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The Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Professor Adeolu Akande has advocated for more involvement of professionals in politics.
Akande made the plea on Wednesday in Abuja while speaking as Guest Speaker at the 2021 Fellows Investiture programme of the Nigeria Institution of Surveyors. He spoke on the theme,’Professionals,Politics and National Development.’
Akande, who is lecturer at the Department of Political Scienc, Igbinedion University,Okada,Edo State, said that professionals who have acquired requisite knowledge and skill in a particular sphere of human endeavour should show more interest in politics so as to enrich the conduct of politics and government in the country.
He stated that the attributes of professionalism which he described education, skill,reliability,integrity,team play among others are in short supply in the Nigeria’s political scene.
“The more professionals we have in politics,the more likelihood that our politics will exude these attributes and the more the chances that our conduct of politics and government will improve,”he said.
Akande, who is a member of All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State, noted that the absence of these attributes among politicians is one of the reasons why there is always tension between professionals and politicians who refer to them as technocrats who have been invited “to come and chop and professionals seem to take greater role in government.”
He said the involvement of more professionals in politics will strengthen the ones (professionals) already there (politics) and help them to use their attributes to improve the conduct of politicians in the country.
The APC chieftain, however, noted that many professionals have also fallen prey of the common ills in Nigerian politics, adding that this creates fear about the participation of more professionals’ participation in politics and government.
Akande noted that the nation’s quest for development would be helped when politicians complement the efforts of professionals in formulating quality decisions that would fast track service delivery by government.
“Professionals in politics have the added advantage of combining practical knowledge of realities of the society with their skill and knowledge. With such professionals,there is no dichotomy between technocrats and politicians. The expertise required for good decision making is combined with the political knowledge and skill of being a politician. This helps in the formulation of realistic decisions that will enhance quality of service by the government,” the NCC boss said.
While noting that politics could sometimes be dirty, Akande opined that professionals who shy away from politics because of its dirty nature subject themselves to the tyranny of dirty politicians who would end up ruling over them.