Mr Shalom Olaseni, Executive Director, United Global Resolve For Peace (UGRFP), has urged Nigerians to break the chains of sycophancy and empower themselves to be active contributors to governance in the country. Olaseni stated this on Sunday in Akure, at the inauguration of G18 Group Executives, a pressure group in Ondo. The inauguration was preceded by a public lecture with the theme: ‘Good Governance and Responsive Leadership, Relevant Solution to Development and Good Followership’. Olaseni said the prevalence of sycophancy in the Nigerian political landscape appeared to be a curse which had created an insulated bubble around leaders who remained oblivious to the challenges facing the masses. He said sycophantic culture had since become a clog in the wheel of the country’s development, as good governance, leadership and followership were complicated issues that demanded collective attention and commitment. ‘Nigeria is currently at the crossroads; the current situation in the nation requires a mental shift where leaders and followers recognise their mutual responsibility for national development,’ he said. Olaseni, who is also the State Coordinator of Atunluse Initiatives, a socio-cultural group, said that establishing a crucial relationship between good leadership and followership was important, adding that effective leadership can never be achieved through a one-way approach. He said that time had come for Nigerians to stop misunderstanding followership for passive obedience, as collective action required active participation and contribution to shared goals. ‘Together we can embark on a journey that can transform our socio-political rhetoric into reality, paving the way for a future marked by prosperity, equity and sustainable progress,’ In his welcome address, the Ondo State Chairman of G18 Group, Otunba Akinsola Akinbobola, said the organisation would be apolitical. Akinbobola said that as a pressure group with various interests, they would always believe in good governance and right leadership that could deliver the best for all. He said their membership cut across the eighteen local government areas of the state. He added that the group was concerned about excellence in governance, with main focus on welfare of the people and their priority as well as the development of the land as key factors, irrespective of political leaning. According to him, leadership of impeccable character and status are main ingredients for sustainability of any policies of the government. ‘That is why we are not going to allow Ondo State which has been at the forefront of development, to suddenly nosedive into the murky mud of political jobbers and opportunists,’ he said.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria