
POHAN laments lack of continuity in govt policies
…says attitude inimical to progress
…joins NAPSAS to honour Obasanjo, Onyema, others
Public Office Holders Association of Nigeria (POHAN) at the weekend blamed Nigeria’s socio-economic woes on lack of continuity in government policies.
POHAN is an umbrella body for serving and former public office holders in Nigeria, either elected or appointed.
A statement by its National President, Dr. ‘Deola Eseyin, said it was high time Nigerian leaders refrained from initiating policies based on self-aggrandisement or political paranoia.
“One of the problems the nation is facing is in the area of mentoring and continuity,” he said, adding, “One will notice for a fact that Nigerian leaders and the government do not treat governance as a continuum.”
He disclosed further, saying, “Successive government that succeeds an outgoing one will rather start a fresh project that can be named after their administration, rather than complete an existing and almost completed project initiated by an out-gone government.
“This is not only a waste of resources and taxpayers’ monies but a counter-productive way of governing and building lasting infrastructure for the nation.
‘In the time past, one has seen good examples in Nigeria where an outgoing government handed over projects to their successor from the same party; but to the dismay of party stalwarts and the indigenes of such a state or area, the successor looked away from such projects, only to start a new one in their name.”
Eseyin said most of these self-induced projects are often referred to by their initiators as ‘my legacy’.
“The recurring question on the lips of citizens who are also taxpayers, which POHAN aims to address, is; what happens to the lofty and half-done projects instituted by the outgone government for the people? Why ‘self’, not ‘we’ or ‘citizenry’ mantra?” He wondered.
He stressed that POHAN recognised that there is no better time than now for leaders, stakeholders and private sector drivers to come together with a common voice devoid of ethnicity, religion, ego and greed, in raising or harnessing the energetic youths of the nation and reining them into good leadership, “in order to present them for the great task of building the nation’s future”.
Meanwhile, the POHAN, through its ‘sister’ organisation, the National Public Service Awards and Summit (NAPSAS), has fixed October 28, this year, for its first-ever National Public Service Awards programme, holding in Abuja.
Eseyin, who is also the Director-General of NAPSAS, said notable leaders from various fields of human endeavour in Nigeria and other parts of the world had been listed for awards as Ambassador.
Those to be honoured, he said, include a former Nigerian President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo; an eminent scholar from Kenya, Prof P.L.O Lumumba, and a representative to the United Nations from Inter-faith Peace-building Initiative, Sir Clyde Rivers.
Others are: the Chief Executive Officer of Air Peace, Mr. Allen Onyema; Managing Director/CEO of Verdant Zeal Communications Ltd, Dr. Tunji Olugbodi, and Chairman/CEO of Channels Television, Mr. John Momoh.
He said the slated award of honour was in acknowledgement of their hard work and excellence in public service.