Aleke Aleke in Abuja
A Member of the Ghana Parliament, Dr. Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings, has called for more involvement of women and youth in politics, decision making and governance in Africa.
Agyeman-Rawlings, made this call while delivering a keynote address at the 2024 Africa Conference hosted by the School of Politics, Policy and Governance. She said the time for sitting on the fence is over.
According to her, “People who felt that they have something to offer their countries must also consider that grassroot does not mean illiterate, or not being knowledgeable, that is the foundation of everything. And if you feel that you are too big to be at the grassroot level, that is what you will see at the end when other people you feel are not as enlightened as you are will decide who you subsequently have to choose as your leader because you have decided not to take part at the grassroot level of the primary choice of who your leaders should be”.
The Founder, School of Politics, Policy and Governance, Obiageli Ezekwesili called for the reshaping of the political landscape in Nigeria and Africa as well as giving future leaders superior supportive environment to acquire the knowledge of governance.
Ezekwesili also noted that the forum was put in place to change and upgrade the mindsets of future leaders in Africa.
“We want you to immediately have that mindset of the Africa solution that will be exponential in impact as well as as interconnected. Academic research findings show clearly that Africa’s development challenge is primarily because of the absence of good governance, and if research gives you evidence of what your malady is or the cause of your malady, what you must do as a sensible group of people is to address your malady.
“So, since poor governance is our malady as a people, as a continent, the research that I did then gives me an insight into how to address the malady. And the critical part of it is to begin the development of an entirely new political mindset and culture,” she said.
The Chief Executive Officer, School of Politics, Policy and Governance, Alero Ayida-Otobo
said the barrier of development is absence of good governance, as such there was need to develop entire new political architecture that will bring in productive leaders.
“Many times, those that are value-driven, those that are disruptive in their thinking, feel alone and they feel there is no body around them. What we want to do is to build a platform that they can stand on, then connect them,” she concluded.
The 2024 Africa Conference, a prelude to the graduation ceremony of the fourth graduates of the School of Politics, Policy and Governance brought together value-oriented politicians from Ghana, Kenya, Senegal, Egypt, Tunisia, Zimbabwe among other African countries to brainstorm on how to reposition the continent’s politics and governance.
The theme of the conference is, “Good Governance In Africa: Leaders and Citizens Driving Systemic Change”.
