By Ahmed Akanbi

The founding Vice Chancellor of Fountain University, Osogbo, Osun State, Prof. Hussein Oyelola Oloyede, has urged Nigerian leaders to govern with posterity in mind, warning that their actions today will define the legacy they leave behind.

Speaking with journalists at the weekend in Ilorin, the respected academic and former pioneer Vice Chancellor of Summit University, Offa, Kwara State, said the decay in public institutions is a direct reflection of the decline in leadership quality.

“The falling standard of public institutions reflects the decline in the quality of political office holders. Leaders must reflect deeply on the legacy they will leave and their fate in the afterlife,” Oloyede said.

He called on the current generation of leaders to return to the standards set by Nigeria’s first-generation politicians.

Citing the government of the Northern Region under the Sardauna of Sokoto, Sir Ahmadu Bello, and Prime Minister, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Oloyede said leadership was once driven by justice and accountability.

He recalled how the regional government sponsored his secondary and university education at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria despite his background as the son of a poor farmer in Offa, Kwara State.

In contrast, he noted, his classmate, the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, paid full fees because he came from a privileged family.

“That sense of equity is what once made Nigeria the ‘Giant of Africa,’ whose sneeze gave the world a cold,” he said.

Oloyede also cautioned against the culture of lobbying for office, saying, “people who lobby to get into office will also have to lobby to remain there once appointed.”

On insecurity, he blamed foreign economic interests aided by local collaborators, and urged all Nigerians, especially political leaders, to be patriotic and work toward a sovereign and egalitarian nation.

“For the sake of posterity, we must build a Nigeria that future generations will be proud of,” he said.