Paramount Ruler of Remo land, Ogun State, Oba Babatunde Ajayi, has advised Nigerians to elect competent leaders rather than considering ethnicity for their votes.
By Adebayo Michael
Paramount Ruler of Remoland, Ogun State, Oba Babatunde Ajayi, has advised Nigerians to elect competent leaders rather than considering ethnicity for their votes.
The Royal Father, who is also the Chairman of the State’s Traditional Council, stated this during a send-off held in honour of the outgoing Rector of the Gateway ICT Polytechnic, Saapade, Dr Isaiah Oyeyinka.
He warned against trading competence for ethnicity in the selection of candidates for any appointment, saying qualification for elective posts or appointments should not be decided by place of origin, but competence and integrity.
Oba Ajayi noted that though people can lobby that an indigene be appointed to head any establishment, such a candidate must be competent to do the job.
According to him, many had, since 2017, asked him to seek the removal of Oyeyinka “because he is not from Remoland.”
“For me, I listen but I take my time to react. So, I decided to talk to him (Oyeyinka). He then told me to come and see the institution myself. The day I visited the school, I was surprised. I could see the orderliness, sanity and the arrangement,” Oba Ajayi said.
Ajayi maintained that his visit to the Polytechnic convinced him that Oyeyinka, an Egba indigene had turned the Polytechnic around for good.
Linking that with the nation, Akarigbo stated that a lesson to be learnt in Nigeria is that
“It is not every time that a person who would turn around an organization must be an indigene of any particular place.
“you must first of all look out for competent sons and daughters of the land; but if you can’t find such, anyone from anywhere that’s capable should be made to do the job,” he said.
Oba Ajayi’s advice is a pointer to the 2023 General Elections.
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