Aig-Imoukhuede: Only the best should be in government — we can’t take chances

Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, former group managing director of Access Bank and founder of Africa Initiative for Governance (AIG), says Nigeria needs the best hands in government positions. 

Speaking on Saturday at the public presentation of ‘The Arc of the Possible’, Aig-Imoukhuede said Nigeria cannot afford to have “incompetent” people in positions of power.

Waziri Adio, author of the memoir, is a former executive secretary of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI).

While delivering his address at the book launch, Aig-Imoukhuede said great institutions are built when the best people are placed in important roles, which according to him is what Adio’s book has shown.  

“Waziri’s book ‘The Arc of the Possible’ talks about what happens when we place our best in the most important roles and functions of the Nigerian society which I believe are the public sector,” he said.  

“To every nation, the public sector is the defining aspect of society in nation-building. When nations are built and developed and advanced, then you can say the institutions are there, the platforms are there, things work, the public sector will like in a sense save us from the incompetence when they get into office.

“But in a nation at our level of development, we can’t take chances; only the best should man the most important roles in our society. I’m talking about the government roles.

“Waziri very succinctly draws our attention to the fact that if you have great leaders in public service and those great leaders have the ability to develop those who work with them, build great teams, we will have great institutions and Waziri proved that during his time at the NEITI.”