve meaningful development and progress.

He noted that the woes of government and governance in Nigeria are attributable to over-centralization of power and other key development and policy issues, adding that there is a need to focus attention on creating a structure that will engineer nationhood and development.

Makinde pinged out that Nigeria has outgrown the questions of unity, which he said has existed since the nation attained independence in 1960

He said, “What is before us is not just uniting Nigeria but also uniting Africa. We need to focus on creating a structure that is beyond ethnicity and religion. We can innovate our way out of the current hardship through healthy competition.*

“This year 2023, we just rose from Another election where religion and ethnicity were placed on the front burner.
The Zik’s annual lecture gives us another opportunity to talk about nationhood.

“For over 60 years, Nigeria has continued to remain indistructible.
I believe that we as a nation should move beyond asking if we can live together. We should be asking what structure is the best for all. Zik was a dynamic man who did not adamantly hold on to a particular system.

“If Dr Azikiwe was to be alive today and still able to influence Nigeria, he would not be telling us to break, the country apart not split. The Government of the day needs to harken to the yearnings of the masses. We are not the only country to face economic hardship.”

“We can innovate our way out of this hardship through healthy competition. Sustainable development is something that we should know where we are heading,” he added.

Earlier, the Vice Chancellor of UNIZIK, Awka, Prof. Charles Esimone in his address said the theme of the lecture brought the name of Dr. Azikiwe and his world view into an extant global phenomenon and climate change that is causing grave concerns in the world.

He said the world has been lost or vitiated somewhere along the line and now needs to be reclaimed.

“It captures the dilemma of Africa and its socio-economic development aspirations that while the industrialized world is seeking global action to curtail carbon emission, the culprit for climate change, resulting principally from industries in the industrialized world.”

However, Dr Banda decried that African leaders are corrupt, that’s the situation we all must take responsibility for and find solutions to. African leaders are involved in organized crimes and looting.

She said, “Unfortunately, we are all onlookers. Why are Africans not raising their eyes on these malpractices, even as she blasted the British colonial masters and others for looting and domiciling African wealth in Europe and the US while we’re here suffering. That’s why Africa is today in economic stagnation and natural disasters.

She stated that “African women should be involved in communities to participate in discussing the upliftment of women folk and ladies. Women are exploited in Africa and must be protected. *

“Women are still being extolled rising in Africa and we have more women in politics in African countries. Africa has produced six women presidents, citing Rwanda, Liberia.”

“Nigeria is a country of great women achievers extolling in politics, economy, expecting that one day, the world will have a prime minister from Nigeria as a woman.

She called on women to be united and fight for African liberation and economic advancement.

“There were leaders in Africa ever before the advent of colonialism, why do we allow colonial masters to loot our minerals”

The former Malawian President further maintained that climate change must be a topic for African leaders to sustain our development, yet we’re the poorest.

She how we commended African founding fathers, including Zik, Nkrumah, and Banda for laying the foundation of Nigeria’s birth. We should take inspiration from his legacies.

The Host Governor Charles Soludo called for socio-political and economic revival laced with nationalistic sport, peace, and a united front which the late Nnamdi Azikiwe stood for.

Others present at the event include former Senate President and Chairman Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Chief Adolphus Wabara, Igwe Gibson Nwosu the Igwe of Awka kingdom, and Father of the Day