By Samuel Oyadongha, Yenagoa
The Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) has backed the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF)’s call for political leaders seeking to govern Nigeria to provide transparent accounts of their pasts.
PANDEF National Chairman, Ambassador Godknows Igali, described the demand as reasonable and consistent with global standards of public service.
Reacting to the ACF’s declaration that “if you want to lead Nigeria, your past must be clear,” Igali said candidates for public office should make their backgrounds and records known to the people they seek to serve.
“Well, absolutely,” Igali said in an interview with Vanguard. “When a person presents himself for public service, it is right, proper, and fitting for him to make available to those he wants to serve, as much as possible, the journey of his life: what he has been and what he is today.”
The former diplomat said the demand should not be viewed as a regional or ethnic position, but as a universal principle of accountability and transparency.
“I don’t think they direct it to any particular individual; rather, they have made it a global condition that you should tell us who you are, where you’ve been, and what you’ve done,” he said.
Igali compared political leadership to other forms of employment, where prospective employers routinely examine an applicant’s qualifications and experience before making a decision.
“Look, all over the world, any job you apply for will ask for your CV. The purpose of the CV is to know who you are and what you have done. If that were not the case, any one of us could go anywhere and do any job,” he said.
He stressed that a candidate’s history was important in assessing their suitability for public office, saying it could provide insight into both their strengths and weaknesses.
“People want to know what strengths you are bringing on board to the new office you seek, as well as what weaknesses can be discerned from knowing what you’ve been through and how you navigated it,” Igali said.
“So, we align ourselves with them,” he added.
The PANDEF chairman rejected the argument that a politician’s past should not matter as long as the person’s present conduct was acceptable.
“Some people may argue that we don’t care what the man has been before; what is important is where he is today. I think that view is incomplete,” he said.
Igali argued that Nigerians routinely seek basic information about the backgrounds of people they engage for even less significant responsibilities, making such scrutiny of political leaders reasonable.
He said the requirement for transparency should apply to all aspirants, regardless of the level of office they seek.
“Aspirants at different levels, from local government to the head of state should, as much as possible, let the public know the journey of their lives and their life stories,” he said.
“These are basic, fundamental, irreducible minimum expectations, and I think it is quite in order.”
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